Plane wrecks mountain walk

Head off the beaten track to visit the wreckage of two of the aeroplanes that sadly crashed in the Arran mountains during World War Two on this variation of the classic Three Beinns route.

This walk mostly follows the route for the Three Beinns walk, however, it misses out the summit of Beinn Nuis but instead takes in the atmospheric corrie below the impressive east face of the mountain.

 | Overview

Technical Rating

Moderate  

Easy scrambling, elements of exposure, some rough terrain.

Endurance Rating

3  

Sustained steep ascents and descents, long-distance, stamina required, suitable for fit walkers. Have you had recent experience of walking for 6-8 hours? Have you recently walked up (and down) a mountain of over 1000m (3000ft) in height without physical distress? Do you regularly play an aerobic sport pretty much every week? If your answer is "No", we'd guess you'd be happier doing a walk rated a level lower than the one you’ve just read! As noted previously, we're into FUN so we don't want you to miss out by overdoing it.

 | Photo Gallery

 | Walk description

After an easy start hiking along the gently undulating track in Glen Rosa, this walk follows a trail up the west side of the valley, climbing steeply alongside the Garbh Allt. The gradient eases as an area of soggy moorland is crossed, before the path then heads steeply uphill again, threading around and over boulders and slabs towards the summit of Beinn Nuis.

To reach the first plane crash site, the trail must be left behind and pathless heathery moorland traversed into Coire nam Meann. The lonely corrie makes for an eerie and spectacular setting below the vertical rocky east side of Beinn Nuis, with numerous sections of wreckage strewn across the foot of the crag.

The second crash site, a steep gully higher up the mountain, is reached by steeply climbing out of Coire nam Meann, zigzagging to avoid the tumble of sheer slabs making up the lower section of Beinn Nuis’s impressive cliff face. The main ridge between Beinn Nuis and Beinn Tarsuinn is eventually gained by clambering up this gully, negotiating some loose rock underfoot along the way. The steep climb is rewarded by views opening out towards Arran’s shapely western hills and glens, with the Kildbrannan Sound, Kintyre and the islands beyond.

The walk now follows the undulating ridge round to Beinn Tarsuinn. Below the summit, the characterful Old Man of Tarsuinn is encountered, an outcrop naturally sculpted into a human profile, which appears to look out to sea over Brodick. There is then a steep descent to Bealach an Fhir-bhogha with some hands-on rock clambering and negotiation of substantial boulders before the path turns onto gentler terrain and follows a grassy ridge up to Beinn a’Chliabhain. From its rocky tors, the trail heads back down onto the moor and rejoins the Garbh Allt to descend back into Glen Rosa.

Along the way, there is a good chance of spotting mountain wildlife, from birds of prey and raven soaring high in the thermals to the abundant red deer grazing the sheltered slopes and corries.

Route Profile

 | Advised Kit List