Meall nan Caorach and Meall Reamhar from Amulree

From Dunkeld on the A9, the A822 travels westwards before turning south towards Gilmerton, just outside Crieff. Around 12km west of Dunkeld it meets the A826 coming south from Aberfeldy, with Amulree a couple of kilometres further west.

Less than 1km south of Amulree, a gated track heads east from the A822 - the hill route begins from here. There is room to park a car or two beside the entrance, taking care not to obstruct access.

From the roadside, head through the gate and cross the bridge over the Girron Burn. Now in farmland, likely to be occupied by sheep, follow the track uphill towards the derelict house at Girron 1. On the way, a few signposts with green circular markers and yellow arrows are passed - these indicate that the track forms part of a route to Harrietfield in Glen Almond.

Pass the house and, approaching the next building, a long shed with a corrugated roof, turn off to the right and cross a small burn 2. Follow the track, now rougher and quite grass covered, for around 1km as it turns, passes through a gate 3 and begins to climb.

As the track starts to level out, leave it 4 and strike directly uphill. There are a few patches of heather, but otherwise the hillside is predominantly grassy and straightforward underfoot.

The wide crest of Creag Gorm is reached, where a tired fenceline of old iron posts runs along the crest. A small cairn stands just beyond the fence, with another a little further south 5 and above a lochan. Views northwards are rather fine, over Meall Dearg to Schiehallion, the Glen Lyon hills with Ben Alder in the distance.

Meall nan Caorach is now ahead, with around 1km of undulating heather-clad ground to cross. Follow the fenceline, with faint traces of path coming and going and a couple of small lochans passed on the way.

The line of old iron post turns southwards and meets a sturdier fenceline of wooden posts 6. Continue alongside this over more undulating ground to reach Meall nan Caorach's summit 7, marked by a trig point and with fine views all around.

Meall Reamhar lies only around 1km south-west of Meall nan Caorach as the crow flies, but a substantial drop separates the two summits. On the 1:50,000 OS map the closely packed contours disappear altogether at several points on both sides of the col, though on the ground the slopes never feel quite as steep as the map might suggest !

Continue following the fenceline down the steep, generally heather-clad slope. There is some twisting and turning through the vegetation, with hidden holes to watch for, but keeping close to the fence steers the route away from the steepest ground to the right.

At the col, after a descent of just over 150m, cross the track and pass through a gate 8. Keeping the fenceline on the left, begin the climb towards Meall Reamhar. This slope is mainly grassy and the ascent is straightforward, leading directly to the summit 9, where a decent if rather untidy cairn stands.

The easiest return is to retrace the route beside the fence to the col, but a more interesting alternative is to strike out on a northerly line from Meall Reamhar and make a more direct descent towards the track in the glen below.

The hillside is a patchwork of grass and deep heather, and the trick is to pick a line linking the grassy areas while weaving around the rougher patches. Aerial imagery, such as that available on this website or through OS Maps, is particularly helpful here and can make the descent considerably easier.

Approaching the glen floor, cross once more the fenceline 10 encountered at the col, then continue down to pick up the track 11. Turn west and follow this back past Girron to the roadside near Amulree.