Beinn Ime

Gaelic meaning : Butter Mountain
Height : 3,317 feet
Walk distance : 8.25 miles
OS Map : Loch Lomond
Walk time : 6 hours
Difficulty rating : 4 out of 5

Having first spied and being quite taken with the Arrochar Alps while climbing Ben Lomond way back in June last year, I figured it was high time to get out and climb one. So naturally I picked the highest . . . on the hottest day of the year.

Beinn Ime I think gets its name from a time when butter was made either on the mountain or in the area and is seen as the landmark at the entrance to Argyll.


I started the walk from the car park at Succoth (small parking charge) then headed across the A83 following the sign posts and up hill.

The path is easily followed, well kept and very steep in places. I love the woods around Succoth,, I've previously walked the Glen Loin circuit, which finishes in the Succoth woods so know the area a little and the Loch Lomond area is still the only part of the country I've seen Dragonflies in !

 

The higher you go, the better the views of Loch Long are. Here you can see the Faslane Naval Base in the distance.

And as the views of Loch Long improve, Ben lomond also starts to make it's presence felt. It's not called the beacon mountain for nothing.

After a while you'll leave the woods behind and the ground flattens a little as the path winds it's way up to the Bealach a' Mhaim, it's here the legendary cobbler comes into view for the first time.

As you approach the Cobbler the path splits in two, keep to the right and head towards the house sized Narnain boulders. The boulders are a good place to rest and have a cup of tea before you go on to the climb up Beinn Ime.

Once you reach the Bealach you can see the climb ahead, as you start at near enough sea level you still have another 350-400 metres to climb.

With the heat around 28c I was really struggling, I'm not used to temperatures that high and generally shelter indoors when it gets too hot, so to it was a real relief when i reached the summit.

As the weather was fantastic, so were the views. Some of the most rewarding I've had so far, an absoultely incredible location.

Here's the profile of the route :

And a guide to the route itself :

Milngavie to Bridge of Orchy

We covered 60 miles of the West highland Way in 3 days. It's recommended you do it over 7-9 days, we aimed for 5 but personally that's not enjoyable unless you are going solely for the physical challenge. Enough has been written about the West Highland Way so i'll only include some pictures from the walk.

Day 1 :

Just passed Craigallan Lochwith Ben Lomond coming into view. The aim of the first day was to get to Balmaha which is not far from Ben Lomond, so you can see just how far the first day is.

After Conic Hill (only the two boys who hadn't walked it before went up it) and a stop in Balmaha we walked the last couple of miles to the campsite.

After the first nights camping we suffered our fist casualty. Kris, who had climbed Conic Hill couldn't carry on as he his Achilles heels were both fairly swollen.

 Day 2 :

The remaining three carried on to Rowardennen for a bacon roll and cup of tea, this part of the walk is fairly undulating with a couple of steep sections but on the whole pretty gentle.

The route takes you high above the shores of Loch Lomond following the forestry track for the duration of the walk.

Once passed Rowardennen the walk becomes far trickier.

The scenery is great though, but as the path narrows and zig zags round tree roots you feel as if you are going sideways as much as forwards. Eventually Inversnaid hotel comes into view, with hot food and a bar it's a great place to rest.

It was here we suffered our second casualty. Mark, another who climbed Conic Hill, was suffering a strained knee. Our problem was it was Sunday, so no ferry service operated to take him across the loch to the bus stop. So he was left with no choice but to walk the remaining 6-7 miles to Beinglas. This section is by far the toughest walk i've done, all things considered.

The path narrows even further, zig zags through trees and round roots, rises steeply and drops even more steeply, with a little bit of scrambling thrown in. The section near Rob Roy's cave in particular was very hazardous especially for Mark who was becoming less and less mobile as he went. Eventually the path improves with the end of the day in sight. This section shouldn't be underestimated though.

The final climb is over little Cnap Mor, which after the day you've had feels like Everest, but the views back along Loch Lomnd are something special.

 Day 3 :

Mark left us at the camp site so with only me and Bri left it was an early start on a bright and fresh morning, starting from Beinglas farm.

Day 3 promised to be much easier going as the path improved, and the views of the mountains improved as the forests gave way to Glens. The first landmark we reached was the Falls of Falloch.

As the path gently climbs you get wonderful views of the area, you're surrounded by Munro's, Corbetts etc.

Soon you pass the half way point of the West Highland Way and have the choice of going down into Crianlarich or marching on to Tyndrum. in hindsight I wished we'd gone to Crianalarich but we chose to march on. The path soon heads up into the hills and back into the Forests.

I found this section particularly long and arduous given we'd walked 50 miles to get here, but it was very picturesque. Soon you head back downhill and cross over the A82where youg et a great view of the Crianlarich hills and a walk past St. Fillans Priory. You then head back over and on to Dalrigh, where Robert The Bruce's forces were defeated by the Clan MacDougall in 1306. Legend has it Bruce threw his sword into this Lochan while in retreat.

After an all to brief stop for food in Tyndrum it's back on the old military road to Bridge of Orchy, with the highlight among lots of highlights when Beinn Dorain comes into view.

After 60 miles I decided anought was enough, the last 3 sections are the main reasons I wanted to walk the WHW and I decided I wanted to do them fighting fit, so i'll complete them another time. Just not after 60 miles though  . . . . 

Congrats to Bri who went on to complete the rest of the walk on his tod and raise about £1000 for charity.