Sometimes you discover a wonderful pairing and can’t imagine why you hadn’t thought of it before. On Sunday, it was the fine companions of a Munro summit and a plate of oysters at Loch Fyne Oyster Bar.

Timing is important for this one because the world-famous oyster bar closes at 7pm. I have long wanted to dine at the restaurant but timing has never been on our side as we’ve passed along the shores of Loch Fyne heading from Inveraray to Arrochar.

On Sunday, however, we timed it beautifully. A late night at a 40^th birthday party meant we didn’t rise too early. We arrived at Beinn Bhuidhe at about 10.30am. This is a striking Munro but one that is far less visited than its neighbouring Munros in the Arrochar Alps.

I walked two Munros in the Arrochar Alps and the Corbett, the Cobbler, earlier this summer.

Walking Beinn Bhuidhe

There is a long walk or bike ride into Beinn Bhuidhe. We were lucky enough to have a secret route right to the base of this 948m mountain thanks to our walking companion of the day, Young Man Mountain! So we set off and immediately started climbing.

To be honest, the cycle in from the main road is straightforward and on a fairly good track so it would be easy enough on a mountain bike or even a hybrid.

After a short stretch on a wide track we passed through a gate and took an immediate left up the hill and next to tumbling burn. We kept the burn – and several stunning waterfalls – on our right for most of the walk.

The walk up from the base is rarely flat. This is not one of those up, then flat, then down, then up, then flat walks. It’s mostly just up. But it’s rarely too steep.

The weather was also on our side with sun and only a little cloud at the top at 948m. The views over Glen Fyne, the Arrochar Alps and long,  long Loch Fyne are beautiful.

It was a day of comfortably paced walking, good chat and splendid vistas (exactly what Munro bagging should be all about).

YMM is a fast and fit walker so I kept him back by walking ahead of him! I’m sure he would have polished off this Munro in only a couple of hours on his own but he seemed okay with our slower pace.

He walked The Cobbler twice on the previous day as part of two emergency rescues with Lomond MRT so he may have had slightly tired legs, but I doubt it.

Although a fairly easy Munro, it is still important to keep an eye on the trail on Beinn Bhuidhe. We descended the same way although many descriptions of this walk suggest returning on the left side of the burn. There didn’t seem to be any point because we had been following a path.

With our comfortable pace and a stop at the top for a bite to eat we finished in well under four hours… which meant we were in perfect time for a late lunch at the Loch Fyne Oyster Bar.

Munro bagging day part 2

This is the original Loch Fyne Oyster Bar. There are others across the UK but Loch Fyne is where all the fish and seafood loveliness started.

It was very difficult to decide what to eat from the superb menu. In the end we had oysters and smoked salmon for starters (we shared two starters). The oysters were by far the best I have ever tasted. The platter of six includes Loch na Keal, Seasalter and Arisaig oysters. They were melt in the mouth delicious.

For the main course the G-Force had a beautiful fish burger in a brioche style bun with chips. I chose lobster. It wasn’t an enormous portion but it was perfectly cooked in garlic butter and went well with the chips.

We toasted our Munro and the meal with a small drink and talked about how lucky we are to live close to such a place. A Munro and a lovely meal both around an hour from our home.