When Elsewhere Beckons

While the road trip around New Zealand was obviously an amazing experience, I must admit that every once in a while, my thoughts drifted back to Scotland and her unending beauty. Already, I was beginning to plan what being back would be like and looking forward to spending my summer in these hills. While this little trip wasn’t quite the extended stay in a cottage of my daydreams, it was a pretty good start.

Upon returning to Scotland, I spent a few days up in Tyndrum at the beginning of July 2025 and was instantly reminded that while the rest of the UK might be experiencing summer, Scotland continues blissfully unaware that summer is even a thing. Having spent the last few weeks in warmer areas, I’d already forgotten what Scottish summers were like, and in a moment of wanting to pack as lightly as possible, I’d foregone the extra layer. Stepping off the train at Tyndrum, with light rain aiding the chill, it was soon clear that this had been a mistake.

I settled into my hotel room for the night after spending the day roaming around Glasgow and visiting some of the places I’d missed. The train ride was as familiar as ever as it led north, passing Garelochhead and Arrochar and Tarbet, where I always try to catch a glimpse of the Cobbler. It continues along the northern end of Loch Lomond to Crianlarich, then splits off on the way to Tyndrum.

For this trip, I had a couple of Munros in mind starting from Bridge of Orchy, which I’d take the bus to the next morning.

I’d opted for an early bus, as the weather was supposed to be best in the morning. The Ember bus requires booking online beforehand, which I’d done the day before. (I’m not sure whether it’s just my phone slowly ageing, but I had trouble getting any service in Tyndrum, so definitely download anything you need before leaving the hotel.) As I waited, I must admit I was kicking myself for leaving the extra layer behind, but I had hope the rising sun would soon do its job.

Bridge of Orchy is just one stop (approximately 15 minutes) away, and the trail up Ben Dorain and Beinn an Dothaidh begins from there. I was expecting more people out in the hills, but that’s the perk of starting early and on a weekday. I was alone for the majority of the hike and only began encountering others on my way back down.

The walk up to the bealach is a relatively gentle gradient, and pretty soon, the views of Glen Orchy opened up behind me. After about half an hour of walking, I was already shedding layers and changed into my shorts to continue up along the stream, enjoying the cascades of the Allt Coire an Dothaidh and crossing the water. There were some muddier sections where I began to mourn the poles I hadn’t brought, but there was no extensive bog, so it was relatively easy to navigate across.

Reaching the bealach, I was greeted with views out to the other side, taking in the landscape to the east and trying to spot Beinn Mhanach, which was also on my list to potentially hike during this trip (ended up keeping that for another time).

From here, I continued up to Ben Dorain first, which is a pleasant ascent leading over Cairn Sassunaich and along the ridge to the summit.

Take care not to make the same wrong turn I did at first, which led along the west face on more of a sheep path. It gets steep along one side, and while the maps do suggest there’s a way up from there, I decided to head back and follow the intended path up to the summit, which was a much more enjoyable experience.

I had some snacks at the summit and enjoyed the vast landscape of the surrounding hills before making my way back to the bealach to head up the second Munro of the day: Beinn an Dothaidh. This was again a pleasant ascent, though it involved slightly boggier terrain. The 1,004-metre summit was easily reached, and I continued to the lookout point over the glen below before beginning the journey back down. It was at this point that I started to encounter others making their way up.

By the time I reached Bridge of Orchy, there were plenty of other walkers around. I still had some time to spare before the bus back to Tyndrum, so I rewarded myself with a nice Thistly Cross cider from the bar at the Bridge of Orchy Hotel and sat outside soaking up the rays with the others. Being located along the West Highland Way, it’s a constant stream of visitors in the summer months.

Overall, the hike took about five and a half hours, and it was a nice change not having to keep track or hurry back for train times. I returned to Tyndrum in the afternoon and spent the rest of the day relaxing and figuring out where to go next. In the end, I decided on Stob a’Choire Odhair, once again starting from the Bridge of Orchy the following day.