Munro Compleation
12 - 10 July 2004
An easy trudge

"Which
ferry will we take ?" Ben More on Mull must be the most expensive munro. If I'm
on my own I'll take the bike on the Oban-Craignure ferry, then cycle the hour
or so to the foot of Ben More. That's only about £15 return. If there's a few
of you, then plans have to change. We found the cheapest option was to drive to
Corran, take the ferry to Ardgour then drive to the ferry at Lochaline which
lands on Mull at Fishinish.

We
arrived at the foot of Ben More on Loch na Keal. Weather was fine, but light
cloud clung to our summit - hopefully it would shift by the time we reached it.
The track that leaves the roadside turns towards a house, but from thereon a
well trodden path climbs gently over grassy ground to reach scree further up.
We reached this scree and into mist. A bit of coaxing was required to ensure
all of us got to kick the summit cairn.

Still
in cloud, the summit was reached in damp conditions, but not damp spirits. The
photo you see here conveys the excitement, but is different to the
photo in the SMC's List of Munroists -
their webmaster is a bit of a wiz with Photoshop ! According to the SMC, there
were more wet Munro Compleations this year compared to any previous - down to
global warming perhaps ?
To round the day off, we enjoyed a little tourist trip to Balamory, oops sorry
Tobermory, picking up some souveniers for Michelle's son. The ferry from the
town returned us to the mainland at Ardnamuchan. After enjoying a gentle stroll
to the Point of Ardnamuchan, we realised that the Corran ferry might leave
without us. A manic journey in a campervan along single track roads began. Our
small campervan, "Freda" has a 2.5l turbo engine, so can shift if provoked. We
made it with plenty of time to enjoy a drink and some crisps from the Corran
Inn bar.
Time taken : 4hr
Ascent : 3,170ft
Distance : 6m