We have just been on our long weekend trip to Crianlarich where we stayed at the Ochils Mountaineering Club Cottage.

We left Newcastle Friday night to head on our 4hr drive out towards Loch Lomond and the Trossachs, with a slight detour towards Dalkeith for a takeaway, to settle down with a couple drinks in the bunkhouse.

Saturday morning we headed out to Succoth and parked on the shores of Loch Long where we headed out walking with some mist creating a beautifully ominous setting for our walk up to Beinn Narnain, with some mild scrambling and amazing rock features spotted along the way.

After this we returned to the bunkhouse and enjoyed some bangers and mash cooked by the committee, along with some drinks and games like our infamous giant jenga before heading to bed to be ready for another day of walking.

Sunday we set off towards Ben Lawers where we parked the cars to set off on our walk where we conquered 3 munroes. The first, and tallest, of them was Meall Nan Tarmachan, to then drop down towards the lochan to have lunch, and the brave among us even went for a swim! We then went on to summit Meall Garbh with some steep scrambles on the way down, and the finishing off with Beinn Nan Eachan. The skies were clear, and the breeze was gentle, making it the perfect day to summit these munroes and fully take in the breathtaking views Scotland has to offer.

Again we enjoyed a nice chilled out night at the bunkhouse with a hearty Bolognese cooked by Jacob, and the box game made another well earned appearance.

Monday morning we awoke to tidy the bunkhouse before setting off to the lovely village of Killin where we set off on our final walk of the weekend. We headed along a track through forests before heading up to Lochan Breaclaich where we enjoyed a chilled out afternoon of skimming stones and taking in the amazing scenery of the area before dropping back down into the village to enjoy a drink at the local pub before setting off back to Newcastle (with another well earned visit to Dalkeith takeaway on the way). It was a tiring, but a very rewarding weekend.” – Rebekah