Munro 2007 - Day 10: 25th April
Outdoor Adventures with Ancient Brit
Wednesday 25th April
Meall Chuaich 951m (Munro 11)
Distance: 15.1 km
Ascent: 669 m
Time: 3:50 hours
Mountain name: Meall Chuaich Pronounced: Miaowl Chu-weech Translated: Hill of
the Bowl (or Quaich)
The Weather: It rained overnight and was still raining in the morning. By late morning the
clouds were lifting to about 1000m and there were frequent sharp showers driven by a
strong SW wind. The wind was gale force at 900m. There were occasional glimpses of the
sun and it was relatively warm out of the wind.
Nature notes: I saw a flock of at least 30 Black Grouse as I drove over the high moors near
Trinafour. The Black Grouse is distinctive with its lyre-shaped tail and white wing bar. It is
much rarer than the Red Grouse which is the bird which is bred for shooting. There wee
also large flocks of Common Gull in the field, mixed in with the sheep. The Common Gull
is not at all common in England, but in Northern Scotland it occupies the place in the
ecosystem that is occupied by the Black-headed Gull in England. The large flocks this far
inland suggested some bad weather around the coast. I was surprised to see so many
pheasants in the glens. I assume that the estate owners are now diversifying their shooting
to include pheasant as well as grouse and red deer. The pheasant is basically a woodland
bird so they occupy a different place in the ecosystem than grouse.
As a change from the ubiquitous Mallards, I saw a number of Tufted Ducks on one
small lake.
At Dalwhinnie I saw my first Swallow of the year. I’m a little surprised they have got
this far north so early in the year, but this may be another sign of global warming.
The Cairngorms Speyside Deer Management Group had placed a notice at the start of my
walk. “Management of the deer population through stalking is essential. Culling maintains
the health of the deer stock and prevents damage though overgrazing and trampling. Red
Deer spend the summer months on the higher mountains and corries. Disturbance results
in their leaving their natural habitat and moving to more accessible ground. Stalking
provides employment and is a valuable source of income to Highland Communities.
Stalking takes place from 1st July to 16th February but the period from 12th August to
20th October is most sensitive to disturbance.” I’m not sure how this information about
disturbance causing the deer to leave their natural habitat fits in with the feeding of the
deer I saw in Glen Lyon? There was also a map and a note requesting from 12th august to
20th October you only follow the route marked in red on the map, which happened to be
the route I was following today.
There were Common Sandpipers flying along the aqueduct flowing from Cuaich Power
Station and a solitary lapwing in the rough pasture beside the aqueduct.
Meall Chuaich and the surrounding mountains and moors are covered in heather. It is
obvious from the patterns in the heather that it is manage for the grouse. It is burnt in
patches so that there is always new growth of heather which provides better feeding than
the old heather. I saw a single Black Grouse and a number of Red grouse on the lower
moors
The most unusual sighting of the day was that I believe was a Merlin. I caught a quick
glimpse of a bird which initially I thought might be a swift, but I got a better look and it
was a small brown bird of prey with long scythe-shaped wings. My first thought was that it
could be a hobby, which I had seen before in France, but on checking with the bird book it
was the wrong colour for a Hobby and the Hobby isn’t found in Scotland anyway. The only
bird which seemed to fit the shape, colour and flight patterns of the bird I saw is the
Merlin. I know Kestrels well enough to know it wasn’t a Kestrel.
Coincidentally, I did see a Kestrel just after I set off along the A9 after my walk.
Meall Chuaich 951m (Munro 11)
Distance: 15.1 km
Ascent: 669 m
Time: 3:50 hours
Mountain name: Meall Chuaich Pronounced: Miaowl Chu-weech Translated: Hill of
the Bowl (or Quaich)
The Weather: It rained overnight and was still raining in the morning. By late morning the
clouds were lifting to about 1000m and there were frequent sharp showers driven by a
strong SW wind. The wind was gale force at 900m. There were occasional glimpses of the
sun and it was relatively warm out of the wind.
Nature notes: I saw a flock of at least 30 Black Grouse as I drove over the high moors near
Trinafour. The Black Grouse is distinctive with its lyre-shaped tail and white wing bar. It is
much rarer than the Red Grouse which is the bird which is bred for shooting. There wee
also large flocks of Common Gull in the field, mixed in with the sheep. The Common Gull
is not at all common in England, but in Northern Scotland it occupies the place in the
ecosystem that is occupied by the Black-headed Gull in England. The large flocks this far
inland suggested some bad weather around the coast. I was surprised to see so many
pheasants in the glens. I assume that the estate owners are now diversifying their shooting
to include pheasant as well as grouse and red deer. The pheasant is basically a woodland
bird so they occupy a different place in the ecosystem than grouse.
As a change from the ubiquitous Mallards, I saw a number of Tufted Ducks on one
small lake.
At Dalwhinnie I saw my first Swallow of the year. I’m a little surprised they have got
this far north so early in the year, but this may be another sign of global warming.
The Cairngorms Speyside Deer Management Group had placed a notice at the start of my
walk. “Management of the deer population through stalking is essential. Culling maintains
the health of the deer stock and prevents damage though overgrazing and trampling. Red
Deer spend the summer months on the higher mountains and corries. Disturbance results
in their leaving their natural habitat and moving to more accessible ground. Stalking
provides employment and is a valuable source of income to Highland Communities.
Stalking takes place from 1st July to 16th February but the period from 12th August to
20th October is most sensitive to disturbance.” I’m not sure how this information about
disturbance causing the deer to leave their natural habitat fits in with the feeding of the
deer I saw in Glen Lyon? There was also a map and a note requesting from 12th august to
20th October you only follow the route marked in red on the map, which happened to be
the route I was following today.
There were Common Sandpipers flying along the aqueduct flowing from Cuaich Power
Station and a solitary lapwing in the rough pasture beside the aqueduct.
Meall Chuaich and the surrounding mountains and moors are covered in heather. It is
obvious from the patterns in the heather that it is manage for the grouse. It is burnt in
patches so that there is always new growth of heather which provides better feeding than
the old heather. I saw a single Black Grouse and a number of Red grouse on the lower
moors
The most unusual sighting of the day was that I believe was a Merlin. I caught a quick
glimpse of a bird which initially I thought might be a swift, but I got a better look and it
was a small brown bird of prey with long scythe-shaped wings. My first thought was that it
could be a hobby, which I had seen before in France, but on checking with the bird book it
was the wrong colour for a Hobby and the Hobby isn’t found in Scotland anyway. The only
bird which seemed to fit the shape, colour and flight patterns of the bird I saw is the
Merlin. I know Kestrels well enough to know it wasn’t a Kestrel.
Coincidentally, I did see a Kestrel just after I set off along the A9 after my walk.
Meall Chuaich
Loch Cuaich
Summit,
Meall Chuaich
Meall Chuaich
Rainbow over
Loch Cuaich
Loch Cuaich
 |  |
| |
The Route: I parked in lay-by 94 on the A9. I then followed estate tracks along an aqueduct to Cuaich Power
Station and on to Loch Cuaich. The track then took me a short distance up Allt Coire Chuaich before a boggy
eroded path climbed steeply up the SW ridge of Meall Chuaich. This path became less clear on the final broad ridge
to the flat summit of Meall Chuaich. I returned by the same route.
Personal notes: I woke at 6am in the morning, but went back to sleep as it was raining heavily. I left at 8am and
drove to Dalwhinnie where I had breakfast in the hotel restaurant. I needed full waterproofs when I set off up Meall
Chuaich with a young man from Dundee. I found his accent confusing since it sounded more like an English Public
School accent than a Scottish accent. He soon went on ahead and I reached the foot of the mountain after about an
hour. The footpath up the hill was a mess. I was finding there were more paths and the existing paths were much
more eroded than when I climbed the Munros 20-30 years ago. The wind increased as I gained altitude and by the
time I reached the summit ridge at about 800m it was strong enough to make walking difficult. I met the Dundee
hiker as he descended and he looked more like a drunken walker the way he was being buffeted by the wind. By the
time I reached the summit it was at the limit of what I could cope with and moving straight into the wind was very
difficult. There was no chance of having my lunch at the summit, even in the shelter of the big summit cairn, so I
waited until I got back to the locked bothy at the foot of the hill before taking a short break.
I hadn’t taken any Ibuprofen and I was pleased that the back and knee injuries seemed to improving.
I listened to Australia thrashing South Africa to reach the final of the Cricket World Cup.
Overnight: I wasn’t sure what I would be doing tomorrow since I hadn’t got a weather forecast, so I just drove down
the A9 a short distance and found a parking area by the junction with the minor road to Crubenmore.
Book: “Service of All the Dead” by Colin Dexter. The fourth of the Inspector Morse Mysteries.
Station and on to Loch Cuaich. The track then took me a short distance up Allt Coire Chuaich before a boggy
eroded path climbed steeply up the SW ridge of Meall Chuaich. This path became less clear on the final broad ridge
to the flat summit of Meall Chuaich. I returned by the same route.
Personal notes: I woke at 6am in the morning, but went back to sleep as it was raining heavily. I left at 8am and
drove to Dalwhinnie where I had breakfast in the hotel restaurant. I needed full waterproofs when I set off up Meall
Chuaich with a young man from Dundee. I found his accent confusing since it sounded more like an English Public
School accent than a Scottish accent. He soon went on ahead and I reached the foot of the mountain after about an
hour. The footpath up the hill was a mess. I was finding there were more paths and the existing paths were much
more eroded than when I climbed the Munros 20-30 years ago. The wind increased as I gained altitude and by the
time I reached the summit ridge at about 800m it was strong enough to make walking difficult. I met the Dundee
hiker as he descended and he looked more like a drunken walker the way he was being buffeted by the wind. By the
time I reached the summit it was at the limit of what I could cope with and moving straight into the wind was very
difficult. There was no chance of having my lunch at the summit, even in the shelter of the big summit cairn, so I
waited until I got back to the locked bothy at the foot of the hill before taking a short break.
I hadn’t taken any Ibuprofen and I was pleased that the back and knee injuries seemed to improving.
I listened to Australia thrashing South Africa to reach the final of the Cricket World Cup.
Overnight: I wasn’t sure what I would be doing tomorrow since I hadn’t got a weather forecast, so I just drove down
the A9 a short distance and found a parking area by the junction with the minor road to Crubenmore.
Book: “Service of All the Dead” by Colin Dexter. The fourth of the Inspector Morse Mysteries.