I GET a little bit sick when people label some Munros as boring. This smacks of a type of snobbishness, where you have only completed a 'true' mountain day if you have either covered miles and miles or scrambled up exposed rock to reach a summit.
One much maligned summit is Meall Buidhe, above Glen Lyon. It's a festival of bog followed by a wide ridge to the summit, and apparently all too easy for some. Described like this, it doesn't sound like much but it is actually a walk to one of the be
st views in the world.
As you make your way over the south top, you are suddenly met with the sight of Glencoe, the Mamores, the Nevis range and the Grey Corries across the vast Rannoch Moor. If this fantastic panorama, seen as if from a low-flying plane, does not stop you in your tracks then you are either looking at the ground or it is cloudy.
The promenade along the main ridge to the summit cairn is then filled with a top-class 360° panorama. Take your pick from the huge summit of Ben Nevis, the great rock façade of Buachaille Etive Mor and, moving round to the south, Ben Lui, Ben More, the Tarmachan ridge, Ben Lawers, Schiehallion or the Grampians. For that reason, save this walk for a clear day – it is genuinely worth the wait. Maybe those who criticise the mountain have merely trudged up, ticked it off their list of summits and gone home.
Do take heed of any path closures as a result of stalking – see the information board at the parking area or ring the estate managers (01786 462519) to check.
There is an alternative start from the track (see below), but it is difficult to find and if not discovered quickly will only lead to frustration. The best option is to leave it as an alternative descent. Good boots and full mountain gear are necessary, as well as a map and compass – essential if you are going up the hill when there is a risk of mist or cloud.
Many also climb Stuchd an Lochan, on the other side of Loch an Daimh, but I would leave this to the Munro-baggers and spend more time enjoying the fantastic view at the top of Meall Buidhe.
DISTANCE 6 miles. HEIGHT CLIMBED 1,750ft. TIME 3½-4½ hours. MAP OS Landranger 51.PARKING Head west on a single-track road from Bridge of Balgie, in Glen Lyon, and after 2¾ miles go right at a sign for Lochs Estate. Another couple of miles further on, park at the side of the road in front of a large dam, near an information board for Meggernie and Lochs Estates.
IN SUMMARY Follow a track to the right of the information board. It goes up and bears left, with another track joining from the right. Another 300 yards further on, at the top of a rise with a view over Loch an Daimh, nearly in line with its dam, go right to follow a faint path uphill. The steep gradient eases as the path bears left after some rocky outcrops on the right. You then follow the side of the wide Coire Beithe, before bearing left again and heading to the main ridge.
(A slightly drier path does exist, starting 100 yards or so further along the track, above the dam of Loch an Daimh, although it is hard to find. You have to clamber over a ditch, just beyond a large boulder to the right, then head diagonally up to the left. The path leads to another large boulder, bears left, then goes up heather-clad ground to take you above Coire Beithe, where the other path joins from the right.)
Cross peat hags, aiming for a bealach between Meall a' Phuill, on the right, and the south top of Meall Buidhe, on the left. Just before the bealach, go left and follow a path up and over the south top. The wide ridge then leads the last three-quarters of a mile to the summit of Meall Buidhe. Retrace your steps to the start.
REFRESHMENTS There is nothing at the start of the walk and little in Glen Lyon other than a tearoom at the Post Office, by the picturesque Bridge of Balgie.
WHILE YOU ARE IN THE AREA Fortingall lies about 11½ miles back along the overwhelmingly picturesque Glen Lyon, past Bridge of Balgie. It is home to a yew tree that is believed to be the oldest living thing in Europe, dating back thousands of years.
