| Beinn Tart a' Mhill
from Bolsay Beinn Tart a' Mhill |
| Estimated net time | 1½-2 hours |
| Difficulty | No difficulties. |
| Drinking water | No access to drinking water. |
| GSM coverage | Coverage at the summit (May 2009). |
| Parking | Room for a couple of cars next to the farm at trail head. |
| Start height | 67 metres |
| Vertical metres | 190 metres for the roundtrip |
| Trip distance | 3.8 km |
| GPS-file | X |
| Map |
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| Route photo |
From Port Ellen on Islay drive north on road A846. At Bridgend turn left onto road A847 and drive to Port Charlotte. Then turn right where signed for "Kilchiaran". Drive 1.4 km uphill and take left where signed for "Bolsay farm". Drive carefully on this poor road to its end, approximately 1.9 km, by Bolsay farm. You will find parking just before the farm, on the right hand side of the road. Permission to park here should be asked at the farm.
Start walking by crossing the fields in a western direction, on a direct route to the mountain. Along the east slopes of the mountain you will need to find your best route as there are no paths or tracks here. When you get higher up you will find a vague track, which will bring you all the way to the summit.
The descent is easiest done via the ascent route.
After my morning hike to Beinn Mhor I drove back to Machrie Hotel to ask if any of the other guys were keen on a hike. All were playing golf except Pål, and he wanted to join me for a bit of fresh air. We decided to set off right away, and I thought "OK, I'll crab some sandwiches from the store at Bridgend". But when we passed Bridgend I was more keen on hiking and a proper lunch after the hike, than stopping now and missing the opening hours for lunch. So we continued to Port Charlotte, and then took on the very bumpy road towards Bolsay farm.
At 12:45 we were on our way, after having had no reply at the farm when we tried to ring the door bell to ask for permission to park at the farm. We crossed the fields covered in short grass, and then found what we thought, and later it proved to be, an acceptable route through grass and heather. When we got above ~200 metres we found some tracks we followed, and soon we found ourselves at the summit. By now I was very hungry, only having eaten three small biscuits while ascending Beinn Tart a' Mhill, but I knew the descent was going to be quick, and then a short drive to the hotel in Port Charlotte for a good lunch.
However, by the time we got to Port Charlotte they had stopped serving lunch for the day, even though it was a Saturday, so we had to search for something else. Luckily there was a place down the road that served food all day, and their relatively tasteless soup went down in seconds. Next was a plate of fish 'n' chips, which did miracles, but wasn't as good as we had expected. Anyway, I got my dose of energy, and at the same time managed to decide where the third hike of the day would take me. And even better; Pål decided to come along. So after food it was back in the car for å drive across to the east side of Islay ...