Carn a'Chlamain

Peaks: Carn a'Chlamain (963)

Area: Blair Atholl, Scotland

The hills in these parts are not the most exciting, with the exception of Beinn a'Ghlo, but this was a really unexpected bonus on the last day of the trip. It was only intended as something short to do on my way home, but actually Glen Tilt was something of a revelation. I looked down on it in 2020, notable as my first proper post-lockdown outing, from Beinn a'Ghlo, but I had never actually been up it before. In places, it is really beautiful, and an easy track makes cycling through it a delight. I was a little tired, I wanted to use the bike, and I needed a short outing - so Carn a'Chlamain worked perfectly. After a huge breakfast in Kingussie I tried to waste as much time as possible given the rather inconvenient weather pattern which was seeing later and later clearances. Sure enough, it was still dull and even drizzly when I set off from the Old Bridge of Tilt above Blair at 11am. A lovely 10k ride up the glen, very gentle even on the gravel bike (which was necessary), past Marble Lodge to a little shieling and the start of the broad south-east ridge up Chlamain. Still a lot of low cloud around, but I started anyway and with no need to save energy anymore decided to up the pace a bit. The mountain itself is basically the highpoint of a vast undulating plateau although the summit cone is quite attractive. Initially a steep path led to a gentler track, which kinks up the hillside and then becomes very runnable up to an indistinct section near a forepeak and a rocky section. I met a lady who had lost her phone here, and scanned the last section looking for it. I got to the summit in less than an hour from the bike, and the lady then emerged having found the phone. It finally started to clear a little, revealing the plateau and the Cairngorms beyond. Good views of Beinn a'Ghlo directly in front as it cleared completely while I descended. i took a running approach to the descent though - 25 minutes from summit to bike, nice to up the pace for a change (1.24 for the 10k/750m outing). After a snack and drink, the gravel bike return down Glen Tilt was even more delightful and I stopped frequently for photos - some really beautiful sections of native woodland and hidden pools. I had a bath in the Tilt before heading for home.