I completed a superb A-to-B route of seven Munros in the Ben Lawers range in Perthshire with my friend David V. I have run the same route before and I have also taken in seven Lawers Munros during the Artemis Great Kindrochit Quadrathlon but I am always happy to take on the challenge of this Ben Lawers 7 Munros route.
David suffered significant injuries a few years ago when he fell in the Strathfarrar mountains. It has been incredible to see him return to many outdoor activities, but he admits he still feels nervous in the mountains. It’s obvious that hiking and running with another person is a safer way to enjoy the great outdoors.
I join David for what would be his longest and most challenging mountain routes since the incident.
Ben Lawers 7 Munros
The Ben Lawers 7 Munros route extends to around 22km and 1800m of total elevation. Given that each of the seven summits are more than 914.4m tall (that is the qualifying height for Scotland’s 282 Munros) the total height gain is actually very reasonable.
The route starts at 550m elevation. Drive around 2.5km north of the Ben Lawers National Nature Reserve car park and to the northern end of Lochan na Lairige.
The finish point for this route is at the Lawers Hotel, at less than 200m elevation, on the shore of the loch. David and I were fortunate to have a pick-up at the end from his wife Alicia. (On another occasion, I have parked a car at the hotel for a small charge.)
As you might imagine, the route through the mountains is undulating although it also has the bonus of obvious paths.
These are very popular Munros and most people will tackle one, two or three summits in one day. There were sections that were very busy with other people, while other parts were much quieter.
David and I ran the flatter and downhill sections and walked briskly on the uphills.
The order of the Munros are:
- Meall a Choire Leith
- Beinn Ghlas
Meall Corranaich
Ben Lawers
An Stuc
Meall Garbh
Meall Greigh.
The trickiest section was the start as we left the roadside at a cairn. There was a mish-mash of trods on boggy ground. After weaving about a bit, we picked up a more obvious trod towards the first Munro summit.
From here, the way forward was fairly obvious and we were fortunate to have fine weather so we could see the layout of the summits along the range.
We took plenty of water and food and a pack full of kit, including gloves, headwear, spare baselayer, insulated jacket, waterproof jacket and trousers, emergency bivvy bag etc. We were able to follow the route on our phone map app but we also carried a map and compass.
Route details: Lawers 7 Munros
Distance: 22km
Total height gain: 1800m