Boxing Day Ben - Ledi

Boxing Day was bright and clear and to counteract the excesses of Christmas day prosecco we headed for Callender just before first light to get Chris his first Corbett.  Ben Ledi, from what I can remember, is a lovely little Corbett with spectacular views (if you are lucky)

We hoped we'd be lucky today but as the mist and fog lay settled on Loch Lubnig obscuring our view of any hill we were doubtful.  Nevertheless we parked the car at the foot of the path and set off.  The first thing that was different now to the first time I wandered up Ledi was the trees.  The start of the walk was through a thick forested area then out onto an open path but all these initial trees were gone, sadly.  The path was open from the start and almost immmediately as we started to climb up the path the views started to open giving us a glimpse of the hill ahead.

It was an eerie atmosphere with mist swirling in and out both ahead and behind.

 The path however was good and it was a lovely cold crisp winters morning.  The frost was thick on the ground and where there should have been watery boggy bits there was hard ground so that was a plus.

Onwards and upwards the views just continued to pour out from each side.  Behind, to the left and to the right.  The cloud was still sitting thick and fast on the Loch but as the sun tried to peek out we could see over to where Ben Vorlich and Stuc a Chroin was and the light was just starting to touch them.

The sun was trying so hard to come out and when it finally did poke its head through the clouds it gave a golden hue to everything.  Shadows created and light danced upon the snowy ground.  I didnt have my sunglasses with me but for the first time today I needed them.

The conditions were great and after the notorious 3 false summits we could finally see the memorial cross that indicated the top was in sight.  It had been a great walk up and we met a few nice folks along the way.

After stopping at the top for only a few mins as the cloud had come in again and offered us nothing in the way of views I was reminded of a sunny day a few years back where, in t shirts, the summit offered views as far as the eye could see.  Not today though, the cloud was firmly settled over us and visibility was to the edge of the top and no more.

We ventured off northwards and followed the path that would take us round towards Benvane but not that far.  We'd make a right turn and follow a path downwards.  I'd never been this way before so it was a nice change from going back the way we'd come up.  The path itself was fairly straightforward and guided us round the flanks of Ben Ledi downwards through the valley behind.

Cloud was still settled in every nook and crannie and the ground still firm and icy.  The sun that tried to break through earlier in the day didn't quite make it and as the afternoon wore on there was no chance of any more sunshine.

The path down was uneventful and took us through the forest and quickly back to the road from the holiday cottages that ran parallel to the main road.   The whole walk took just over 5 hrs and it was lovely to see the Ben with its sprinkling of snow but soon we were back at the car and on our way back to mum and dads after a grand Boxing Day on a hill.