Beinn Each – 813m
Hill classification: Corbett
17th October 2008
Distance: 4.5 miles
Ascent: 700m (approx)
Time taken: 4 hours
Weather: Dry, warm and cloudy
Two Feet Four Paws: Anne and Molly
I had been suffering from a horrid virus for the last couple of weeks so rather than stay at home feeling hot, sweaty and sorry for myself I thought I should go and climb up a hill and get hot, sweaty and probably very wet. Having a quiet day on the sofa with Molly around is not an option. I needed something short and sweet and Beinn Each fitted the bill perfectly, it wasn’t too far to drive, didn’t have too much ascent and was a short day out.
I have to admit, I pleasantly surprised with this walk. The majority of Corbett’s involve a degree of bog trotting, bush whacking and tussock hopping. However, this hill proved a pleasant surprise as there is a path all the way from car to summit. A real treat for those who are not navigationally gifted.
There was plenty of parking in a lay-by on the A84 by a Scottish Rights of Way Society signpost. The walk started up a tarmac driveway to a shed where a large footpath sign directed us uphill through deciduous trees beside a fence to a small gate.
Once through the gate we climbed down to cross a small burn and then entered the pine forest. I found the walk through this forest is very unnerving, it was very quiet, very dense and really, really dark.
After about 10 minutes of steep uphill climbing through the forest (although it seemed like much longer), I was very relieved to emerge from the forest into a clearing and joined the forest track which lead to Glen Ample.
We followed the track to the burn which comes down from the side of Beinn Each. Here I expected the cross-country slog to commence but in my weakened state l was very relieved to find an excellent path just behind the remains of a dry stone wall. The rest of the walk to the summit was dry and extremely easy to follow as it picked its way around crags and grassy knolls.
We eventually reached the summit where the cairn was just a few stones perched on a tiny crag. I had a good look around to see if there was anything bigger but couldn’t find one. The path dropped steeply down to another col which links the Corbett to the Munro Stuc a’ Chroin and eventually Ben Vorlich.
We had lunch at the summit and hoped that the views might improve………….they didn’t. So we descended by the same route. The clouds lifted a bit and at one point there was even some blue sky but it didn’t last.
During the descent Molly managed to roll not once, but twice in something that smelt like it had recently been deposited out of the rear end of a fox. Luckily most of this was washed off in the burn but it was a very unpleasant journey home where one smelly dog was thrown unceremoniously into the bath.
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