As Covid-19 lockdown restrictions were loosened on Friday July 3 in Scotland, I made a plan to walk a couple of new Corbetts with my friend Ben the next day. It seemed fitting that we should meet to walk the first mountains after lockdown because just before lockdown, we walked another Corbett, Meall an Fhudair.
We chose Meall Tairneachan and Farragon Hill in Perthshire. The drive was around two hours each. Ben lives in Edinburgh and I am just north of Glasgow. We also suspected that these Corbetts would be little walked and so we could be fairly sure we would meet few other people.
Walkers are encouraged to get back to the hills and mountains but we should still aim to avoid the chance of meeting too many other people and we should choose routes and locations that we feel are within our comfort zones.
The two Corbetts, located close to Tummelbridge, did not look extreme. The total route is about 17km and the total ascent is around 1000m.
Walking Meall Tairneachan and Farragon Hill
There is a wide track the takes you close to the first Corbett, Meall Tairneachan. From the roadside there is a steep ascent on the track through woodland to start with. The track continues to climb although at a lesser angel and after about 3km you see a small cairn and path heading off in a southerly direction.
A short ascent over more rugged terrain, although still on a hill path takes you very quickly to the summit at 787m. There is a trig pillar marking the top.
The views on a fine day are expansive over the rolling Perthshire landscape. It is possible to see Ben Lawers and the distinctive outline of Schiehallion.
The weather was a bit hit and miss for Ben and I but will still glimpsed some of the views through and between low clouds.
To reach the second Corbett, Farragon Hill, we returned the same way to the wide track. After a short walk, we spotted a working open-cast mine at the side of the track. It is in operation for the extraction of barytes.
Although not particularly picturesque, it does mean there is a well-maintained track into the hills. I don’t mind a bit of industry amid the scenery.
(Note: It’s better to do this walk at the weekend when the mine is not in operation. Also obey instructions and avoid walking through the middle of the workings. We found it easy to skirt around the mine on the tracks.)
After some 2km to 3km on the undulating track, we descended a little before spotting a bit of a hill path heading into rugged moorland and en route to the second Corbett.
We walked a route over some of the higher points of the moorland, including Lick Hill. There were a few stretches of path in between large expanses of grassland, heather, peat and bog.
It was obvious the direction to take because we could see where the highest point of the mountain was in the distance.
On the last push uphill, we picked up a hill path and made it to the small summit cairn at 783m with relative ease.
We enjoyed the views between the clouds over lochs and surrounding mountains. Beinn a’Ghlo can be seen in the north east.
We headed more directly downhill from the cairn to rejoin the wide mining track. It seemed strange that I had not noticed just how up and down the track is on the walk to the Corbetts but I expect this was due to tired leg muscles after so many months of not walking in the mountains.
We had passed one other walker and stopped for a quick socially distanced chat and spotted another solo walker in the distance close to the summit of Farragon.
All in all, the distance, height gain and lack of people made this Corbett outing the perfect post-lockdown Corbett bagging adventure.
Video of the walk
See my route on OS Maps.
Also see Walk Highlands route.