Ben Donich, 26th October 2024

 I was once again at a Scout Camp at Lochgoilhead. We had 32 cubs, scouts and explorers on site for a full activity weekend, which is great for the leaders, because it gives us time to chill out while the young people are on activities.

I don't really chill out like everyone else so I decided after my last time here to head up a hill again. I checked the maps and weather and the best opportunity looked like Ben Donich, but it had to be sharpish - there was some weather coming in.

I am a fairly well-known face among the staff at Lochgoilhead now, so I was kept talking by various folks for a bit before I headed off at 1006, taking Aldo to the start of the path up to the Meeting of the Waters, then leaving him to wander at his own pace.

I ran up the familiar climb to the first bridge which was out of order, but it wasn't really closed off, so I hopped over and then up the steeper slopes again and eventually onto the main forest track. I used OS Maps to follow a track up the forest which didn't really exist it turned out. It was a steep and warm climb with over 100m ascent through potentially-ankle-wrecking old forestry. 

Old trees but amazing lichen and sphagnum moss

Lush and green, but not very nice, however, I made it to the fence and could see Clach a' Bhreatunnaich, my first target for the day, off to my right. I knew it was a stone, from the Gaelic, but it turned out to be a huge boulder which must have cleaved off the top of the hill and come to rest on the piece of flat ground. I wondered just how long that might have been there - thousands of years? The translation seems to be Stone of the Britons - but no idea how that came about.

Clach a' Bhreatunnaich

It was another punishingly steep climb from there, so there wasn't a lot of running, but the views did start to open up quite nicely down to the village.

View down to Lochgoilhead

Lovely stuff, but I was watching the clock because I wanted to be back at 1215 to join the troops for lunch!

I made it onto the summit, up through some quite steep sections near the top at 1130. I had to put gloves on and a buff to keep warm, but it was nice to be up a Corbett with no one else nearby, and from a route that isn't really well used.

Ben Donich Summit

Happy wee man!

Nice views of the Cobbler, Beinn Narnain and Arrochar

I didn't hang about and followed my Garmin pretty much down to Clach a' Bhreatunnaich, where I spotted a much better way down through the forest, following a little burn and hopping to different sides to avoid steep ground as I descended.

I was back down at the fire road pretty quickly and realised I might actually make it back in time for lunch!

It was quite slippy though so I had to be careful. Then it was too hot, so I had to drop a layer. I was on the other side of the Meeting of the Waters pretty rapidly and made really good time running back down the hill. I was at the lunch door bang on 1215. Nothing focuses the mind better than the draw of a hot meal! I had lunch with my Explorers and they told me all about their morning. In the afternoon, we headed out on canoes on Loch Goil and experienced some abysmal weather. Overall a great weekend!

Run Distance: 10.11km

Run Time: 2h 9m

Ascent: 982m (and it's not a Munro!)

Corbetts:? +1