Meall Buidhe
Statistics
Area: Loch Rannoch to Glen Lyon
Munro: Meall Buidhe (Glen Lyon)
Date walked: 07/10/2009
Time taken: 1 hour 55 minutes
Distance: 8 km
Ascent: 569m
The Route
Introduction
Meall Buidhe sits amongst a number of high hills above Loch An Daimh deep in Glen Lyon. There is no easy access to this hill with a long windy road up Glen Lyon or a similar road up past Ben Lawers from Killin. These smaller roads can be snowed in or iced over during the winter months. An alternative but much longer walk would be to approach this hill from Loch Rannoch to the North but again there is a long windy road to drive in from the A9 North of Pitlochry.
The Walk
I woke up at 6am this morning to go to Loch Lyon hoping to bag a couple of Munros but when I got out of bed my knee was playing up after the exertions of last week and I felt awful. So I went back to bed and slept until 9am. For some strange reason my knee felt better now, which removed my main excuse for not going hill walking, but I still didn’t feel great and I was not keen on walking today. However, after checking the glorious weather forecast and consuming a hearty breakfast I decided to go after all and duly drove up to and past Ben Lawers and then onto Loch an Daimh reservoir. It drizzled with rain on the way through the glen and by the time I got to the reservoir dam it was bucketing down.
It’s now 12:10 and I still don’t feel so good but after a quick change into walking gear, with full waterproofs, the rain stops lol. So after removing my waterproofs I set off on my way up Meall Buide. There is a clear wide track for the first 500m along the Loch whereupon I leave the Loch side and follow a small track up into the hillside. The sky is a mixture of sunshine and rain clouds and the sun comes and goes but after a short while the rain is back on. I stop to put my waterproofs on again but I only don my waterproof jacket as I can’t be bothered with the trousers. It’s too much hassle in my present state and I continue on my way up the hillside which is quite boggy.
There is a path which takes me pretty much North all the way to below the summit of Meall a Phuill but on the way I have to navigate through some peat hags. As I climb I get some nice views of the Munro Stuchd an Lochan and down the reservoir. The rain comes and goes and as I get to the first cairn it is now pouring down with what looks like sleet with a strong westerly wind trying to freeze my nose off. So much for the weather forecast lol, however as I approach the summit the sun comes out. The surrounding hill tops are shrouded in clouds but there are some nice views. I only stop long enough to take some photos before retracing my steps back down the hillside.
I am soon back at the car and its now 14:25. However, I feel drained of energy so any thoughts of adding the second Munro, Stuchd an Lochan, today quickly disappear and I decide to head home. As I drive away the sun starts to come out and it’s roasting in the car. The weather is teasing me to stop and bag the other Munro lol, but I am afraid this old man is not on form today but as Arnie said “I’ll be back”.
