Jon Metcalf: For many walkers a planetary-class dull lump, which I agree has little intrinsic merit. My mood wasn't helped by the decaying remains of several sheep and a toppled wind-speed-logging mast that the contractor hadn't bothered to remove, although a larger replacement structure had been erected. Then a magical moment transformed the mundane into the unique in my experience. A shadow shot over my shoulder with an audible whoosh of displaced air on that hot still afternoon. A large white-tailed massive-headed raptor glided down the slope. Didn't know Skye had sea eagles before this, but tracked this one down visually for hundreds of metres.
Jon Metcalf: In theory a drive-by. In reality it's quite hard, as the trig is deeply submerged in thorns, on a bank between a farmer's barbed-wire fence and a fenced communications compound. The trig on the bank overtops the entire comms compound, but there is a water reservoir mound within an inner compound that probably overtops the trig a little. Rather than commit gross vandalism on the two layers of fencing blocking the way to the reservoir, I count this as a moral bag since my head was higher than the reservoir mound top when standing by the trig. Got back to the car with ripped clothes and leg, from the barbed wire protecting the trig, to choruses of 'Why can't we have a normal Dad?' from my daughters.
Jon Metcalf: The most admin-per-metre-walked for any Marilyn? Military contacts given in Marhofn 93 were more than helpful throughout, but what a palaver! Couldn't they site the range somewhere less attractive to walkers - Essex for example?
Daniel Patrick Quinn: I would cite this summit the most terrifying I have visited (far worse than the Cuillin), as the gulls on the tarn kept dive-bombing me in the middle of dense fog. I had a similar experience on Yockenthwaite Moor.
Jon Metcalf: NATS (National Air Traffic Services) were an utter waste of space regarding access to the inner compound on top of this flat drive-by. Fortunately they turn out to be irrelevant. There are two 240m contours mapped at 1:25000. The NATS inner compound (where I judged Alan's grid reference to fall) is overtopped by natural-looking ground outside the fence, near an anemometer in the western sector of the larger (western) 240m contour. This in turn is over-topped by a recent earth bank near one of the walk-through holes in the outer fence. The bank is a post-tumulus artificial structure (not even grassed over on my visit) and so probably doesn't qualify for RHB purposes. The western sector of this outer fence also has large holes and has a grassed-over hut roof as its high point. The path worn up the mound encasing most of the building tells you that the hut roof has been bagged many times, but again the structure is post-tumulus and so does not count. The natural high point in the smaller (eastern) 240m contour is probably slightly lower than the natural high point of the larger contour, but the smaller contour contains tumuli. By the Swyre Head ruling the highest of these may be the Marilyn, although this is far from clear on the ground. The rules committee are requested to adjudicate.
Donald Irvine: At 16:15 on 15 September the builders left Bannockburn, Warren Road, Crowborough. I had just struggled up from the station and noted that the front of the house had been removed, exposing the interior, including open-plan stairs to the upper floor. Yes, I did go up to the first floor to make sure that this contentious top was bagged. I also visited the reservoir mounds just in case, before descending to the station. This was just 24 hours after walking off Beinn na h-Eaglaise, looking over Loch Torridon. Sublime to ridiculous or what?
Andy Moffat: To round off a day in Strathfarrar, why not have an excellent meal at the Glass Restaurant, conveniently near the entrance to the glen. It's small, so you need to book a table. Alternatively, if passing through Beauly, the hotels there do food, there is a chippy and a superb Indian restaurant. Perfect way to finish a satisfying day on the hills.
