Ben Wyvishike

The day’s trip with the Cairngorm club was up to Dingwall to Ben Wyvis , “hill of terror”

Another hot day. Where do these ‘there’s been no summer’ whingers get it? It’s been blimmin roasting for ages lol.

Starting from a car park south of Garbat

Up through some woods the path winds alongside a burn. There’s a nice wee waterfall, though one of those awkward ones shielded by trees with no easily gained photographic vantage point

As best as could do without falling in

Clear of the trees looking back north west

Following the Allt a Bhealaich Mhoir, Tom na Caillich under cloud

There’s a few small waterfalls

An Cabar on the left, where we’ll head up

Looks like we’ll not get the nice view from the top east to the sea, but lovely down below right now

Plenty wildflowers this time of year

The path winds up the side

Big steps in places

Looking across to Tom na Caillich before entering cloud

A stiff breeze on top makes it quite cool. Gloves on!

From An Cabar at 946m, the descent slackens and turns north east, passing Carn a Chaptein and traversing 2km of plateau to the high point of 1046 at Glas Leathad Mor.

Sign saying to keep to the path and avoid braiding to minimise erosion

Some other folk up here today, quite popular. There’d be a great view into Coire na Feola if we could see owt.

We decide to press on along the ridge, and it’s a good choice as descending below 970m things open up

First a peep through the grey

Looking north west

Looking north

Waves of grey and green all round

We can just about see the Cromarty Firth to the east

Loch a Choire Mhoir

We pondered heading further, but decided to head down from Tom a Choinnich north west and concoct a loop back to the start

The further that will remain unexplored

Loch nan Druidean

Distant mountains to the north

The zig zag path here is lovely. Not used much probably as carpeted with grass and moss but a comfortable way to descend the hill

zigging and zagging

After the zigs, a wall with a faint path to follow

About 50m from the start of the wall

Near the wall start, towards the loch amongst an outcrop of rocks, are the ruins of an old howff. Some scrap iron betrays an old roof. Somebody certainly chose a great location for a view. If I was local I’d be tempted to fix it up.

Howff ruins

We followed the wall where it turned west

Out first major obstacle of the day, a steep boulder field

Which butted up neatly to the second: bog. In retrospect we’d have been better continuing north west to gain an unmapped wide estate track and then follow that downhill

Bog it is. Squishy and gloopy

There’s always a nice micro-world in bogs though if you stop for a moment

Yellow flooer

Orchidy flooer

Heather close-up

Having negotiated the bog, the 3rd test was ragged clearfell/bog combo.

It’s also got some fauna

Tincey indigo flooer

From here we regained a rough track before rejoining our ascent path: about 19km with 1000m of ascent in total. A brief pub stopped punctuated the long trip home

Relive ‘Ben Wyvis’

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