These two seemed reasonable as a final day jaunt, with the promise of a path up to the top. Actually the path turned out to be a full blown track and starting from the A9 as suggested in the Munro book you have an easy slog the whole way up to the plateau. An easy way to reach 900m, especially when you have started at about 350m. Again I found the Munro book's guidance a bit misleading. The track leads up to a quarry, or bit of rocky waste space, and the book suggests aiming for a knoll a few hundred metres southeast. However, continuing on the track takes you automatically up to the knoll which seemed to me to be only a very short distance from the quarry. Also the book chooses not to mention that the track continues in one direction all the way to Carn na Caim and a good part of the way to this hill. Not realising this at first I went south, off the track, down into the wide col mentioned
in the book. Not at all difficult but I could have stayed on the track. The col itself is full of peat bogs but is still relatively easy walking and in clear weather it's just an effortless climb up the other side of the col. This was made nicer when I saw a herd of deer running off as I approached. Going south is the proper way but I found it easier to go straight up the side of the hill more south east, meeting an old fence at the top. Judging by the path going along the fence I'm not the only one to have taken the easy route. I can understand why good navigation could be essential in mist but if you follow the track down into the col and go straight uphill south to southeast on the other side until you reach the fence you cannot go wrong. Fence or no fence it is simply a matter of walking uphill until you can get no higher. It is hardly a mountain, more a blip on the plateau. It is the only hill I can remember that does not have a cairn, just a trig point. The O.S. map shows two tops at 936m so I walked over to the other bump but could find nothing there. However, there was a path between the bumps so again I'm not the only one to have been curious.
On the way off A'Bhuidheanach Bheag I decided to take the easy way and headed down north,towards the track at the bottom of the col. On this I met a guy asking the way to A'Bhuidheanach Bheag (not that he even attempted to pronounce it) and back at around the quarry area met another trio. While chatting they asked (as I had also been wondering) why Glas Mheall Mor was not a munro. It looks more prominent than most on this plateau and is 928m high. I can only assume there is not enough dip between it and A'Bhuidheanach Bheag but then again neither did Tom Buidhe and the Tolmount. In the clear weather Carn na Caim was obvious but it would also be very easy in mist as there is a track running the whole way
up to the top. In fact I think it might even be a drovers road as it looks very old and is well worn. Again, at the end of the day, this hill is just a bump on the plateau, slightly more prominent that A'Bhuidheanach Bheag, with a small cairn at the top, a few yards away from a sizeable drop. Lovely views from here of Meall Chuaich and a fine 360º panorama of mountains. Guinness and rolls out just as a strange looking guy, with floppy hat and beard, turned up, walked to the edge to look at the views then came back for a chat. Couldn't get rid of him he was so talkative. Not a munroist he said but just liked to wander the hills. He came from Inverness and said he had connections to some Highland initiative. Comes onto the hills as often as he can and just takes different routes each time. Today he had started at the Balsporran Cottages (from where I did Geal-charn), came further north than anticipated and was now on his way back. Although not a munroist he reckons he has probably climbed most if not all and was able to chat about individual mountains (told me Beinn a'Ghlo was not too bad).
Coming off the hill I chickened out on the quicker but steeper drop southwest from the plateau and followed the track back to the quarry. Tiring but relatively easy plod down the track back to the car.
