Cruinn a Bheinn

At only 35 minutes from the house, I have long put off the idea of taking in Cruinn a Bheinn and combining the West Highland Way. However, as part of Highland Fling training, I could see a route of a few miles which would take in the Graham. My plan was to go light and head from Rowardennan up on to the Ptarmigan ridge and rather than the final push up on to Ben Lomond, deviate to the North. From the bealach, I would head up and over the Graham, before making for the land rover track and down towards Cailness. From here, it was only a 5-mile run back along the WHW. So, on a fine and cold morning, I left the car and starting running to the wee path a kilometre from the car. I couldn't remember the statue on the edge of Loch Lomond but it was very pretty.

What wasn't pretty was the hard going up the Ptarmigan ridge for a couple of kilometres. Pretty much 650m straight up. Although I pushed hard, it was 45 minutes until I reached the bealach between Ptarmigan and Ben Lomond. The glorious sunrise over Glasgow was immense but my iPhone didn't capture it very well. Loch Lomond stretched away in the distance with its islands on a beautifully serene morning. It was very cold up on the bealach and I didn't hang around. I headed down the ridge, taking care not to lose my footing over thick, grassy tussocks. I was surprised by how much descent there was down to Cruinn a Bheinn. Somewhat disheartened, I began the walk back up on the Graham and I struggled a bit up this, with the relatively quick pace catching up with me. Within 1 hour 30, I was on the Graham summit. It has to be said, the view is splendid with the Arrochar Alps in full view and an impressive Ben Lomond N face coming into sight. This would be a nice spot for a wild camp.

For me though, I had a quick bite and it was off over the bogs to make for the land rover track. This was the least favourite part of my trip out and once on the track proper, it felt a relief to change out of soaking socks. I changed my sock, took off my trousers and began the run back to the car. I dropped down quickly on the zig-zags to Cailness, before heading back to the car on the WHW. In 5 months, I'll be running the other way so it was a good chance to recce the terrain. I was a little surprised by the up and down nature of the 5 mile stretch and once again, this highlights to me not to go out too fast along the relatively fast and flat part between Milngavie and Balmaha. I ran past Rowchoish bothy and enjoyed the peace of the woodland in Winter. I only saw 4 people in that 5 mile run and doing the WHW in Winter must be the way to go for peace and solitude. I was back at the car 3.5 hours after setting off with stats of a 21km trip and 1079m ascent.