Some important details first…

• This route covers the 7 Munros in the Ben Lawers range, plus Meal nan Tarmachan and the excellent tops of the Tarmachan Ridge.
• Total distance around 38km, with 3,000m ascent.
• There is a bus (one per day in each direction, as of Spring 2025, but about the right time) out to the Lawers Hotel for the start.
• You could finish at the Ben Lawers parking area (you would need a lift from here) or at Cruachan Farm campsite. (I stayed there before and after.)
• There is no water on the high ridges, but there are a few streams crossing the lower ground between Meall a Choire Leith and Lochan na Lairige.
• The paths are all clear, but the trods are small or nonexistent on the ascent of Meall nan Tarmachan from this angle.

This was my comeback run after the Northern Traverse and the achilles problem I developed on that race. I had passed up an opportunity to go to Scotland two weeks earlier, as I was getting fatigued rather quickly. But now over six weeks after the 300km Northern Traverse, I was feeling broadly OK again.

The previous day I had driven north and spent the afternoon jogging lightly over the classic combo of Ben Vorlich and Stuc A’Chroin, which was excellent. The achilles held up well, and I finished feeling fairly fresh.

I was slightly nervous about whether the one bus per day would turn up, not helped by a “road closed” sign (apparently closed from 9am, after the bus passed through). The barman last night has assured me he had observed people waiting for a bus just above the campsite, but he also said he had never seen a bus on the road. I positioned myself a little early, and decided to try hitch hiking, just in case.

As it happened, the second car to approach stopped, and I was given a lift to the Lawers Hotel by a lady (name unknown) and her dog (Pickle). Pickle declined to move into the back, and sat on me for the journey. They were going walking in the area, and the Hotel was out of their way, so the lift was very kind. I still cannot confirm whether the bus was real.

Some morning cloud was floating around early on, meaning I didn’t get to see the summit of Meall Greigh. But as one of the least interesting hills (competition from Meall a Choire Leith), that was OK. Thankfully it cleared soon, and awesome views opened up over the other hills. An Stuc was a particular highlight, a steep cone of rock, grass and scree.

I was also going faster than expected (I had allowed plenty of time), and coping with the mountain steepness. By the time I reached Ben Lawers, it was the most elevation I’d done in a day for over 10 weeks. There were more people around now too, drawn by the highest hill around and the 10th highest in the UK. (Fun fact – the cairn was built high in the past, attempting to reach the 4,000 feet contour.)

Beinn Ghlas and Meall Corranaich went in fairly quick succession, followed by a lovely grassy descent towards Meall a Choire Leith. After that, I had anticipated (correctly) two hours of pain crossing the lower ground, passing the reservoir, and ascending the steep slopes of Creag an Lochain and Meall nan Tarmachan. The first bit was OK, but then after crossing the road there was a particularly tough section of bog, then steep heather, with very vague trods. The hillside eased gradually, but then reared up again to Meall nan Tarmachan.

However, once that final Munro was reached, the character changed again. Excellent paths followed the ridge, with impressive twists and turns, airy sections, and perfect peaks. I followed the ridge to its end, and then found the track leading back toward the main Bem Lawers car park. I was shuffling along slowly now, but made steady progress to the car park, and then down though woodland to the campsite.