GLEN ARTNEY HILLS, Perthshire, Scotland (Section 26B)
Monday 11th June 2018

Monday 11th June 2018. A hike over the eastern Glen Artney Hills, from Auchnashelloch. The hills were Beinn nan Eun 631m/142m, Beinn Odhar 626m/41m and Auchnashelloch Hill 379m/c.25m.

11.9km, with 600m of ascent. 4hrs 30mins.

I was keen to get a last walk in Scotland before heading home to Wales from Aviemore, and one that would break up my journey. I chose to return to Glen Artney, south-west of Crieff, which I had last visited in October 2009. This area is an unusual geological region, as the Highland Faultline runs along the bottom of the glen. The fault developed over a vast period of geological time as two continents ground together (520-400MYA). The hills to the north, which once formed part of the ancient continent of Laurentia, are typical metamorphic rocks of the Southern Highlands. The hills to the south of the faultline, which once formed part of the ancient continent of Baltica, are typical sedimentary rocks of the Southern Uplands.

I parked in the church car park by the Water of Ruchill river and, after viewing the church, located the track up the Findhu Glen a little way north-east back along the road. The weather was grey and drab, with thick cloud enveloping the Highland hills to the north. There was little prospect of sunshine, but at least it was not raining – yet. A little way up the track I decided to leave it to traverse the moor to the base of the north-west ridge of Beinn nan Eun, my main objective for the hike. I crossed the Findhu burn by a little stone bridge that appeared to lead to nowhere. The bridge was a finely built construction erected for a purpose, but that purpose was now lost in the mists of past time.

I made steady progress, following an intermittent path along a line of grouse butts. The moor was active with bird-life – curlew, lapwing, wheatear, skylark and red grouse. I reached the base of the ridge and turned south. The going here was harder due to the steep gradient, with no sign of a path. As I reached the summit plateau I was confronted by a series of high peat hags to hinder my progress. I wove between and over them. This would have been tedious work in normal conditions, but the ground was so dry that it was a pleasure to walk on. I reached a small pile of stones around an old wooden post, which I took to be the summit. I wandered around the area to ensure I reached the highest point, but it was one of those hills where, whatever you stand on, somewhere else looks higher.

As I descended west through the peat hags to the connecting bealach between the two hills, the hill-mist moved in and it began to rain. Luckily it was only a brief shower that soon passed over. Paying close attention to my GPS, I worked my way up in the general direction of the summit of Beinn Odhar in the dry watercourses between the peat hags. The summit of this hill was even less easy to identify, so I traversed the whole area before heading north to a slightly lower top that afforded a better background view for my summit photo.

I continued down Beinn Odhar’s north-west ridge, mainly following the high ground. The sun came through the clouds for a few moments. As I descended I became aware I was being watched. Looking up, I spied a small herd of female red deer closely observing me. They obviously did not like the look of me, as they soon sped off out of sight on the other side of the ridge.

I reached a wide bealach and made my way north to the top of Auchnashelloch Hill, a good place to view the buttresses of the mightier Higland hills on the northern side of Glen Artney. Picking up the route of an ATV track, I swung north-east, taking a line downhill back to my car. Above me a pair of red kites wheeled. It was good to see these magnificent raptors returning to the Scottish hills, reintroduced after extinction.

I reached the car and prepared for my long drive home.