outdoor playground
Munro bagger and blogger Fiona Russell explains why Perthshire stands out when it comes to the outdoor pursuits it offers
‘Perthshire has long held a poignancy for me. It is the place where I bagged my first solo Munro, Schiehallion’
S cotland’s weather is notoriously fickle, but I actually enjoy the challenge this presents, especially while tackling Munros. I have spent the last few years in pursuit of the country’s 282 mountains with heights over 3,000ft, also known as Munro bagging. While I have hiked many of them in glorious sunshine, I have also scaled these peaks in torrential rain, low cloud, high winds and snow. Sometimes it was a mix of more than one. I relish the adventure of not quite knowing what the weather will throw at me as I start out at the mountain’s base, uncertain if I’ll make it to the top. A day when I don’t reach the summit of a Munro is frustrating, but it always teaches me greater respect for Scotland’s fabulous outdoor playground. In Perthshire, I can recall a day’s hike with a friend Tansy on the two Glen Lochay Munros, Beinn Heasgarnich and Creag Mhor. I met Tansy through my Munroaming Facebook page and we had built a strong connection based on our shared attitudes and love for walking. On that day not everything went according to plan. Ironically, Beinn Heasgarnich has a Gaelic meaning: ‘The peaceful or sheltering mountain’. Yet we found it to be neither.
On this occasion we encountered a host of the weather challenges I mentioned – rain, low-hanging cloud, gusting winds, exposure, and large areas of snow-covered terrain. At times the only way forward was walking arm in arm, bolstering ourselves against the gale. After reaching Heasgarnich’s summit, we were forced to tramp down the long track out of the glen,
leaving Creag Mhor for another day. Although it was annoying to leave one Munro un-bagged, it was sensible to head home as the light was fast running out. In any case, Tansy and I had enjoyed a great winter’s day of walking, chatting and navigating in some challenging and tricky conditions.
Perthshire has long held a poignancy for me. It is the place where I bagged my first solo Munro, Schiehallion, and where my partner Gordie bagged his last, Ben Chonzie, in his first Munro round. It was also where my daughter Havana and our whippet Wispa started their Munro tallies.
Gordie and I met while climbing the Five Sisters of Kintail – and despite the north-west Highlands being a big draw for us, the outdoor delights of Perthshire are more or less on our doorstep. Many of the Munros are less than one-and-a-half to two hours’ drive from our Bearsden home. We often find ourselves there in our campervan.
However, accessibility is only one reason for my love of this part of Scotland. Perthshire has 28 Munros as well as numerous walking opportunities for those looking for a less strenuous test. Two of the easier Munros to consider in Glen Lyon are Meall Buidhe and Stuchd-an-Lo-
‘Perthshire has 28 Munros and numerous walking opportunities for those looking for a less strenuous test’
chain, but there is a hill for every age and fitness – you just need to look.
If you are looking for a day off from walking, there are plenty of other adventures to be had in Perthshire, too. The area of Breadalbane is the focus of several road cycling and mountain biking trails called the Rings of Breadalbane. The Road Cycling Ring is 100 miles, including a total of 1,300 metres of ascent, and could be completed in one day if you’re fit.
Perthshire is also a mecca for white water rafting, canyoning, river tubing and kayaking, if you enjoy that kind of thing.
In 2014, Gordie and I teamed up for the Artemis Great Kindrochit Quadrathlon by Aberfeldy. It was an intensely challenging event that saw us completing a 1,350 metre open water swim across Loch Tay, seven Munros, including the six Ben Lawers peaks, a seven-mile loch kayak, and 35 miles around Loch Tay on road bikes. We finished as the secondplaced mixed team in 11 hours and 16 minutes, which was something of a surprise considering how challenging we found it.
Diversity of outdoor opportunity really is what sets Perthshire apart from other Scottish locations. With more than 200,000 acres of woodlands, the region is known as Big Tree Country, with many different experiences to discover and enjoy.
Evenings and overnights in Perthshire are all about the campervan for us, but there are plenty of spots to enjoy good food, drink and accommodation if you venture out.
After my rather frustrating day with Tansy on Beinn Heasgarnich and Creag Mhor, it took me a while to pluck up the enthusiasm to have another go at the missing Munro. This time, with Gordie as my companion, we took our mountain bikes for some of the long trek into the glen. We rode as far as we could on a wide track, before the path narrowed and headed more steeply uphill.
With intermittent rain and, thankfully, little wind, we were able to reach the summit cairn that day. As we made the long hike and bike out of the glen again, I reflected that this was a hard-won summit but a memorable one.
As I said, I love a challenge and Creag Mhor represented my final Munro bagged in the whole of Perthshire. It took a while to tick it off but the experience will never be forgotten. www.fionaoutdoors.co.uk
‘If you are looking for a day off from walking, there are plenty of other adventures to be had’