Beinn Mheadhonach and the Tarf bothy

A few weeks ago, a plan had been conjured by Darren and I to grab the 2 Munros beside the Tarf bothy. We would go in over Mheadhonach with his wife and two dogs. A pleasant meander was had all the way Gilbert's Bridge before we moved off this track and on to another into Glen Mairc. Twas only 5km to this point and it felt like we were in Middle Earth. Wonderful. Finally, the further we walked into the glen, the more we could see Mheadhonach open up with Beinn a Chait looking lovely - yet, not even mentioned in any guide book - the folly of sticking to hills in books. We crossed over an old bridge and let the dogs take on some water before the hard work began. With the heavy packs, I found the going very tough. The dogs were pulling Darren and Emma up but their superior fitness was telling. A week sitting on my arse catches up.

Eventually, we reached the plateau - the skies were stunning. This must rank as one of the more isolated Corbetts and it was a fabulous hill. At 901m, we could see over to Beinn a Ghlo and beyond.

As we moved over the plateau, we felt blessed and the hard work was behind me although not for Darren and Emma - the dogs pulled them over the tussocks and therefore made for hard work. We reached a loch and headed over a small hill and down to the river Tarf. From here, it was a 2.5 mile walk to the bothy and we arrived just as it was getting dark. An obstinate fire eventually kicked in and with food, a dram and some mince pies we chatted away with some music until 2045, where it was lights out. Not before Milo the giant schnauzer ate Emma's mince pie, tin foil and all. Oops.