Ben Lawers - Wheelchair Accessible Mountain Views
As a wheelchair user, I don’t think any holiday in Scotland is complete without some accessible mountain scenery! I’m lucky to live not far from some seriously impressive views of Ben Lawers in Perthshire, but what’s even better is I can get up to 1400ft in my wheelchair. To put it into perspective, that’s higher than Dumyat in the Ochil Hills, and almost as tall as Central Park Tower in New York. So, how can I get that high? By cheating, of course, and using my car. It’s not really cheating though, given that most climbers of Ben Lawers and the surrounding Munros use this spot as their starting point. It just makes sense. And look at the view!
About Ben Lawers
At 3,984ft, Ben Lawers is the 10th highest of 282 Munros in Scotland (Ben Nevis takes the top spot!). A Munro is defined as a mountain with a height exceeding 3,000ft, with smaller hills being defined as either Corbetts, Grahams, Donalds, or Marilyns, depending on their height.
Much of Ben Lawers is managed by the National Trust for Scotland who take care of an incredible variety of rare artic-alpine plants and lichen (they manage the carpark at 1,400ft, too, and I’ll share that location with you below). The dramatic landscape is home to red deer, ptarmigan, grouse, and more fantastic Scottish wildlife - don’t forget your binoculars!
Lawers is part of the stunningly beautiful Tarmachan Ridge. It consists of several peaks, namely Meall nan Tarmachan, Meall Garbh, Beinn Nan Eachan and Creag Na Caillich. Keep reading if you’re interested in learning more about the Gaelic names!
How to get there
The Ben Lawers road is accessed from a turn off on the A827, the road the runs along the north banks of Loch Tay. It’s signposted by the usual brown signs that point to tourist, heritage and cultural attractions.
Just a heads-up, this is a single-track road with passing places. As the road is winding and steep, it could be quite daunting if you’re not used to this kind of road, particularly if you’re driving a larger wheelchair accessible vehicle (WAV). But don’t let it put you off! Some of the best places in Scotland are accessed by single-track roads, and I find the passing place system works really well. Visit Outer Hebrides have a great article and accompanying video to help you feel more confident on your next single-track adventure!
After 2 miles you’ll arrive at the main National Trust carpark on your left. Parking is £3 and there’s one accessible parking space.
A little further is a turning circle and more parking - this is where I prefer to park as the area isn’t as sloped as the main carpark, though it is a bit gravelly and uneven, and parking spots aren’t defined. Here, I get out of the car and wheel along a little, taking in the fresh mountain air that is particularly crisp when everything is snow-capped. Although I can’t go far in my wheelchair, I do enjoy being up high and taking in the views, a refreshing break from being ‘back down on Earth,’ as it feels.
Both parking areas get very busy during peak season, but if I’m struggling to park I’ll head for a look at the Lawers Dam, just a little further along the same road, before returning for my mountain-side picnic.
Carpark location: Ben Lawers National Nature Reserve, Killin, FK21 8TY
What3Words https://w3w.co/replenish.drop.harps
If you time it right, you might catch the sunset over Loch Tay on your way back down
Finally, what’s in a name?
Ben Lawers, or Beinn Labhair in Gaelic, means “Speaking Mountain” and this name comes from a stream or burn that runs down the mountain called Uisge an Labhair, “Speaking Water.” It’s said that this burn speaks or whispers to you, but who knows what it’s saying! Here’s Kirsty having a natter with a burn we came across, probably discussing what’s for tea.
Here are a few more translations for you:
Meall nan Tarmachan - hill of the ptarmigan. ‘Tàrmachan’ is gaelic for ptàrmigan, a type of grouse that lives on the ridge
Meall Garbh - rugged or rough hill
Beinn Nan Eachan - hill of the small horse, presumably reference to horses or ponies that lived on the land
Creag Na Caillich - hill of the old woman. That’ll be me, living up in the mountains in my wheelchair when I’m ancient. Can’t wait!
Learning Gaelic is a fantastic to way to understand more about the places around you. A little knowledge can unlock a world of landscapes, folklore, and history. If you’re interested in learning, I highly recommend getting started with An Clas Camelon who I started learning with a few years ago now. They offer weekly zoom classes plus additional workshops, and have recently started offering residential weekends too! It was learning with them that gave me the confidence to progress to distance-learning with Sabhal Mòr Ostaig. This isn’t an advert, I’m just incredibly grateful for the opportunities An Clas Camelon have offered me, and I love the wee Gaelic family I now have because of them. You can reach out to Diane at anclascamelon@gmail.com for more info.
If you have any questions about my trip up Ben Lawers, or about Gaelic lessons, just pop a comment below. In the meantime, tìoraidh an-dràsta! Cheerio just now,
