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It was four years previous that I last came
to the Trossachs, and that time was also with Uncle Sandy and Tom. It
feels like a long time ago now. We climbed Ben A'an that time too.
Today's plan was the alternative to cycling around Cowal with Sandy in
the face of a bad weather forecast.
Just driving to the Trossachs was an interesting experience. I didn't
process the landscapes in the same way as I normally do for Scotland -
I saw it with unknowing eyes, seeing knolls and trees around corners
without understanding their position on a map. I rarely get this
sensation in Scotland since I know it so well. Ben Ledi swung into view around
one corner and it looked huge! Not at all like the mountain I'd
grown to know. The last time I had this sensation was February 2010 on
the Campsies...
Ben A'an sticks out of the trees like a rocky thumb, and it's clearly
visible from the road that descends to Loch Achray where we parked. It
was a busy hill today, too and we walked up through the trees. I always
remember the forests in this area being particularly beautiful. Above
the trees, we climbed the path alongside the burn and scrambled the
final metres to the top.
A chilling wind awaited us on top, and it's strength meant I have
difficulties standing on the top to take my panorama! We sheltered out
of the wind eating biscuits and rolls of ham and salami. I saw a few
people scattering ashes at Ben A'an's NE connecting bealach.
I'd mentioned to Sandy and Tom that if the weather was good and we felt up for it we
might be able to strike over moorland and climb Meall Gainmheich, not a
huge hill by any means but a 'HuMP' nonetheless. It's the high moorland
that dominated the northward view from Ben A'an. Although this plan was
in the mix, I couldn't be bothered bush whacking
through heather and grass, content that Ben A'an would do just fine.
So we descended the way we came, stopping at the boulder before the
forest on the way down. Next up: Ben Venue. The day had barely began!
360° panorama from Ben A'an
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