Chickabiddies to the top of Dun Dubh

Two chickabiddies on top of Dun Dubh (Ben Cruachan behind) 
Monday a new routine was established. Chickabiddy “C” has GCSEs awaiting her return to Somerset and needed to do some revision. We sat down after breakfast and agreed that she would revise from books in the morning, we’d do something interesting in the afternoon and she could use the BBC Bitesize revision website in the evening. The other two chickabiddies requested that we walk to the top of Dun Dubh, which all three of them had partly ascended on their own the previous evening. After some faffing about getting Chickabiddy “K” into the correct wellies, we set off. The ascent was up the burn that runs down from the col that Her Maj calls “the chapel” and past the ruined shepherd’s hut. The banks of the burn were adorned with the exquisite purple flowers of butterwort, which grows in profusion here in wet places. From the ruined hut we went up the broad grassy slope that runs to the col between the two tops of the hill; partway up this we climbed a steeper slope normally occupied by a watercourse which makes for the best approach to the summit from the broad slope. To the top in good time and again we were blessed with good weather and excellent visibility. To the south we could see Arran and Islay (on opposite sides of Kintyre, of course), to the west Colonsay and Mull, to the north the Cruachan range was clear of cloud and to the east the Arrochar Alps were visible, including the Cobbler itself. We chose to take the more dramatic route straight down towards the village, which involved weaving a way through the crags and avoiding sheer drops. On this occasion the route-finding went well and we were down safely without having to backtrack up from a sheer drop, which is always annoying.

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