Route goes here ???
Some interesting data
Beinn Mheadhonach – 901m – Corbett
Sunday, 20 November
This was the second excursion in our 3-night November trip to Blair Atholl.
The day before, a Saturday, we had climbed Beinn a’ Chait, an unclassified hill.
On Sunday, we climbed Beinn Mheadhonach, a corbett.
The weather forecast was for sun all day, and no wind. It was indeed a spectacular day from dawn till dusk.
We left the cottage on the bikes before 8am and headed to Glen Tilt through Old Blair.
8.21 – Simon on a frosty bridge
We cycled through the forest, past the waterfall, and eventually got to Gilbert’s Bridge.
8.39 – The diamond gate
We went through the diamond gate and continued following the river Tilt.
8.55 – A stag ignoring the sheep
8.56 – The icy path to Beinn Mheadhonach
9.12 – Leaving Mounty & Liath
We reached the Ach Mhaire bridge. It was very icy, so we left the bikes near there.
9.41 – On foot to Beinn Mheadhonach
From that point, we started walking, following the Alt Mhaire ???. The path was very narrow and icy at times.
We got to the New Bridge, crossed it, and continued climbing.
We could see Beinn Mheadhonach from where we left the bikes, but not the summit.
10.37 – Looking back from the gentle slope
Beinn Mheadhonach, which means “Middle Hill”, is a long, gentle climb.
It has superb views of Beinn a’ Ghlò to the east and Beinn a’ Chait to the west.
We could see Ben Vrakie, a corbett near Pitlochri. We climbed that corbett on 14 February, 2016 with a group of students.
At about 11am we stopped for an early lunch. We had cheese & tomato, ham, and paté sandwiches. We also had chai.
Then, I put on my crampons. Why not? But Simon didn’t wear his all day.
11.35 – A view of ???
There were herds of deer on the hills nearby, and deer footprints on Beinn Mheadhonach.
There were also long lines of hare footprints but, like yesterday, we never saw the creatures.
12.13 – A view of ???
The Beinn Mheadhonach summit feels like a moving target.
You think you’re about to reach it and you suddenly discover a higher point in the distance.
13.05 – View of ???
It’s an immense white expanse with a gentle slope.
13.09 – Maria conquering Beinn Mheadhonach
After three false summits, we finally made it to the real top just after 1pm.
The views were breathtaking, and the bright blue sky made a beautiful contrast with all the snow-covered hills.
13.13 – The long & sunny descent
The descent was long but easy. Specially with my crampons on.
15.23 – Back to where we started
We went back to the bikes through the same narrow path. The sun had started to hide behind the hills.
We reached Mounty and Liath (our bikes) at about 3.30pm, as planned.
We went back to the diamond gate.
Instead of taking the route along the river Tilt, we rode along the rifle range.
We got to Old Blair and cycled past Blair Castle. The light was going down fast.
We got back to the cottage at 5pm. That’s when I noticed that my boots had a layer of frost.
It was another magnificent day. On the news we heard that the weather had been horrendous in England, specially in the south.
Why doesn’t glorious weather ever make it to the news?