At One with the Mountains - An interview with Nick Gardner
Issue 6: Nick Gardner and his wife Janet were living an idyllic life on a croft…
Crianlarich and Tyndrum
Beinn Challuim
A Munro of 1,025 metres, number 106 of the 282.
The hill
Beinn Challuim, also written Ben Challum, stands above Strathfillan between Crianlarich and Tyndrum.
The national park authority allows that its vast grassy slopes may not look like much from the A82, and says the hill is at its most inspiring seen from the Glen Lochay side.
Down in the strath below it is Kirkton Farm, run by Scotland's Rural College, where you'll find the ruins of St Fillan's Priory and an old graveyard.
Higher up, the authority says, the views open out to the distinctive peaks of Ben Lui, Ben More and Stob Binnein, and back down over Strathfillan.
- Starts from
- Most people start from a lay-by on the main road near Kirkton Farm, the park authority says.
- The ground
- Kirkton is a working farm, run by Scotland's Rural College. The park authority asks that dogs are kept under close control when livestock is about, and warns that landowners might be busy with deer management and other farm work.
- Under snow
- There is no avalanche forecast for this hill, which does not mean there is no risk.
- Summit
- Grid reference NN 386 322
- Parking
- The lay-by on the A82 near Kirkton Farm, which the park authority puts about 2.5 miles before Tyndrum on the road from Glasgow.
- Coach and train
- Citylink coaches and the train run to Tyndrum, about 2.5 miles along the A82 from Kirkton Farm. Check the times with the operators.
- The nearest village
- Tyndrum, the village the park authority names.
On the hill today
0° to 4°Drizzle on the summit, 1,025 m. Feels like −4° in the wind.
West wind to 13 mph, gusting 26
Rain, about 3 mm
Light from 7.51am to 6.16pm, ten hours
Sat 17Clear−2° to 4° on top · 6 mph, gusts 15
Sun 18Clear−4° to 3° on top · 6 mph, gusts 12
Mon 19Drizzle−6° to 5° on top · 9 mph, gusts 20
A weather model's forecast for the height of the summit, not a report from the hill. Read the mountain forecast the evening before: West Highlands forecast, Southeastern Highlands forecast, Ben Challum.
October2026
MTWTFSS
Going another day?
Choose the day you mean to climb.Near or far: the light you will have, and what the summit is likely to be doing.
Photographs by Adam Young, Neil Marshall and Scott Walmsley, via Google
At 1,025m it’s a lofty top and is reached along a short ridge that descends briefly before climbing to the main Munro top.The Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park Authority, of the summit
Before you go
Carry
- A paper map and a compass, and the skill to use them
- Waterproofs, warm layers, hat and gloves
- Food and drink
- A head torch, a whistle and a first aid kit
- A survival bag
- Boots with a good grip
Under snow and ice this is a different day, with short light and the risk of avalanche. It needs an ice axe, crampons, winter boots and the skill to use them.
If something goes wrong
- Dial 999, ask for the police, then mountain rescue
- Give a six-figure grid reference: the summit is NN 386 322
- Say how many are hurt, how many are with you, and your number
- Register to text 999 before the day: text the word register to 999
The summit is optional. Turning back is the right decision whenever the cloud, the wind or the light say so.
How to call for help in the hills · Safety and skills for the hills · ThinkWINTER
From our readers
Nobody has written from Beinn Challuim yet. If you were up, yours would be the first.
Tell the next person
Were you up? Three words is enough.A free account, a word for the weather and a line if you like.
Read more elsewhere
For the route itself, take the map and read these.
- Ben Challum on WalkhighlandsA full route description with a map: the park authority itself sends walkers herewalkhighlands.co.ukThe route↗
- The park authority's page for Ben ChallumThe park authority on the hill, where most people start and how to reach it by coach, train and roadlochlomond-trossachs.orgThe park↗
- Inverarnan to Tyndrum, by the West Highland WayThe West Highland Way's own account of the stretch past Kirkton Farmwesthighlandway.orgThe low ground↗
- Respect your park and stay safeThe park authority on dogs and livestock, deer stalking and calling for helplochlomond-trossachs.orgDogs and farms↗
- West Highlands forecastThe Mountain Weather Information Service's forecast for the West Highlands, three days ahead, written by forecasters. This area runs south to the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park. Read it with the next: the service's area map shows which covers the hillmwis.org.ukMountain weather↗
- Southeastern Highlands forecastThe neighbouring area, for the southern Highlands as far west as the Callander areamwis.org.ukMountain weather↗
- Ben ChallumThe Met Office's forecast for the summit itself: a model for one point, not a report from the hillweather.metoffice.gov.ukSummit forecast↗
Sleep and eat at its foot
Suie Hunting Lodge
Stay: About seven miles from the summit in a straight line, and further by road
Monachyle Mhor
Stay: About nine and a half miles from the summit in a straight line, and…
Artisan Cafe & Deli
Eat: Crianlarich, about three miles from the summit in a straight line
The Drovers Inn
Eat: Inverarnan, about ten miles from the summit in a straight line
Next along: Creag Mhor, Meall Glas, Beinn Sheasgarnaich, Sgiath Chuil. Checked on 10 October 2026. The facts on this page are the Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park Authority's and Scotland's Rural College's; the forecasts are the Mountain Weather Information Service's and the Met Office's. Height and position from The Database of British and Irish Hills, v18.3, adapted, CC BY 4.0. This page is not a route description and does not replace a map.