Ben Bhuidhe Bike And Hike (The Election Antidote)

Man!!!! The guidebooks really under-sell this hill!

I reckon the guys who've written about Ben Bhuidhe must've gone up in bad weather. I can see how this could put you off, as navigation would certainly be difficult. But, go up on a cracking Spring day like today and this under-rated mountain will take you by surprise.

Additionally, today's jaunt was my medicine, having worked 16 hours yesterday at a polling station on election duty. The sacrifices one has to make to oil the wheels of democracy. Or more appropriately, to earn enough to purchase a Kindle and a load of books for my next backpacking trip!

The wee car park, just up the road from Loch Fyne Oyster Bar, is a badly potholed undercarriage- wrecker, ready to rip your exhaust off with one careless lunge. I parked, got my trusty steed off the car roof and blew the place off as quickly as I could, heading up Glen Fyne with the wind at my tail and a song in my head. The route proper starts just past Invercharochan (about 5 miles up the glen) and halfway up the road I was aware of envious glances being cast in my direction, as this is a long walk-in, with the same route to be re-traced on your return. And, quite frankly, the legs, knees and feet need a wee rest after the steep descent (but more of that later).

The road up Glen Fyne

It really was a fine day in the aptly named Glen Fyne. Once I'd parked my bike (I'd forgotten to bring my lock - ah well! I'd just have to employ trust!), I headed through a gate and onwards towards Inverchorachan. A Cuckoo called out as I made my way along the road past banks of primrose and newly-budded rowan and birch bursting into bloom. Then, as I made my way up into the gorge behind Inverchorachan I stopped to photograph some beautiful wee wildflowers.

Start of the gorge

Higher up, once the head of the gorge had been passed, I cut across an ugly road that has been bulldozed across the hillside, I presume for the nearby hydro electric operation. Once across the road I lost the faint path for a while, crossing a quite flat, boggy section before the hill proper. At this point, the craggy ramparts of Ben Bhuidhe appear quite tricky. I stopped to take a bearing on the col and put on a pair of gloves and a hat, as the temperature became noticeably cooler.

Looking across the bog to the gully leading to the col

The view back down to Glen Fyne

A steep gully has to be climbed to reach the col, but appearances can be deceptive as the gully isn't quite as serious as first imagined and I gained the col in double quick time. Once up there, the views really open up.

Looking ahead to the summit

Another 15 minutes from the col and I was at the summit and chatting to a fellow cyclist/walker who had sat down to eat lunch and drink in the amazing views. The lady in question was from Cheshire and had headed north on a month long annual holiday. We attempted to identify the many peaks on display and discovered that we shared our first time on this mountain, both having forsaken it in favour of the many other, more accessible hills in the area. We concluded that the guidebooks were wrong in their lacklustre descriptions of Ben Bhuidhe and agreed that this was a hill well worth doing. 

Looking back from the north top to the summit

After I'd eaten my leftover goodies from yesterday's election duty I headed for the north top, deciding that it would be rude not to. I descended by a more direct route back to the head of the gorge and started the knee-crunching descent back to Inverchorachan and then to where I'd dumped my bike earlier. I was so glad to get in the saddle for the trip back down the glen, rather than a rather long and arduous walk-out on Shanks' Pony.