Ben More and Stob Binnein, and a quick jaunt up Ben Vane

A friend came up for the weekend! My first visitor! Daniel arrived on the Friday evening in Tyndrum, which was our base for the weekend. He was pretty impressed with the van set up, though admittedly the bar was low given his most recent camping trip involved 4 days in the Cairngorms under a tarp…

I shortlisted a few munro options and we both felt drawn to doing Ben More, maybe because that was the only one we could pronounce with confidence. It’s also the biggest hill in the area (Ben More actually means ‘big hill’) and naturally we wanted to get as high up as possible.

I hiked up Ben More in August 2020, but under time pressure because I was squeezing it in before a 5 hour drive to my Mum and Dad’s in Lancashire that evening. I hadn’t had time to do Stob Binnein which sits behind Ben More, so was looking forward to heading up there again to tackle the pair. I’ve got a clear memory of being pretty scared on Ben More first time round – there are some steep sections where I was only too aware that if I slipped I’d be tumbling all the way to the bottom breaking limbs as I go.

Anyway off Daniel and I went on Saturday morning, and after a mini-drama (where Daniel saved the day by finding the van keys I had “lost” in a pocket of my bag) we set off up the hill. It’s a steep hike rising 1000 metres in about 2.5 miles – the first half is essentially a rocky staircase. Daniel graciously walked at my (slow) pace. I’m very proud that I wasn’t scared at all this time round – as demonstrated by me sitting on top of the rock that I cowered behind for a self-pep-talk last time! I must be getting my mountain legs?! Of course we paused for a quick photo shoot, striking the obligatory “pensive” pose. (I think we can all see who is the better photographer).

We had some views at the top while we ate our sandwiches – Daniel was keen that we eat our Scottish Morning Rolls before noon in case they vanished into thin air at the stroke of 12.

So far we’d had some mild weather with the clouds parting to allow some sunshine through as we were near the top of Ben More. But as we started our ascent of Stob Binnein it absolutely turned and tried to discourage us from going any further. We trudged upwards inside a rain cloud which the wind was forcefully blowing Eastwards, across our path. We passed walkers who had taken the always difficult decision to stop and take the boots off to put waterproof trousers on, and chatted with some hikers on the way down who said they saw nothing at the top. The rain eased off as we approached the summit as if to begrudgingly say “ok, fine then”.

Even without a view, the top of Stob Binnein was pretty special. We approached a cairn that seemed to sit out at the edge of the world. And as we stood there, the cloud slowly thinned and a breath-taking view came into focus like a developing photograph. We watched in awe as it got better and better, each photo better than the last but none able to capture the scale of what was before us. An enormous range of hills and valley, with virtually no signs of human activity. This is why we walk up hills.

We lingered with the view, eeking out every last drop until it faded away to hide behind the clouds again.

The return leg of the walk loops back around the side of Ben More, in a lush green valley of rich grasses, streams and waterfalls. The sun came out with strength allowing us to shed the jackets, and take some basking stops to enjoy the peace of the valley. We dawdled in the beautiful weather, not really wanting to get to the end of the walk.

We headed on to the edge of the Loch Lubhair, with a couple of beers and dipped our tired feet in the water. Daniel caught the photo of the day.

Back in Tyndrum we paid a visit to the diner to fill our stomachs, and to the pub for some beers. We got chatting to a pair of fellow munro baggers who told us of their attempt at an 8 or 9 munro day – they bailed after 3 munros when they found themselves clawing their way up a steep slope of bracken amidst a swarm of ticks. Can’t say I blame them.

The next day we were up and at ’em again to squeeze in Ben Vane before Daniel’s train. Ben Vane is one of the shortest munros, only 916m in height, but packed with character. It’s craggy and crumpled posture makes it look like a cute little monster, or maybe a scrunched up piece of paper discarded by a frustated giant.

This was a more interesting hike than Ben More with multiple false summits which had me fooled every time. The rocky outcrops make for some good viewpoints and photo opps.

We had a decent bit of scrambling towards the top, then sat and ate our morning rolls – at 11.50, just in time.