[Trip Index] [Munro Index] [Home] 10th August 2003   Beinn Dubhchraig Map It was a better day today, clear and hot but not as hot as the day before and none of that dreadful murky haze. Having got past Glasgow I thought I'd take in this hill as it was one which I'd missed out when I did the Beinn a' Chleib, Ben Lui, Ben Oss trio two years earlier. I parked the car at Dalrigh and set off at 11.55, reaching the top 2.30. Was back down by 5.05. Starting out for Beinn Dubhchraig I immediately went wrong, following the cart track way too far instead of getting on the right path. What you should do is get to the conjunction of the River Cononish and the Allt Gleann Auchreoch, cross over the AGA there and follow the path up. Instead I followed the carttrack then left it to follow what I thought was a path - this path soon vanished in trees and I had to slog up a stream eventually meeting up with the carttrack again, for which I was very thankful by that time. After that it was an easy approach following the Allt Coire Dubhchraig more or less all the way. The water of the stream was very clear and I had a good drink from it as the day was so hot. The way up was grassy and a bit of bog, steepening a bit on the final approach to the ridge. The summit On gaining the ridge you turn left and follow the stony path to the summit where there's a small stone cairn and windbreak. On the descent I missed the bit where I'd joined the path and kept right on, along the way I should have ascended by. It took me through a wooded area lower down but these were proper, nicely spaced woods rather than the usual dire forestry conifer plantations - aye, these were enchanted, sylvan grottos with flowers and amiable butterflies dancing amidst the dappled sunlight :-) It was a long way, though, or seemed to be. The timings indicate it took me as long coming down as it did going up which is unusual. I drove on and spent the night at Spean Bridge after finding Fort William totally booked up. Rosebank (£15) run by an ex-nurse who'd worked on the oil rigs and his Mauretanian wife. A very nice house with an imposing wooden staircase.