Date: Thursday 16th May 2019
Company: Just myself
Distance: 6.4 km, Ascent: 325m
Time: 2Hrs 15Mins
After an overnight stay in Comrie, I set off this morning to ascend Ben Clach, my closest previously unascended Marilyn.
Click here to see a map of the route undertaken
I parked at the start of the track leading between Ben Clach and Meall a' Choire Riabhaich. During the walk I saw four male Black Grouse flying off.
Black Grouse:
Unfortunately, Ben Clach was capped in cloud throughout the walk. Owing to the hill being covered in cloud and the fairly appalling underfoot conditions of this hill, the ascent and descent was not wonderful. On the plus side, I could not see the nearby windfarm.
Ben Clach capped in cloud:
Looking back along track to van:
I suspect Ben Clach is named after the hundreds of erratic boulders located on the hillside. I believe a 'clach' is a stone or boulder.
Erratics on the hillside:
Ascending Ben Clach:
On reaching a height of circa 400m, I was into the cloud. I got Viewranger out to find my way to the featureless summit in order to waste as little time as possible wandering about on the hill.
Into the clag:
The summit area was very wet with numerous bog pools. There is no feature at the summit, not even a stone. To those who say there is no such thing as a dull hill, try doing this one in the mist
.A wander around the boggy summit area to ensure visiting the high point:
From the summit I returned via approximately the same route but took a slight detour at one point to get close to a line of erratics.
Erratics passed in descent:
It was a relief to get back to the car and get my hill clothes off as I suspected the chance of ticks was high owing to ploughing through lots of long grass.
Looking back to Ben Clach:
Subsequent to the hillwalk I drove to Doune and Dunblane and en-route spotted a sign for Red Kites. I visited the hide and was fortunate to see four Red Kites circling above. I definitely need a longer lens!
Red Kite:
