Stob Fear-tomais. December 2014.

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Stob Fear-tomais. December 2014.

Helen Rose Outdoor Diary

I am doing less hill walking now but recently I did a Corbett and was delighted to complete it albeit very slowly! Corbetts are hills of more than 2,500 feet but less than 3,000 feet. As you will know by my previous writings, Munros are more than 3,000 feet. Often Corbetts are harder than Munros as they are less likely to have defined paths and can be rougher and longer walking. On the plus side, there are fewer walkers on them so they are quieter. The list of Corbetts was compiled in the 1920s by John Rooke Corbett, a Bristol-based climber and SMC member. There are presently 320 of them. Many walkers decide to bag all the Corbetts once they finish the Munros but I have had no such ambition although Stob Fear-Tomhais was a new hill to me.

A prominent grassy summit on an elongated ridge in Stirling, Stob Fear-tomhais rises to 771m (2529 feet) at the head of Gleann Dubh, 2 miles (3 km) south of Loch Doine and a similar distance east of Stob Breac in the Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park. It qualifies as a Corbett. Although unnamed on Ordnance Survey maps, this mountain is known locally as Surveyor’s Peak owing to the triangulation pillar at its summit. Because the name of a neighbouring hill, Ceann na Baintighearna, was being used and causing confusion, the Scottish Mountaineering Club rather artificially translated Surveyor’s Peak into Gaelic for their guidebook, to give Stob Fear-tomhais.

We parked at Ballimore Farm about 3 kilometres from Balquidder. It was a narrow access road and passing other cars on it can lead to almost being in the ditch. We crossed the bridge over Gleann Dubh and climbed the lower slopes of Ben Vane following the right of way to Brig o’Turk. We crossed the Gleann Dubh burn and due to the dry summer had little water in it. After our tea break in lovely sunny weather we started the ascent of Stob Fear-tomhais. We joined the north east ridge at 450m. and headed up the ridge to the 650 metre top. Two more tops and many knolls later we followed the fence posts to the trig point. Unnamed on Ordnance Survey maps, Beinn Stacath is sometimes spelt Stacach and is also known by the names Stob Fear-tomhais or Ceann na Baintighearna, (the latter is actually its northern top above the forestry flanking Loch Voil). We enjoyed a panoramic view of mountains from the top and after lunch at the trig point, we followed the ridge on the other side until we reached a bealach where we made a steep descent into the glen. It was a fairly long walk out past the private deer farm where we crossed the river again and picked up the path and back to the cars. As the weather was so good, it was a leisurely walk. As usual, I was slow and always the ‘Coos Tail’. David was a very understanding leader on the walk and I was very happy to complete the circuit of the Corbett.