My pal Cath and I began a two-day journey with a reasonably speedy outing to the summit of the Munro, Meall Chuaich, close to Dalwhinnie. We began from a layby on A9, simply south of Cuaich.

Observe: There may be another choice from Glen Tromie, which gives an extended bike rode however a brief hike to the summit.

The route that Cath and I took began on a large monitor that winds eastwards via the glen. We mentioned that it will have made an excellent bike journey, however we have been eager to run and so we adopted the very progressively ascending monitor for some 4km.

Simply after passing the southern finish of small Loch Cuaich (right spelling!), we might see a trod rising uphill in a north-easterly course and on far more rugged terrain.

The climb to the summit at 951m was totally on a tough path, which was usually muddy and typically boggy at decrease altitude, however turned drier the upper we ascended.

As we ran and walked briskly uphill, Cath and I chatted concerning the description of the Munro by a well known strolling routes web site. We had learn “undistinguished hill” and  “a lumpy Munro which lacks many distinctive options”.

We felt this was a relatively dispiriting description which may put individuals off. Whereas it’s a comparatively quick route to succeed in a Munro summit and the trod is usually a bit muddy and mucky, the views are pretty.

The strolling web site description does say the summit gives a “good viewpoint for higher Badenoch and Strathspey”, though once more it experiences that a big cairn “makes up for the comparative lack of curiosity in the course of the ascent by being a wonderful viewpoint”.

All this appears so off-putting for potential walkers. The vista is definitely excellent and wide-sweeping taking in nice moorlands and rounded peaks. So, it may not have the numerous pointed tops of the west coast panorama, however Cath I discovered this Munro to be very satisfying for a half day outing.

The cairn can be fantastically massive.

After stopping to speak to a few walkers on the summit – who agreed it was a a lot better stroll than they’d been anticipating – Cath and I circled and adopted the identical route again to the layby.

We have been very fortunate with the climate, which had been forecast to be a lot wetter.

Meall Chuaich, Dalwhinnie route particulars

Distance: 15km

Whole ascent: 605m

Our route: Strava and Os Map.