Kayaking and Sròn a'Chlachain

 2nd May 2021

A wee post about some other adventures while we stayed in Killin:

1. Kayaking on loch Tay which everyone agreed was awesome!

2. A climb (with Munro weary legs) up Sròn a'Chlachain.

First, kayaking on Loch Tay - this was a first for us - but such a fun experience. We managed to time it to a sunny morning where we really had the loch to ourselves with the exception of one fisherman.

We hired some kayaks from Killin Outdoor Centre who also provided us with life jackets, a waterproof phone holder, and maps of the loch.

 Here we are collecting our kit and carrying our paddles down to the loch.

 

 The kind people at the outdoor centre helped us take the kayaks down to the loch.

And off we went - it was, at first, a little daunting - reminding the kids not to stand up as we would all land 'splash' in a deep, dark, and very very cold loch - but the kids were luckily very sensible!

It was quite hard paddling for little arms....

...but actually it was amazing how quickly you go the hang of it and Freyja and I soon found that if we timed it well - left, right, left, right - you could actually pick up a bit of speed without too much effort!

The best part of kayaking was being able to appreciate the view of the landscape from loch level and from a vantage point you don't often see.

 

Being able to look down and see what was in the loch and being able to spot birds etc. in the banks was another bonus....we saw a pair of mergansers, for instance...

Basically the kids loved it and neither wanted it to end after 2 hours...

The views out to an empty expanse of Loch Tay were quite something....

We followed the river down to the loch and then wound our way around three islands passing trees sticking out of the water and peering into the vegetation on the islands - we saw what looked like beaver activity on one island.

We had to watch out for the depth of the loch around the island and at one point J and L ran aground!

Then it was back up the river - here we went further upstream than before and had some fun kayaking down under low trees which felt like being an explorer on the Amazon.

It was then back to the harbour, pulling the kayaks up onto the shore, and off up to killin to return all our stuff.

In the afternoon, with our legs sore from yesterday's Munros, and our arms sore from kayaking, we decided to do another wee hill.

Hills don't need to be Munros to be a good walk and this one had a truly spectacular view. It was well worth the effort!

Sron a' Chlachain, 'the peak that resembles a nose above the village', is situated on the west side of Killin. This route follows a hill path with an ascent of only about 400 metres (1300ft) but it is very steep.

 

We started this walk from the north of Killin village centre. Before going through the park and starting up the hill, we took a detour left to visit Fingal's Stone, supposedly the burial place of the mythical celtic giant, who also gave his name to the cave on Staffa and the causeway in Northern Ireland. According to legend Fingal was murdered by a love rival in Loch Tay and his head cut off. His followers buried him in Killin, marking the grave with this stone.

 

 The first part of the walk was a steep climb through a pretty wood and then a steep zigzag ascent, but the views are wonderful very quickly, and although it was a little overcast Loch Tay looked magnificent nonetheless.

The kids enjoyed a birds-eye view of the islands we had kayaked around earlier in the day and despite achy legs they found plenty of energy still in the tank.

Keep following the grassy path as it climbed steeply, the gradient eased briefly before a steeper climb in a series of tiers. Two routes rejoined before a steep climb led us to up the line of crags known as Sròn a'Chlachain, reaching a cairn at the top of the crag. There were some truly stunning views looking back down over Killin and Loch Tay. One interesting thing we sound was a huge amount of quartz in the mountainside.

The descent was by the same route, the aerial, toy town view of Killin getting bigger all the time

 

The kids really enjoyed pointing out the Munros that they had climbed the day before ;)

 

Then back though the wood and down to the play park where we started - a lovely wee hill with spectacular views!

Sightings: what looked like a red-breasted merganser while we were kayaking on the loch (male and female), a deer that morning, a couple of hares, a red squirrel. What looked like beaver damage on one of the islands...

Kit: waterproof trousers on the kids!

Munros Again! Beinn Ghlas and Ben Lawers

 

1st May 2021

Beinn Ghlas and Ben Lawers: The Gaelic name Beinn Ghlas means 'grey-green mountain', referring to the colour of the mica-schist that makes up the bulk of the mountain and falls as a scree on its south-western side. Ben Lawers or Beinn Labhair means hill of the loud stream.

I can barely believe it, but we finally got back up some Munros! Hurrah!

After the lockdown craziness had been lifted we decided to head off as soon as possible out of Edinburgh to tackle the kids first Munro. We had a fantastic few days staying at Auchmore Appartments in the Tarmachan Apartment - which was a really lovely place.

Ben Lawers is the highest mountain in the southern part of the Scottish Highlands. It lies to the north of Loch Tay, and is the highest point of a long ridge. As the highest peak in Perthshire, and is the tenth highest Munro in Scotland. Since the 1950s, water has been captured from the numerous burns on the south face of Ben Lawers and Meall nan Tarmachan as part of the Breadalbane Hydro-Electric Scheme and you can see a huge pipe leading up the side of the mounitain. 

Due to its high altitude and underlying geology Ben Lawers is home to an exceptionally rich selection of arctic-alpine plant species and habitats, and has been designated as a National Nature Reserve (NNR) since 1964.

Starting off at the Ben Lawers car park on the west side of the road. The area is designated as a National Nature Reserve and is owned by the National Trust for Scotland. We began the walk by heading through the walled intepretation area and on the surfaced path to a gate, with views to Beinn Ghlas ahead. Soon the path passes through a gate into an area fenced to protect the flora from overgrazing by sheep and deer; the difference in vegetation on each side of the fence is clear. 

Heading off up the clearly marked large path. The high mountain you can see on the right is Beinn Ghlas - it must be climbed first and only from its summit will you get your first view of Ben Lawers itself.

Magnificent swathes of ground lichen.

Gaining a little height, but with some ominous clouds hanging low above us.

 

Everyone strong and enthusiastic on the early part of the walk!

Climbing, climbing.

Time for a wee snack: Stoats Muesli Bars - yum!

Just crossing the snowline at this point and all good so far!

 

Some very lovely views to be had at this point.

Getting a bit higher now - it has been quite a steep ascent up a zig zaging path. There is a shoulder before a final climb to the small plateau at the summit of Beinn Ghlas - a substantial Munro at 1103m - but many walkers en route to Ben Lawers are unaware of it. From here the view stretches along the fine ridge ahead, if we could only see it!

Here the cloud really enveloped us and gave a very eery feeling of following a ridge with no clear view of what lay down each side.

 

 

The summit of Beinn Ghlas. It is not well marked so you could easily keep walking and not realise that you had made it up this one!

 

 

 Munro no. 1!

From Beinn Ghlas the wide path continues along a ridge, leading down to the bealach (pass) before the ascent to Ben Lawers itself, with a steep section, a more level stretch, and then one final steeper pull - there are great views back over Beinn Ghlas - when you can see through the cloud!

At this point the kids were really feeling their legs and Leo certainly needed some persuading that he could get up the second Munro! This was were some 4 yr old Kendal Mint Cake saved the day (a gift from my sister to take on a Munro adventure - it had languished in a drawer and was just remembered as we headed out the door). Surely something with so much sugar in it, can't really go off. Anyway, it did the trick and gave a much needed boost to some little legs!

Hurrah and we made it!!

And lunchtime - but eek it was so cold. A case of taking gloves off quickly to devour sandwiches, and then quickly cramming them back on, as ice crystals whipped past us in the wind.

Freyja's frosty hair!

Some wonderful views...and some fantastic contrasts in the dark sky and the white snow...!

And then as we began our descent, some patches of blue sky appeared and finally we were able to see the views. They were worth waiting for!

We did it and it felt pretty great - I have missed the Munros.

When the views did appear they were spectacular!

looking back to the path from Beinn Ghlas.

With some other intrepid and slightly chilly walkers.

From here we retraced our steps back to the bealach. From here there is a bypass path which forked right, rounding the north side of Beinn Ghlas to the bealach between it and Meall Corranaich. This path was quite good going and would have been highly uneventful had it not started a blizzard half way down!

Finally past the tiny cairn in the stream marking our return to the car-park - tired but oh so happy!

Nature spotting: On this trip we saw 4 red squirrels, deer, and loads of birds, but on this particular walk all we saw was a grouse, some lads enjoying an escape from Glasgow and some lovely hill walking dogs.

Equipment: an Arc'Teryx backpack which was light and roomy and comfy.

Some Eastern Mountain Sports gloves that may have saved my fingers.