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Ben Griam Beg

Hillfort

Fieldnotes

01/07/2022 – It had been a long 12 years since we were last here. I haven’t planned a revisit, yet here we were, plodding up the hill again. We were staying in the nearby Garvault Hotel for a few days (sign above the door stating it was mainland Britain’s most remote hotel). It’s quite a unique place and well worth a stay. Nice folk who live/work there. Main reason we were here was for the walking. If you like lonely quiet landscapes, this is the place to be.

Starting the day from the hotel we took the track north towards Loch Coire nam Mang. Our destination was Meall a' Bhuirich, the hill behind the Bens Beg and Mor. As it was the last day of the trip and we didn’t have to save the legs any more, we decided to detour and head for Ben Griam Beg first. Seeing it, with it’s misty morning hat on, as we rounded the loch, the pull proved too strong.

The walk round the south side of the two lochs to the base of Ben Griam Beg is a bit of a bash. I was tired before we even started the climb. Even Mrs T was finding it hard going today and she’s stronger than me. It had been a long week. Still up we went, plod, plod. It’s only about 200m gain until you reach the first of the stone structures. We were glad to get there. I don’t remember having a good look round on our last visit. We were in no rush today so decided to have a proper look this time.

I’ll put up a link to a plan of the enclosure complex below. If you go, it’s worth taking with you. The hillfort is big. - Ben Griam Beg - plan of enclosure complex https://canmore.org.uk/collection/1401493

Just before you get to the first big wall at around 450m, there are a series of round stone structures and low walls. I found these the most interesting part of the complex. What were they for? Hut circles? The ground is so steep here, hard to believe they were homes. Aerial photos on OSmaps or Canmore show these off nicely. Next we crossed the first big stone wall. It’s about 500m long, protecting the south side of the hill. Big stones used for this one. Another 100m gain, passing more stone structures, and we reached the second wall. This is fainter but leads to a third much bigger inner wall that surrounds what could be described as the principle enclosure at the summit. There is a broken trigpoint at the top, 580m – making it the highest hillfort in Scotland.

It was a misty day and the cloud was down over the last 150m gain. I liked the peace it gave the top and enclosure. We weren’t here alone. Two lovely ptarmigan were walking the walls. Not sure I’ve seen them this low down before. A nice surprise.

We had our lunch by the trig. Apart from the mist, the weather wasn’t too bad. Little wind and just the odd shower passing through.

We headed down the east side and then south to visit Meall a' Bhuirich (nice hill) and then back to the hotel via Ben Griam Mor (the last climb was tough, my legs were done by this point).

It was a fantastic day out. Just us and the hills. The hillfort is a WOW and I was so happy to have got a second chance to visit. I hate saying an out of the way site is a must visit but this hillfort really is. It just happens to be a little bit in the middle of nowhere. There are train stations not to far away and the drive is easy. The walk up isn’t too bad, I was just tired that day. Probably not one for bad weather though.

The whole complex is massive. It must have taken many people to build. More like a hill-city than a hillfort. If you get a chance, it’s well worth the trip. My favourite hillfort, I think so.
thelonious Posted by thelonious
7th July 2022ce
Edited 10th July 2022ce

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