{"id":186,"date":"2016-11-24T18:51:24","date_gmt":"2016-11-24T18:51:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.isleofmullcottages.com\/?p=186"},"modified":"2019-09-12T13:51:44","modified_gmt":"2019-09-12T13:51:44","slug":"a-winter-walk-up-ben-more-mulls-munro","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.isleofmullcottages.com\/blog\/a-winter-walk-up-ben-more-mulls-munro\/","title":{"rendered":"A winter walk up Ben More, Mull’s Munro"},"content":{"rendered":"

A winter ascent of Ben More<\/h2>\n

As\u00a0the highest point on the Isle of\u00a0Mull, and Scotland’s only Munro that is accessible only by boat, a walk up Ben More is often on the\u00a0‘to do’ list for visitors to the island.<\/p>\n

\"Ben

Looking across Loch na Keal and Eorsa at Ben More on Mull<\/p><\/div>\n

At 966 meters in height, Ben More towers over\u00a0the island’s other\u00a0hills. \u00a0Not only do you get a stunning, 360-degree view, but you also get the acute sense of altitude that this sort of elevation creates. With no neighbouring mountains of comparable\u00a0height, Ben More really does feel like the highest point around!<\/p>\n

The simplest route to the summit starts on the shore of Loch na Keal at Dhiseig. \u00a0From here a marked path leads up the broad flank of the hill to the circular summit cairn. \u00a0Simple. \u00a0To experience our island Munro at its most dramatic though, arguably the best route is a circular traverse of Beinn Fhada\u00a0to A’Chioch and then along the ridge to Ben More. This route involves some scrambling (see the map below). \u00a0Let’s take a look at this route as it was\u00a0on a fine winter’s day!<\/p>\n

\"Beinn

Walking along the Bheinn Fhada ridge with Gribun and Ulva in the distance<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Ben

Hiker walking through snow drifts with the north face of Ben More in the distance<\/p><\/div>\n

Having parked the car off the road along the shore of Loch na Keal, we began the walk by following the burn (Abhainn na h-Uamha), which has a series of spectacular waterfalls along its course. Feeling lucky that we had chosen such a clear, crisp day, we then\u00a0headed uphill to crest the ridge of Beinn Fhada. At this point the views are just incredible. Looking back you can see the curve of the Gribun cliffs, the islands of Ulva and Eorsa, Staffa, and the Treshnish Isles. Up ahead, Ben More and the ridge\u00a0look really inviting.<\/p>\n

\"The

Frozen lochan on Beinn Fhada with walker surveying the scene<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Walker

Climbing A’Chioch with Glen Clachaig below and to the right<\/p><\/div>\n

\"A'Chioch

Winter sun blazing as a walker climbs the A’Chioch ridge on Mull<\/p><\/div>\n

After a short sharp climb to the summit\u00a0of Beinn Fhada\u00a0(702m),\u00a0with jelly babies providing the extra fuel we needed, we headed west and began the climb of A’Chioch (867m). \u00a0The views here are superb, and picking our way up\u00a0towards the summit through snow drifts was\u00a0great fun! \u00a0We were lucky that the winds weren’t strong at this point, so we were able to enjoy settled conditions and sunshine.<\/p>\n

The final traverse over the ridge to Ben More was\u00a0relatively straightforward, though the final section involves some scrambling. Just at the point where your legs are starting to ask for a rest, the ridge narrows to just a few meters wide and has significant drops on both sides, which help sharpen the senses!<\/p>\n

\"View

Looking west over the Isle of Mull with the mainland mountains visible in the distance<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Ben

Surveying the way ahead to the summit of Ben More<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Walker

Starting to traverse the Ben More ridge<\/p><\/div>\n

\"A'Chioch

Looking back along the ridge to A’Chioch<\/p><\/div>\n

\"wind-blowing-snow-mull\"

Wind swirls snow into the air on Ben More<\/p><\/div>\n

\"descending-ben-more-mull\"

Beginning the descent<\/p><\/div>\n

From the summit of Ben More we followed the line of cairns that descend the hill back towards Loch na Keal. \u00a0After the rugged drama of the east face of the hill, this side seems very rounded and gentle, and the walking easy.\u00a0 The wind picked up at this point for us, blowing ice around and creating some spectacular conditions:<\/p>\n

\"ben-more-winter-mull\"

Ice and snow blows across the hill during the descent<\/p><\/div>\n

\"walker-mull-cairns\"

Following the cairns with the Treshnish Isles in the distance<\/p><\/div>\n

We finished the walk feeling battered but not broken. No matter which\u00a0time of year or by which route you choose to climb Ben More, it is always a memorable experience and well worth the effort.<\/p>\n

www.isleofmullcottages.com\/isle-of-mull-walking.html<\/a><\/p>\n

\"ben-more-map\"

Ben More OS map route<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

Note: Hill walking has inherent risks and dangers. \u00a0Conditions change quickly and navigation can be difficult. \u00a0Always make sure you are well prepared for any conditions and have the correct level of experience for your chosen route.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A winter ascent of Ben More As\u00a0the highest point on the Isle of\u00a0Mull, and Scotland’s only Munro that is accessible only by boat, a walk up Ben More is often on the\u00a0‘to do’ list for visitors to the island. At 966 meters in height, Ben More towers over\u00a0the island’s other\u00a0hills. \u00a0Not only do you get […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[3,1],"tags":[55,57,58,56],"yst_prominent_words":[269,197,275,279,270,84,86,97,104,278,273,271,276,105,103,98,274,277,272,164],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.isleofmullcottages.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/186"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.isleofmullcottages.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.isleofmullcottages.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.isleofmullcottages.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.isleofmullcottages.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=186"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.isleofmullcottages.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/186\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.isleofmullcottages.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=186"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.isleofmullcottages.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=186"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.isleofmullcottages.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=186"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.isleofmullcottages.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=186"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}