In February, as part of my #take12trips challenge I decided to give mountain climbing a go. Sort of. Meikle Bin is more of a big hill and less of a mountain, but still…
Around 7 years ago I climbed Ben Lomond, Scotland’s most southerly Munro. This time I decided to tackle a Marilyn, not a Munro.
Meikle Bin
Fast forward 7 years to February 2017 when an older (fact), wiser (debatable) and less fit (definitely) me decided hill walking would be preferable to mountain climbing.
I didn’t even know a Marilyn was a thing in hill walking terms. But it is. A Scottish mountain or hill of at least 150 metres in height is designated a Marilyn in whimsical contrast to a Munro, which is a Scottish mountain of at least 914 metres in height.
Meikle Bin is a Marilyin in the Kilsyth Hills of Scotland with a peak of 570 metres.
After driving through the Campsie Fells, my friend Lucille and I started our walk at Carron Valley Reservoir, where there’s space to abandon park a few cars on the country road where the Carron Valley route to Meikle Bin begins.
Carron Valley Reservoir
The route from Carron Valley took us through a forest path for the majority of the walk.
Forrest lined path on the route to Meikle Bin
As we walked higher above sea level, the snow underfoot got deeper.
The snowy path to Meikle Bin
Unbeknown to us, a sled dog racing competition was taking place the very same day. We heard the husky’s howling long before setting our eyes upon them, and although we’d missed the actual race, we passed quite a few husky puppies in training. So cute!
badamczak80 / Pixabay
Congratulating ourselves on reaching the base of the steep incline to the summit, we began our ascent.
Approaching the base of the incline to Meikle Bin summit
As we approached the summit we turned to take in the views.
Starting the ascent
View from around half way up Meikle Bin
Almost there!
We turned back to continue our climb when the weather changed in an instant to what felt like blizzard like conditions.
Snow falling on Meikle Bin
In the end we didn’t reach the summit. I honestly couldn’t believe the speed in which the weather turned. As the snow became denser, we could hardly see in front of us. As hill-walking novices unprepared for such a dramatic weather change, we decided it would be safer to abandon our climb and head back the way we came.
We ended our day with a visit to the Glazert Country House Hotel where we enjoyed some home made Steak Pie as we warmed our toes next to a roaring fireplace.
Meikle Bin is a mild hike with a steep incline. Although we didn’t reach the summit this time, the 12 trip challenge has certainly inspired me to get out and about and see more of the beautiful country I call home.
