After a weekend climbing the Grahams on the Cowal Peninsula it was time to return home but beforehand we decided to climb the Marilyn, Beinn Lagan, located at the north end of Loch Eck. According to the map it was surrounded by Glen Banter Forest but on checking on-line the trees on the east side had been harvested.
I parked at the north side of the forest near the end of the unclassified road at Succothmore, accessed from the A815 south-east of Strachur, where there was space for a single vehicle. We headed across a footbridge then a path led to the forest track that headed south.
It appeared harvesting was ongoing to the north and new trees had been planted on the east side of the track. Planting of trees was also on-going on the west and south sides of the nearby Cruach na Cioba.
This route was part of the Cowal Way and when it turned east towards Bealach an Lochain we left the track and climbed west onto Beinn Lagan. There were lots of brash to cross with numerous hollows to avoid as well as new conifers that had been planted.
Progress was slow but on eventually clearing this area the gradient briefly increased then eased considerably so it was then an easy walk to the summit trig point and the nearby highpoint.
After a short break here we returned by the ascent route.
- Time taken – 2.5 hours.
- Distance – 5.75 kilometres.
- Height climbed – 395 metres.