The Great Outdoors Spring 2019

Cribyn & N escarpment

from Pen y Fan

88 The Great Outdoors Spring 2019

the rowan, then headed uphill
to Meall Mor. In a land of well-
known Munros this Marilyn
doesn’t garner a second glance.
But consider the views from
this modest perch! If the
famous calendar view of the
Blackmount from Lochan na
h-Achlaise took wings and
soared, then the view from
Meall Mor would be the result.
To the south silver Loch Tulla
is framed by Glen Orchy’s
hills and the towering heights
of the Achallader Munros.
To the north and east lies the
sprawling expanse of Rannoch
Moor: raggedy-shored, island-
studded lochs spilt over its
surface. But it is west the eye
is drawn: the Blackmount
close and unobstructed. From
nowhere else will you see the
whole range so clearly. It is a

place to drink with your eyes.

On the side of Meall Mor is a

cairn, a monument to Ronald

Harvey who died in 1962

aged just 26. Who was Ronald

Harvey? His memorial tells us

only this:

We cast his ashes to roam

in the winds over these hills

which he knew, loved and

roved so much

We continued onwards to

Meall Beag which has an even

iner view of the Blackmount,

and returned by the shore

of Lochan na h-Achlaise to

compare the view from Meall

Mor with the ‘tourist view’ of

Rannoch Moor. I prefer the

hilltop to the roadside, and not

just because it requires some

efort. he head-swivelling

experience of panorama

cannot easily be captured in a

photograph.

Ronald Harvey’s memorial

is not the only one in this area

to mark premature death.

A cairn dedicated to all the

mountaineers who have

lost their lives in Scottish

mountains sits in the large

tourist layby above Loch Tulla.

And just opposite the layby,

in 2007 a member of German

motorcycle group Livings

MC was killed in front of his

girlfriend in a collision with

oncoming traic. A discreet

cross in the undergrowth

marks the spot. But if you

decide to pay your respects,

please take great care with the

traic. On Rannoch Moor,

speeding cars can be a deadlier

hazard than the hills.

Further information

Maps: Ordnance Survey

1:50,000 Landranger

sheet 50 Glen Orchy & Loch

Etive

Transport: None

convenient.

i

Information: Fort William

TIC, 01397 701801

[Captions clockwise from top]

Loch Tulla; Rannoch Rowan;

Summit of Meall Mor