Meikle Bin

6 March 2010.

Participants - Me and Steven
Where - Meikle Bin, 570m/1,870', Sub-2,000' Marilyn, Map 57, NS 667822

Unlike most of the Campsie Fells, Meikle Bin (big hill) has a bit of a shape to it. Here is a view from the Craw Road to the west....

The easiest approach is from the Carron valley and this was the route that we took. There is space for a few cars jsut before reaching the reservoir and this is the start of the walk which goes through forestry for most of the way. It is a popular walk and we met quite a few other people. After about a mile, we got our first view of Meikle Bin.....

It was quite hard going through snow that was more than a foot deep in places and we were glad that there had been others along before us to compact the snow a bit......

At the highest point of the track, where it starts to level out before descending again, there is a gap in the trees and that is the route on to the ridge. No problems today, the footprints in the snow showed where to go. This is me on the ridge with extensive views to the west.....

The snow had been completely blown off the summit.....

from where there was a good view down to a frozen Carron Valley Reservoir. The hills in the distance are the Ochils.....

This is one of a number of Scottish hills on which there is aircraft wreckage. A Fairey Firefly two-seater plane operated by the Royal Navy crashed close to the summit on 8 January 1950. Both the pilot and navigator were killed. The wing section, hydraulics, engine and other wreckage can still be found onsite. Here is Steven at a section of a wing and landing gear strut, to be found a couple of hundred feet west of the trig.....