4 day action packed adventure
Day 1: Ben Chonzie, Perthshire
I have not completed any munros in the Perthshire area, but this was a nice little hill to kick off the trip.
Munro: Ben Chonzie via Glen Lednock
Distance 12.5km / 7.75 miles
Time 4 – 5 hours
Ascent 712m
Start Grid Ref NN743273
Day 2: Ben Cruachan, Argyll
The Hollow Mountain is one of my favourite munros!
I have wanted to climb this munro for a very long time but peoples descriptions and the monthly ambulances at the bottom of the hill have put me of venturing up there on my own. I managed to convince Iona and Paul (both medics in training) to come up the hill with me, although this meant that the weather was not guaranteed and September isn’t known to be the driest of months.
The summit was clear for maybe a fraction of a second and I managed to snap a couple of shots.
We decided against doing the second munro – Stob Diamh, which had been covered in thick cloud all day. Returning the same route we spotted a Ptarmigan (rare grouse species) and squeezed in some sunbathing above the dam of Allt Cruachan.
Mid snooze, two men appeared out of nowhere asking us what on earth we were doing. Turns out they had been inside the mountains tunnels all day making sure the water flowing off the mountain was being diverted to the dam.
Munro: Ben Cruachan
Distance 14km / 8.75 miles
Time 7 – 9 hours
Ascent 1376m
Start Grid Ref NN080267
To end the day we travelled over to Mull by Ferry and picked the perfect place to camp across from Ben More, under the harvest moon.
Day 3: Ulva Island
Wet and wild describes this day perfectly. From only being able to see 2m in front of us, to Iona getting kicked by a horse, to being back at the boat house, cosy with a cup of tea with the fisherman’s catch. The day was full of laughs.
Day 4: Isle of Iona
Just what I always imagined. Blue skies, white sandy beaches and crystal clear water. We got of the ferry an headed straight for Dun I – a small nubbin of a hill in the middle of Iona.
We then race awkwardly down the hill towards the Isle of Iona’s famous white beaches. “Let’s go fly a kite and send it soaring!”
The Sea and Me 