Beinn Dubhchraig

Beinn Dubhchraig is a Munro in the Scottish Highlands, west of Crianlarich within Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park. It stands near Ben Lui and Ben Oss, two other Munros, in a group of mountains around the River Cononish. The mountain’s name means ‘mountain of the black rock’, referring to its steep, rocky southwest slopes above Loch Oss. It is seen well from the main A82 road but often overlooked because of its taller neighbour. The glen of Cononish and these four mountains form the Ben Lui National Nature Reserve, known for its mountain plants and herds of deer in the corries. The mountain has a northern corrie that forms a large basin between ridges, drained by the Allt Coire Dubhraig. At the corrie’s foot lie remnants of an old Scots Pine wood from the former Caledonian Forest. The northern foothills were once heavily mined for lead, with scars still visible on the hillside. The mine workings were wrecked in 1745 by Clan Campbell, as they belonged to a Jacobite owner. The mines closed in 1923 after decades of activity. Beinn Dubhchraig is linked to Ben Oss by the Bealach Buidhe, a broad ridge with small lochans in schist rock hollows. South of the bealach lies Coire Garbh, which holds Loch Oss, a roughly 500-by-300-metre sheet of water with a small island. To the north is Coire Buidhe, with a steep headwall blocking a direct descent. The eastern slopes fall to Gleann Auchreoch, where conifers were planted in the early 1970s. The ascent from Dalrigh follows the Allt Coire Dubhraig through a wood and crosses deer fences to reach the open mountainside. The summit offers views of Breadalbane’s mountains to the west and the twin Munros Ben More and Stob Binnein to the south-east.