Weekend wonder - Creach Bheinn
Published in Adventure Travel magazine as part of regular material I created for their ‘Weekend Wonders’ feature.
Looking over to Ben Starav from the frozen snow slopes of Creach Bheinn in the West Highlands of Scotland.
Despite the number of years I’ve spent walking and scrambling in Scotland’s hills, I’ve always been excited when making plans to visit a new location. Researching different ways for how I can ascend a mountain gives me an opportunity to consider what’s around the area and establish whether I’ll be able to see familiar hills nearby from a different perspective.
An example of this was an ascent we made of Creach Bheinn, a Corbett near Oban in the West Highlands of Scotland. I’ve climbed its neighbour, the Munro Beinn Sgulaird, multiple times but it wasn’t until the prompting of a friend who is completing his Corbetts that I showed any interest in Creach Bheinn. We were based in Oban for the weekend and I was due to catch up with other friends of mine who were visiting from Alaska. They’d never been on a Scottish hill before so the obvious choice was to take them up a Munro. Our plan was we would climb Beinn Sgulaird first and extend our day to include Creach Bheinn. Unfortunately (okay, not really) we had great weather and the number of extended stops we made for photographs meant we ran out of time and we agreed to return the following day.
In the morning, our good fortune with the weather had continued. The steep ascent from Loch Creran to the bealach at the head of Coire Buidhe passed quickly and the views we had during our ascent to Creag Bheinn’s summit were superlative. At the summit trig point, if we faced West and turned clockwise we could see over the sea to the Isle of Mull. In a northerly direction, there was Ardgour and Ben Nevis plus expansive views further East, all the way inland to the Tyndrum hills. Further south, we had great views into the back of the Ben Cruachan group but perhaps our best view was north-east to Glen Etive, where we could see all the way down the glen towards Glencoe and Buachaille Etive Mor. I’m no stranger to Glen Etive, having visited it on many an occasion when I’ve climbed the Munro, Ben Starav, but I’ve always entered the glen from its northern end. The view we had of Ben Starav during our descent of Creach Bheinn was from across the southern end of the glen, over the head of Loch Etive. I'd never seen Ben Starav from this perspective and I wasn’t aware of the obvious rock buttresses that sit right beneath its summit. They reminded me of the mighty Triple Buttress on another Scottish Munro, Beinn Eighe.
Getting there and around
Oban is easily accessible from Glasgow, either by rail (www.scotrail.co.uk) or by car (head to Tyndrum on the A82 and then west on the A85). Creach Bheinn is only really accessible by car. From Oban, drive the A85 north to Connell and cross the bridge to Benderloch. Continue on the A85 to South Creagan and, before you cross the bridge, turn left at the roundabout and follow the road along the south shore of Loch Creran to reach Druimnavuic. From there, you’ll want to switch into standard hillwalking gear (e.g. warm clothes, waterproofs and gloves) plus be experienced in the use of a map (Ordnance Survey Explorer 377 Loch Etive & Glen Orchy) and a compass.
Places to stay
Oban has plenty of options for accommodation, from B&Bs and hotels to a Youth Hostel with great sea views (www.syha.org.uk). For longer stays, consider Bonawe Holiday Cottages near Taynuilt (www.bonawehouse.co.uk). These self-catering cottages are owned and managed by a former long-standing team leader of Oban Mountain Rescue Team.