Great Mountains: Beinn Liath Mhor

When I was trying to think of another mountain to talk about in this series on great mountains I thought of the range of hills in the Coulin deer forest and I could not think of anywhere better. These mountains lie between the valleys of Glen Carron and Glen Torridon and feature three Munros and four Corbetts, but the finest mountain in the range is Beinn Liath Mhor. There are several reasons why the Coulin Forest is a great place to walk with the highest on the list being the excellent maze of paths throughout the area. I first walked through the area in 2009 when I was merely looking for a way to walk from Torridon to the nearest railway station at Achnashellach and found a well-made path that easily climbs into the Coulin Forest. On reaching Bealach Bàn I had excellent views north towards the Torridon giants, which this is another appeal that all these mountains share. The Torridon giants are awesome mountains that look dramatic with sheer sides that terrify me just to think of them. In many ways they are Great Mountains and deserving of examination in this series, but my heart is to the south of them in the gentler mountains of the Coulin Forest that welcome all without the terror-inducing ridges that rejoice in Torridon. The weather was fabulous when I climbed that path in 2009 so I felt obligated to head up one of the Munros in the area and it was Beinn Liath Mhor that was climbed.

Coming from Torridon, I had passed Loch an Eoin, climbed over Bealach an Lice and Bealach Bàn before I crossed Coire Grannda to the top of the pass into Coire Làir (this pass is unnamed on Ordnance Survey maps, but could be called Bealach Coire Làir). The walk to the top of the pass from Torridon is fabulous through superb ever-changing scenery that is thoroughly enjoyable even if the weather is poor as it was for me in 2019. In 2009 I had planned to turn right at Bealach Coire Làir to climb up Sgorr Ruadh, but instead I turned left towards the captivating ridge over Beinn Liath Mhor where attractive, white quartzite stones abound in stark contrast to the dull red sandstone on Sgorr Ruadh. A stiff climb brought me up to the summit of Beinn Liath Mhor where I had amazing views north towards the Torridon mountains from a summit that is covered in white quartzite stones. From there a fabulous two kilometre ridge was a joy to walk along before the descent begins on an excellent path that took me down to Drochaid Coire Làir. I returned to Coire Làir in 2014 and although the weather was not as good I still could not resist the temptation to climb Beinn Liath Mhor again, this time in the other direction.

This mountain satisfied me again despite the poor weather and when the clouds lifted I was rewarded with the great view again along the excellent ridge that was once again an utter delight to walk along. Coming down to Bealach Coire Làir I took the path into Coire Grannda and over Bealach Bàn into Coire Fionnaraich to the bothy that is in the valley. I had been going through a rough time on that holiday and needed a good walk to lift my spirits, which was precisely what Beinn Liath Mhor gave me. The prolonged traverse and stunning views wiped away all my disappointments of the previous few days as I looked forward in hope to a few days of good walking in the Coulin Forest. However, my ascent of Maol Chean-dearg the next day was marred by a stupidly steep ascent from Bealach na Lice that was relieved by a gloriously rocky descent to the saddle of Bealach a’ Choire Ghairbh that was reminiscent of the rocky ridge of Beinn Liath Mhor. I enjoyed more rock going up the Corbett of An Ruach-Stac from where I had a great view across the saddle towards the Munros of Coire Làir including Beinn Liath Mhor in the distance. The overcast weather failed to mar the walk in an area that is abundant in rock and with stunning views.

The final day of my few days of recuperation in the Coulin Forest in 2014 was spent returning to Coire Làir and it required tremendous effort for me to resist returning over Beinn Liath Mhor despite it being only two days since I was last there. Instead I turned right at Bealach Coire Làir and enjoyed a good path that took me all the way up to the top of Sgurr Ruadh where the views all around continued to be great. All the mountains in the Coulin Forest are great with the paths that link the valleys providing good routes to the mountains, but it will always be Beinn Liath Mhor that I turn to first. However, when I returned again in 2019 I resisted the temptation and kept to the path that passes through Coire Làir without topping either Munro. With hindsight, I wish I’d climbed Beinn Liath Mhor again, not only because it is a fabulous mountain, but also because by the time I reached the foot of Beinn Eighe, one of the Torridon giants, it was late afternoon and there was no time to do anything except put up my tent. I had been influenced by the fact that I’d already climbed Beinn Liath Mhor twice, but that should not have prevented me climbing a great mountain again.

My love affair with Beinn Liath Mhor started in 2009 with that walk out of Torridon that also introduced me to delights of the Coulin Forest. Excellent paths are the secret to this delightful area that provide easy access to dramatic looking mountains and will surely draw back to this area in the future. The best mountain walking is ridge walking and this is the secret to the delights of Beinn Liath Mhor, so when I do make a return visit to the Coulin Forest I’m sure I will then divert onto that awesome ridge that has been enthusing me for over ten years.

Beinn Liath Mhor

The Coulin Forest, between Strathcarron and Torridon, provides some fabulous walking and none less than the quartzite topped mountain of Beinn Liath Mhor whose ridge is a delight. This picture was taken in 2009 while walking out of Torridon. When I came back in 2014 for a few days in the Coulin Forest I couldn't resist walking back along this ridge even though the weather was not as good as I'd enjoyed previously.

The view between Liathach and Beinn Eighe

This picture was taken last year between two of the giants of Torridon: Liathach and Beinn Eighe. I had just walked over into Glen Torridon, but reached the foot of the mountains late afternoon too late to start anything, so I just camped in Coire Dubh Mór. However, the weather was sensational and getting better, so I took a short walk up between these great mountains to enjoy the view and this astonishing picture was the result of the magical evening.

Back through Coire Lair

Thursday 30th May 2019

For the last walk of my holiday in Scotland I set off from the Torridon camp site under overcast skies following overnight rain. The day before I had enjoyed fabulous weather but it had now deteriorated, though I was not too bothered by this as my plan was simply to walk back to the railway station at Achnashellach and so begin my journey home. At least it wasn’t raining as I walked beside the road across the foot of Glen Torridon into the small settlement of Annat where I expected to find the path that climbs into the Coulin Forest. Although I had taken this route out of Torridon in 2009 I couldn’t find the path, and my map couldn't help me either . After passing all the way through Annat I’d almost given up hope and thought I must have passed the sign when, just beyond Annat, I came across the path that is clearly signposted for the hill path to Achnashellach via Coire Lair. This is an excellent route that gently climbs above Glen Torridon into the mountains of the Coulin Forest while behind me grey views opened out across Upper Loch Torridon with the mountain giants of Torridon on the far side veiled under cloaks of cloud.

The Coulin Forest rejoices in many splendid paths that snake all over the area, but are never invasive or ruinous to the surroundings. Their narrow paths work with the terrain snaking around the boggy ground and over the rocks providing me with a good, dry surface to walk along even though the weather was less than perfect. Ten years ago I had brilliant weather for this walk and even though I was not so fortunate this time I still enjoyed the walk as I followed the path over the Allt nan Corp, past Carn Dhonnachadh and up the valley towards the Munro of Maol Chean-dearg that brooded darkly ahead. While remembering my walk up that hill in 2014 I passed between two small lochans to reach the grand mountain tarn of Loch an Eoin, and reflected that I didn’t need to reach the summit of a mountain to have an enjoyable walk. While passing Loch an Eoin I found some boggy sections of the path, and in those parts were cycle tracks that show the popularity of this area with mountain bikers, though I was tempted to wonder if it might be the bicycles themselves that have damaged the path. When I reached the top of Bealach na Lice the view opened out ahead of me down the bleak valley of Coire Fionnaraich and ignoring the path that descends into the valley, I turned around Meall Dearg and crossed the top of the valley.

The path up to Bealach Bàn is badly eroded and since I don’t remember it being in such a poor state last time I was at this point, it must have happened during the notoriously bad weather of the last five years, most notably in December 2015. It is a pity that some of the otherwise excellent paths in the Coulin Forest have been damaged and nothing so far has been done to repair the damage, and not forgetting the path up to the top of Coire Lair that I passed on the previous Monday that also showed similar erosion. I was now passing around the northern slopes of the Munro Sgorr Ruadh, with the low lying Meall Dearg to my left. There are startling runs of white quartzite stones down the western slopes of Stuc a’ Choire Ghrannda, below Sgorr Ruadh, that can be seen from far away including, as I could attest from the day before, from the slopes of Beinn Alligin. On a sunny day they shine out and attract the eye while the rocks behind towards the summit of the Munro are a much duller, red sandstone that do not have the same appeal especially in the increasingly murky weather that I was encountering on this walk. After crossing the quartzite scree runs I came round into Coire Grannda where I joined the route that I had taken the previous Monday on my way into Torridon.

When I reached the top of the pass between Coire Grannda and Coire Lair I stopped in a sheltered spot from the cold wind and had an early lunch wrapping myself up against the inclement weather. In 2009 I had turned left at this point to walk along the fabulous mountain ridge of Beinn Liath Mhòr, but I had no such thoughts on this walk as the weather was far too bad. The word that came into my mind when I set off from the top of the pass was that it was ‘primal’, that there was something about being high up a mountainside when the weather is that poor that reduces all ones thinking to the very basics of keeping warm and dry, and finding a safe route off the mountain. It is quite exciting and challenging to be up a mountain in those conditions and it is really satisfying when you succeed in overcoming the bad weather with adequate clothing and good navigation takes you safely off the mountain. In this case the weather barely qualified as being primal and I had a clear, though initially heavily eroded, path that easily took me back down into the valley of Coire Lair to warmer and more sheltered weather.

Once the gradient eased it was a pleasure to walk through Coire Lair and even more so when the terrain steepened once again as the excellent path drops over rocky ground. I absolutely loved zooming down that path, even though I had plenty of time I enjoyed every moment of the steep, craggy descent that brought into the Achnashellach Forest. Even though the weather was poor and I didn’t reach the summit of any mountain I thoroughly enjoyed this walk, which just shows that it’s not where you walk to, but how you get there, and the paths through the Coulin Forest are fabulous. The weather on my holiday in Scotland was mixed, as you should be expect, but I was overjoyed to find some good weather on my return to Torridon for a few days when I was able to walk up some of the great mountains that are in this area.

Beinn Alligin

Wednesday 29th May 2019

Before heading out into the mountains at the start of the week of this walk, I checked the weather forecast and it was not looking good for Wednesday with rain likely, although to be fair to M.W.I.S. it also said “detail uncertain”. Expecting rain I was surprised to wake at the start of this day to clear blue skies and warmth that I had not experienced at any time previously during my holiday in Scotland. Packing up my tent after two nights camped between two of the giants of Torridon, Liathach and Beinn Eighe, in Coire Dubh Mór, I set off up the path away from the road retracing my steps of the day before toward the Triple Buttress in Coire Mhic Fhearchair. At a large cairn I ignored the path that branches right to the Triple Buttress and kept straight on along a surprisingly good path that slowly passes below the northern slopes of Liathach. These slopes are rarely seen though as with most mountains in Scotland they are the most complex and dramatic with many crag-filled corries that bear witness to the creative effects of glaciation.

To my right as I slowly made my way along the path, the steep slopes of Beinn Dearg looked impenetrable although I reflected that a clear path would have been forged up if only it had the extra metre that would have granted it Munro status. However, my eye was not on Beinn Dearg but its neighbour, Beinn Alligin, which does attain Munro status, and is usually grouped with the two giants of Torridon mentioned earlier even though its length is only half that of the other two. I climbed this mountain in 2009 in deteriorating weather so now that I had surprisingly good weather I thought I would do it again, but in the opposite direction, which I had thought after my walk in 2009 could be more satisfying, so this was my opportunity to find out. I was not the only person taking advantage of the good weather as I could see many people climbing it as I approached the junction of the Abhainn Coire Mhic Nòbuil, which I had been following, with the Allt a’ Bhealaich. Near this point I stopped and after moving a distance away from the path I set up my tent hastily throwing any unwanted items into it before setting off up the path now with a considerably lighter rucksack.

There were two large groups ahead of me also just starting the climb at this time, and as with every large group, they moved only as fast as their slowest person so it didn’t take me long to overtake the first such group. Where the terrain steepens dramatically a cunning path weaves a good scrambling route up the sheer, craggy hillside, and it was a sheer joy to climb even though I was delayed by the slow-moving second group ahead of me. Eventually I managed to pass them and when the terrain eased I enjoyed the walk up the rocky ground to the summit of the first of the Horns of Alligin, the three pinnacles that are a distinctive feature of this mountain. The climb to the first, and smallest, horn had been gentle, but now a steep scramble down was required before I could continue and I found this particularly tricky and nerve-wracking. Although I had enjoyed the scramble up the mountain I did not like the scramble off the first horn, but with hindsight I think it would have helped if I had dismantled my walking poles first as these got in the way. In 2009, despite poor weather, I traversed all three horns without difficulty, so maybe I shouldn’t have been so fearful this time, but I chickened out instead and followed a narrow bypassing path that clings to the steep southern slopes of the horns.

I didn’t think there was a bypassing path in 2009 so I must not have seen it in the poor weather, but now I found it to be quite a thrilling route along a faint, narrow path with a sheer drop to my left, and although I may have erred on the side of caution, I experienced an interesting path instead. On reaching the col beyond the horns I suddenly had stunning views to the north towards the Corbett of Baosbheinn and beyond to the coast at Gairloch. Climbing steeply I made my way to the top of Sgùrr Mhòr, the Munro that is the highest point on Beinn Alligin with views that were everywhere stunning, especially where I had come across the Horns of Alligin with Beinn Dearg immediately behind while Beinn Eighe and Liathach lurked in the distance. It is days like this on mountains that keep drawing me back to Scotland even though weather as good as this is rare in the Highlands. After eating my lunch I descended the steep slopes around the terrifying cleft of Eag Dhubh that has gouged the most distinctive feature out of the side of Beinn Alligin. Keeping to the path that minimises the undulation along the ridge I made my way around the top of Tom a’Mhadaibh Mòr and began climbing up to the top of Tom na Griagaich, the second Munro on Beinn Alligin.

When the terrain eased I veered right into a saddle and totally missed the summit, so when I realised I had to turn around and head up to the trig point that adorns the top of the Munro where I simply awestruck at the stunning view all around me. Coming back down to the col I ignored the southern top of Meall an Laoigh and immediately headed down into Coir’ nan Laogh on a good path that was a pleasure to follow despite hurting my knees at times. The great path continues out of the corrie and across craggy terrain descending all the way until eventually I reached the road at the bridge over the Abhainn Coire Mhic Nòbuil, but unfortunately I needed to head back up the path on the other side of the river in order to get back to my tent. I could have spent the night at that spot, but since it was still quite early I decided to pack up and head back down the path to the road and then walk the several miles into the village of Torridon. I decided, since I was in the area, that I would enquire at the youth hostel to see if they had a spare bed, and when I learnt that they didn’t I was able to pitch my tent in the adjacent camp site. I had not expected to get such good weather on this walk and I was very happy to be able to take advantage of it by climbing a fabulous mountain. You don’t get days like this very often in Scotland so I felt fortunate to enjoy this one.

Most guidebooks recommend doing this walk in the opposite direction, as I did in 2009, and having now done the walk in both directions I would probably side with the majority. Although I usually prefer slow descents and steep ascents, which would favour the direction of this walk, ultimately the traverse of the Horns of Alligin is better done in the other direction. The hardest scramble on the traverse is up to the easternmost horn so this is best done in ascent. It was tackling this that put me off completing the traverse, but if you have no problem with steep scrambles in either direction maybe this one was not a bad idea.

Beinn Eighe

Tuesday 28th May 2019

Beinn Eighe is a mountain that I have been trying to climb for the last ten years, ever since I first came to Torridon. On that occasion I had been unable to climb it both because of worsening weather and because the mountain is a long way from the youth hostel in Torridon where I had been staying. I decided that in order to do Beinn Eighe I would need a car, so a year after I came back only to be defeated when bad weather forced me to make a hasty retreat once I had reached the top of the ridge. I returned with my car again in 2016 spending several days in Torridon, but once again the weather was not nice to me. This year I tried a different approach by bringing a tent and camping in Coire Dubh Mór between Beinn Eighe and Liathach, and in the evening before the walk I had brilliant weather, which was rather annoying as it was the wrong time of day. I hoped the good weather would stay so when I looked out of my tent the following morning and saw blue skies I rejoiced, but when I looked north I saw dark rain clouds. The rain didn’t last very long and as I set off down the path towards the bottom of the valley I hoped that would be all I would get. However, before I reached the bottom, rain enveloped me again and this time it was very heavy with hail that prompted me to turn around and return to my tent.

I was really frustrated that once again the weather had not been nice to me and it had prevented me from climbing Beinn Eighe. I was very depressed with the weather that I had suffered on this holiday, and seemingly on every holiday I had taken in the West Highlands of Scotland. I have one holiday in Scotland a year, booked months in advance, so I can only hope that the weather is going to be good on those dates, and I don’t seem to have any luck. You can go up a mountain in poor weather but it is so much better if the weather is good while the least I could ask for is no rain and hopefully a view from the top. It was really getting me down that I seemed to hardly ever get good weather when I was in the West Highlands. As I dejectedly climbed back up the path in the rain I reflected that long distance walking might work better in Scotland because trails generally keep to the valleys and usually have a clear path so you don’t need good weather, and if the weather does improve then I could nip up a mountain on the way. I had already been losing interest in climbing Munros, big mountains in Scotland, because of the lack of good weather and this holiday had been almost a last chance for Munros to redeem themselves.

When I reached my tent I started to put my stuff away to break camp, but then the sun came out again, which is just typical of Scotland. This did not help my mood and in fact made me even more annoyed, but I suppose I have been very stupid to think I can rely on the weather in Scotland. Eventually I left my tent and set off back down the path determined now to do Beinn Eighe whatever the weather threw at me during the rest of the day. I passed many people coming up the path who must have thought it was time to start their walk, although I’m not sure where they were heading as I hardly saw any of them later. When I reached the road I walked along it for a while until at a small car park I turned onto a well-constructed path that climbs steeply up the hillside towards Beinn Eighe. The sunshine had been short-lived so by this point, and largely for the rest of the day, the skies were overcast, but I was not going to think about the weather and at least the cloud cover prevented me from getting too hot as I climbed the steep slopes. Before I reached the top, while in the depths of Coire an Laoigh, I stopped for a rest from the strenuous climb and ate my lunch. Another steep climb up a tricky dirt slope brought me to the ridge that leads to Stuc Coire an Laoigh.

I had an awe-inspiring view ahead of me of Liathach, while hazy views to the south over the Coulin Forest also contributed to making that steep climb up Coire an Laoigh worth the effort. Turning right I headed up the scree to reach the trig point on the main ridge of Beinn Eighe that was the furthest point I reached in 2010 only to find winds so strong I had to turn back. Now there was hardly any wind, however it was bitterly cold with snow or frost in places on the ridge that leads to the summit of the Munro. Gingerly I made my way along the narrow, rocky ridge trembling at the exposure, until eventually I reached the top of Spidean Coire nan Clach, but I didn’t go any further along the ridge. Sgurr Ban lies ahead and beyond that Sgurr nan Fhur Duibhe with the fearsome Black Carls beside it. I have never been great with heights and I seem to be getting less keen on exposed ridges as time goes by, so I turned my back on the eastern section of Beinn Eighe and carefully set off from the Munro back along the narrow ridge to the trig point where the terrain eases and I could begin to relax. Slowly, I made my way along the rocky ridge and up to the grassy dome of Cóinneach Mhór, but I didn’t reach the summit and instead turned right at a cairn steeply descending to a saddle and from there up the relatively gentle slopes to the summit of Ruadh-stac Mór, the highest point on Beinn Eighe.

Across Coire Mhic Fhearchair the infamous Triple Buttress stood in imposing splendour below the top of Cóinneach Mhór with Liathach peaking behind. I could have returned to Cóinneach Mhór and descended the Ceum Grannda (meaning ‘Ugly Step’), but I was not in the mood for exposed scrambling so when I returned to the bottom of the saddle I turned right down a stone shoot straight into the corrie. By keeping to the far right of the scree I somehow managed to ease the descent and minimise the difficulty though it still led to the top of a boulder field that had to be negotiated before I could reach the floor of the corrie. Now that I was released from the tension of exposure on the steep, narrow ridges I could finally enjoy myself as I made my way down the complex, craggy terrain into the corrie. There is a path that generally follows the stream down, but I was enjoying myself too much to rigidly follow it as I bounced across the rocks below the Triple Buttress until eventually I reached Loch Coire Mhic Fhearchair at the mouth of the corrie. Looking back, the cliff-faces didn’t look as impressive as I’d expected, though the grey, overcast skies that accompanied me for most of the walk over Beinn Eighe had not helped the view.

There is a very good path that leads up to Loch Coire Mhic Fheachair for people wanting to take in the view of this impressive corrie and the Triple Buttress, which must have been where the people I saw at the beginning of the day were headed. I appreciated the well-made path as it effortlessly took me around the broad slopes of Sáil Mhór with views north across broad, boggy valleys punctuated with sheer sided peaks that reminded me of the Sutherland area of Scotland. Considering I had wanted to do this walk for ten years it is a shame I didn’t enjoy it more. The weather wasn’t brilliant, but the main problem was that the mountains of Torridon have very steep slopes that make me rather nervous because of the height. Even though the Triple Buttress failed to impress me, I did enjoy walking through Coire Mhic Fheachair, but ultimately this was a great walk that was almost ruined by my frustration with the Scottish weather.

Coire Làir

Monday 27th May 2019

To start my second week in the Scottish Highlands I caught a train from the city of Inverness to the tiny, remote station of Achnashellach where I was happy to find sunshine after enduring a weekend in Inverness that was filled with rain. I was hopeful for some good weather as I set off north into Coire Làir heading towards Torridon and initially passed dense rhododendron groves in the Achnashellach Forest before taking a path that follows the River Làir up fabulously craggy terrain high above Glen Carron. The good weather tempted me to come off the path and cross the river to climb the steep slopes of the Corbett, Fuar Tholl, which I had not visited previously, however the river was fast flowing so crossing it would not have been easy. Prudently, I stayed on the path and continued to climb, and soon it started to rain, which prompted me to put my waterproof cover over my rucksack, but as I was doing that I was attacked by a squadron of midges, the first I had encountered on this holiday. Hastily, I put my waterproofs on and set off up the path soon leaving the midges behind as I climbed the steep path only for the rain to end before too long. This was no help as I was already the sweating in my waterproofs with no wind and nothing to cool me down.

This is a stunning path through fabulous scenery, but I was very hot from the exertion and humid conditions that were distracting me from what should have been a tremendous walk. Finally the terrain eased and a slight breeze appeared that cooled me down so I could enjoy the awesome surroundings before me of Coire Làir. I have been through this valley several times in the past, though the only time it was in ascent was in 2014 when I diverted off the main path to climb Beinn Liath Mhòr to the north of the valley. On the southern side is the higher Munro of Sgòrr Ruadh, but the former is the more appealing having also taken that route in 2009, and it was very tempting for me to be lured that way again as there is fabulous walking along a thrilling two kilometre ridge leading up to Beinn Liath Mhòr. Sunlight was gleaming on the white quartzite stones of the ridge, while in contrast, the red sandstone on the steep buttresses of Sgòrr Ruadh looked dark and unappealing. Beyond the top of the pass between these mountains I could see blue skies that promised good weather to come while Coire Làir sat under dark clouds that kept the temperature down as I made my way through the valley.

In the past I had always gone over one of the two Munros and so I had never before taken the path in the middle of the valley, therefore I ignored the paths that branch off to either side of Coire Làir and headed straight towards the top of the pass. Gradually, as I climbed, the sun reclaimed the valley while beyond Glen Carron I could see that rain was falling on the area where I had been walking during the first week of my holiday, which seems typical of the Scottish Highlands where the weather is often highly localised. Slowly I made my way up a heavily eroded path to the top of the pass before descending steeply into Coire Grannda where my knees complained painfully all the way down. Once the terrain mercifully eased I was able to enjoy the stunning views ahead of me towards the Torridon giants, most notably Liathach, which was looking very dark and ominous as low cloud covered the summit of the Munros. During the first week of my holiday I had followed the route of the Cape Wrath Trail as far as Strathcarron and now on this walk I was continuing that trail north, so on the edge of Coire Grannda I came off the excellent path that turns east to head over Bealach Bàn and headed north.

Initially there was no path across the stony slopes although occasionally I came across small cairns that I assumed marked the route of the Cape Wrath Trail, until eventually I found a clear path that slowly descends into Glen Torridon while ahead of me were excellent views towards Beinn Eighe. While Liathach remained shadowy, Beinn Eighe shone in the sun with its cap of quartzite, similar to Beinn Liath Mhòr, making a striking sight that drew me irresistibly on. The increasingly well-made path was a joy to walk upon as it passed lovely streams where small waterfalls in tranquil settings provided delightful spots for me to stop and enjoy the surroundings. Eventually I came down to the bottom of the valley, passing the private Ling Hut and over the road onto the path that climbs into Coire Dubh Mór, between Liathach and Beinn Eighe. Despite a cold northerly wind, the weather was improving all the while with almost clear blue skies overhead by early evening, but by then it was too late to start to climb either mountain. It was frustrating to come so far and then have to wait before climbing Beinn Eighe, but until then I could bask in the awesome mountain scenery and enjoy the surroundings while camped between the amazing mountains of Torridon.

The Beinn Eighe Mountain Trail

Wednesday 31st August 2016

The last time that I was in Torridon I had attempted to climb Beinn Eighe, but was thwarted by high winds and poor weather. I came back to Torridon this year with the specific aim of completing that walk that I had been unable to do six years ago, but unfortunately bad weather prevented me from doing the walk again. I arrived in Torridon on the previous Monday when I attempted to walk around the tops at the eastern end of Beinn Eighe, and I had hoped that I would later be able do a walk over the highest points on Beinn Eighe, the two Munros of Spidean Coire nan Clach and Ruadh-stac Mòr. This day was my last chance before moving on the following day so I was disappointed to wake up to awful weather with heavy rain that looked like it was set to stay for the rest of the day. Instead of climbing to the summit of Beinn Eighe I turned my attention to the Beinn Eighe National Nature Reserve, on the eastern slopes of the mountain. After driving through the horrible weather in Glen Torridon I reached the visitor centre near the village of Kinlochewe where the rain was still falling and the midges were having a feast on unsuspecting tourists. After a brief look around I decided to move on to the starting point for the reserve trails at a car park beside the shores of Loch Maree.

The Beinn Eighe National Nature Reserve was the first reserve to be established in Britain and I’d heard that there is a path in the reserve that is the only way-marked mountain trail in Britain. This sounded intriguing and sparked my curiosity so on this wet weather day I thought it would make a good wet weather option. After picking up a leaflet for the mountain trail in the car park I headed off into the woods initially beside the bank of the Allt na h-Airighe gradually climbing past tall purple-flowering heather and dense bracken with an abundance of moss everywhere. Astonishingly the rain had now stopped and the sun was beginning to come out, which added to an enjoyable walk as I followed the clear path that began to climb steeply up the hillside past scots pines. After crossing another burn, the Alltan Mhic Eoghainn, the path steepened even more and rock began to cover the ground underfoot further enhancing this delicious walk.

I had great views across the valley to the other side of Loch Maree where Slioch and the mountains on the other side of the deep ravine of Gleann Bianasdail were blinking in the newly emerged sunlight. I was still relatively low so I didn’t have far reaching views, but the rocky ground underfoot made me feel like I was on top of a high mountain. Quartzite, such as is found at the top of Beinn Eighe and not usually at this low level, covered the ground and made for a fun walk as the way-marked path weaved steeply through the gorgeous rock landscape. Even though this walk ultimately doesn’t climb very high, this surprising abundance of mountain-top rocks made this walk feel like a real mountain walk and I loved every moment of it. Eventually the path started to level off and cold winds forced me to wrap up warm for the next stage of the walk across a mountain-top-like traverse over the rocky terrain until I finally reached the summit of the walk, the top of Leathad Buidhe, where the view west suddenly revealed itself in astounding clarity.

Beinn Eighe was arrayed before me, surprisingly mostly clear of cloud with the eastern peaks of the mountain looking fabulous from this great vantage point. Creag Dhubh, which I’d climb two days previously, was on the left with Ruadh-stac Beag on the right while Sgurr Ban and the Munro, Spidean Coire nan Clach, lying at the far end of the corrie. This was a fabulous sight and made me long to be able to climb those mountains one day in good weather, unfortunately on this walk the rain had already started to fall again. I felt fortunate to have such a good view of Beinn Eighe on this walk despite the poor weather and lingered at the top for as long as possible to take in the view until eventually the cold and descending cloud on Beinn Eighe forced me to resume my walk along the mountain trail. Ahead of me was Meall a’ Ghiubhais whose rocks are darker, brown rather than grey, than those on Beinn Eighe due to a major earth movement that shoved the older Torridonian sandstones on top of the younger Cambrian quartzites, which was why I was able to enjoy a mountain-top walk over quartzite during my climb.

After passing passing Loch Allt an Daraich and Lunar Loch, the path begins to descend once again through what I thought of as less interesting scenery with less rock and more heather and devil’s bit scabious, which is the norm on mountain slopes at this height and this time of the year. The path follows a stream called simply An t-allt, the burn, into a deep ravine that provides enough shelter from the wind to enable relatively thick vegetation to grow in the area. With the rain now falling quite heavily and low cloud everywhere I made my way down the path quite unfazed by the weather. A spectacular gorge was passed before eventually I plunged once more into the wood and finally reached the car park at the bottom of the path beside the shore of Loch Maree. This was a great, though short walk, where I lingered on the trail, taking my time to stop and read the trail guide to get a better appreciation of my surroundings. When I’d started I’d thought I’d be able to do some more walking afterwards, but since I didn’t reach the bottom until three o‘clock I decided to call it a day there. I had had so much fun on the climb over the mountain-top-like quartzite rocks that I didn’t feel as if I needed to do anything else. This walk had truly felt like a mountain trail even though it technically doesn’t climb to the top of a mountain.

Beinn Bhàn

Tuesday 30th August 2016

I had two different routes planned for this walk and even as I was parking my car I still hadn’t decided which one I would do. Ralph Storer’s route up Beinn Bhàn seemed too difficult to attempt so on looking for an alternative I had found a different, much easier route on the walkhighlands.co.uk website. This had been my favoured option until I got a taste of the strong winds coming off the sea and suddenly Ralph Storer’s corrie-foot walk became more appealing. From Torridon I drove over the hills and down to Kishorn where I parked just before the bridge over the River Kishorn. The walkhighlands.co.uk route would have had me walk along the road for a bit before climbing the long southern ridge of Beinn Bhàn, however I think that walk would have been better done in the opposite direction with the steepest section in ascent and the ridge then used in descent, which is always more pleasing way for me to do a walk. Instead I headed north along a good path that heads along the valley towards a fish farm and ends at Loch Gaineamhach below the corries of Beinn Bhàn.

Ralph Storer (in his book “100 Best Routes on Scottish Mountains”) says to come off the path when the first corrie, Coire Each, comes into view. Unfortunately the clouds were down so low it was difficult for me to see any of the corries and the path that I was on was so good I didn’t want to come off it and onto the boggy, pathless moorland. Eventually I did come off the path, and possibly earlier than I should, and struggled through the rough terrain slowly climbing towards some distant location I couldn’t see. Heather, bogs and rocks abounded underfoot as I made my way up the steep terrain passing the mouth of Coire Each and Coire na Feòla. Ralph Storer would have had me go into the corries but I think I must have stayed quite low at this point and didn’t get to see all the way into any of these corries, though low cloud would have spoiled the effect. What I could see of the tall crags of these corries was still awe-inspiring and only improved after I rounded the end of A’Chioch and past the crag-filled Coire na Poite. Ralph Storer directed me to climb right into the heart of this corrie “where two hidden lochans lie at the foot of the dramatic 350m corrie headwall”.

In view of the poor weather, I did not do this and instead I crossed the bog between the corrie and the beautiful Lochan Coire na Poite whose sandy beaches would have been more enticing in warmer conditions. Passing the spur that ends in the dramatic pinnacle of A’ Phiot I climbed into the grassy Coire an Fhamair and contemplated the northern ridge of this corrie which looked like it might be a possible route up, albeit with a scramble. This is a viable route up, though it would have been better done in good weather, so I decided to stick with Ralph Storer’s route heading up the corrie to the far right-hand corner where a steep, grassy rake took me up to the summit plateau. This was an exhausting climb and I stopped frequently to look behind me at the view down the corrie towards the mountains of the Coulin Forest where the sun was starting to come out. Beinn Bhàn remained under cloud and when I eventually reached the top of the corrie strong winds forced me back down into the shelter of the corrie rim where I had my lunch. By the time I re-emerged onto the summit plateau the cloud was beginning to lift and I suddenly had a fleeting view north across Loch na Beinne Bàine and the northern ridge of Beinn Bhàn.

It wasn’t long before I was once more enveloped in cloud, so turning south I headed into a bitterly cold wind as I headed towards the summit of the Corbett. In better weather I would have kept to the rim of the corries in order to get a good look into these steep, dramatic rock theatres, but with low cloud and a strong wind trying to blow me into the corries I wisely kept far from the edge as I made my way up the bleak hillside until eventually I reached the trig point that is encircled by a stone wall and marks the summit of Beinn Bhàn. Continuing south I headed towards the long ridge that the route of walkhighlands.co.uk would have had me climb. Careful navigation took me onto the narrowing ridge at the head of Coire na Feòla where the cold wind became a torrent that made standing upright virtually impossible. However, on reaching the col I suddenly came below the clouds where I had a view of the edge of the corrie and the slowly descending ridge. This was an awesome sight and made me mourn for the other sights on this amazing mountain that I had failed to see due to the low cloud. On approaching a slight rise I turned back and beheld an astonishing sight as the whole of Beinn Bhàn emerged from the clouds with the sun illuminating everything.

This was an amazing sight that made me quake in my boots at the astounding rock scenery of this spectacular mountain. It was still very windy at this point even though I now had brilliant views so that the pictures I took at this point don’t give any indication of just how poor the weather was still. It is really frustrating to see such a spell-binding spectacle and not be able to truly appreciate it due to gale force winds. I could have stayed on the southern ridge all the way down to the road, à la walkhighlands.co.uk, but the winds encouraged me to come off the ridge as soon as possible following Ralph Storer’s direction, but I was careful to wait until after I’d passed Coire Each where long, steep slopes led me safely down to my car. During the descent the weather eastwards continued to improve prompting me to stop frequently to admire the view and take in the tremendous scenery. I like pathless descents, almost as much as I hate pathless ascents, so I was keen for this descent to take as long as possible, while the cloud quickly enveloped Beinn Bhàn again and even darker clouds began to appear from the west. The usual Scottish weather was very quickly establishing itself once more on Beinn Bhàn.

I tried to make the most of this descent and enjoy the great views I had east towards Beinn Damh that looked so much better than what I had endured on Beinn Bhàn. This is a mountain that really deserves better weather with some absolutely awesome rock scenery that is screaming out for a return visit when I can better appreciate them. I only got a glimpse on this walk of what this mountain has to offer and in better weather I’m sure the experience would be considerably better. Away from the mountains the weather continued to improve and on my way back to Torridon I stopped off in the delightful seashore village of Shieldaig for supplies. The sun was shining brightly and in this sheltered location it felt lovely. The contrast between this tranquil place and the wind-swept summit of Beinn Bhàn was considerable so that while enjoying the warm sunshine I wished the weather had been nicer to me on Beinn Bhàn. Good weather is vitally important when hill-walking in Scotland, but unless you are able to go at a moment’s notice you are taking your chances. On this walk, and generally on this holiday, I was dealt a poor hand, but on the occasions when I did have some sunshine, such on the descent from Beinn Bhàn or at Shieldaig, I wanted to stop and enjoy every moment.

Beinn Eighe (East)

Monday 29th August 2016

When I last drove up to Scotland for a walking holiday, in 2010, I stopped in Torridon with the aim of climbing one of the giants of Torridon, Beinn Eighe, however this coincided with bad weather so I descended as soon as I had reached the ridge of this vast mountain, near the Munro Spidean Coire nan Clach. Once I made the decision to take my car to Scotland this time, I immediately thought that I wanted to return to Torridon in order to climb Beinn Eighe in, hopefully, better weather. The day before this walk I’d enjoyed good weather, but unfortunately for this walk the weather had deteriorated. After driving from Ratagan Youth Hostel, where I had spent the night, I parked in the village of Kinlochewe and set off in weather that didn’t seem too bad, however I knew that the weather was forecast to worsen later in the day. Rather than repeating the walk that I’d attempted six years ago I was going to do the walk that in Ralph Storer’s seminal guidebook, “100 Best Routes on Scottish Mountains”, is titled Beinn Eighe (East). This walk involves a circuit of Coire Domhain including a traverse of the fearsome pinnacles of Bodaich Dubh, the Black Carls, however I was reassured by Ralph Storer that there is “a path that avoids any insurmountable difficulties if necessary”.

The walk started well as I passed through the beautifully wild surroundings of the Beinn Eighe National Nature Reserve with heather and devil’s bit scabious covering the ground below many small trees that were attempting to establish themselves in this windy, exposed valley. Ahead of me the white stone topped peaks of the eastern end of Beinn Eighe stood proudly, beckoning me on and after swinging right to come alongside the Allt a’Chuirn the Black Carls themselves tauntingly came into view. I had an enjoyable walk on an excellent path that took me through the heather moor while the striking mountain ahead lured me on. The climb became a little more interesting when I had to scramble down to a lovely stream beside a waterfall, and after fording that I scrambled back up the bank onto a delightfully narrow ridge that widened with shifting stones underfoot which made for unpleasant walking. It is difficult to get a grip on stony paths like this as it can be like walking on sand, so eventually I veered off the path towards my right hand side of the ridge above the stream that I had crossed earlier.

I could see a clear path climbing the rock wall ahead, but the stony path I was on wasn’t going in that direction, rather towards a seemingly dead end, so I felt justified in following a line of cairns to the right of the ridge that led me all the way up to this excellent path. My way climbed the steep, rocky terrain near to the stream until eventually I turned left to climb steep scree up to the top of a narrow, steep ridge with vertiginous views into Coire Domhain below and up to Sgurr nan Fhir Duibhe, the highest point on this circuit. There was a very cold wind blowing on this exposed ridge that forced me to don my waterproofs before climbing the stony ridge towards the ominous clouds that lay around the summit of the mountain. The abundant rock and strong, cold wind made this climb feel very mountainous, especially when compared with the good weather climbs that I had made in the Cairngorms three months before. It is usually very windy and cold at the top of a mountain so when the weather is not like that it feels odd, and not quite right, even though it is great to be at the top of a mountain in good weather. On this walk the weather felt properly mountainous and I had to battle against both the weather and the gradient until eventually I reached the top of Creag Dhubh.

I had fantastic views north towards Slioch and the Great Wilderness, but towards the heart of Beinn Eighe it seemed very dark and ominous with both the Munros enveloped in cloud. Resolutely I headed off along the ridge towards the Black Carls where, bizarrely, there was hardly any wind passing over an unnamed 929 metre top and to the start of the jagged peaks. Ralph Storer’s assurance that there is a bypass path constantly played through my mind as I approached the impenetrable-looking pinnacles, but once I got there I couldn’t find it. I made an exploratory expedition but I soon started to have difficulties that forced me to turn back until I could make another attempt, but that also proved futile. I don’t have a great head for heads and as I clambered around the rocks the clouds began to descend, which made route-finding even more difficult. In the end I had to return to the start of the Black Carls where I admitted defeat and accepted that I was going to have to descend the way that I had come. In mountain walking one must always be prepared to abandon the walk and turn back if the weather or the terrain demands it.

On the reassuringly flat ridge to Creag Dhubh I stopped, relaxed, caught my breath back and had my lunch. After eating I started my descent and was once again I was blasted by the same strong, cold winds that had whipped up at me during my ascent. At the foot of the scree, in Leathad Buidhe, I stopped for a rest to absorb the awesome rock scenery, and while watching a pair of ptarmigan I thought I could feel a few drops of rain so I put on all my waterproofs even though it didn’t actually start raining until much later in the day. Ironically during my descent I noticed that the clouds had lifted again from around the Black Carls, but it wasn’t really the weather that had stopped me on this occasion. The giants of Torridon terrified me when I was first visited them in 2009 as I am not good with heights, and this is what ultimately turned me back. If I had been able to find the bypass path I may have been able to have completed the walk as planned, but I enjoyed the climb up the dramatic-looking mountain and now I got to do that same path again with the views east ahead of me. I prefer to look on the positives of this walk and I loved being in the great rock landscape around Creag Dhubh with the tremendous views north. Creag Dhubh may not even qualify as a Munro Top (it is lower than the unnamed 929 metre top, which is also not a Munro Top), but to me on this walk it was as great a mountain as any.

Sgurr Ruadh

Friday 30th May 2014

The weather at the start of my third day in the Coulin Forest was stunning with clear blue skies and it felt very warm even from the start of the day, though as on the day before it did cloud over as the day progressed, but I was still feeling amazingly lucky to be in this great area of mountains in such good weather. Unfortunately this was my last day in the Coulin Forest so ultimately my aim for the day was to return to Achnashellach railway station, but on the way I wanted to have a bit of a walk and climb to the top of a mountain. I had just spent a second night in the Coire Fionnaraich Bothy, and this night in the company of five young women, so after saying goodbye to the bothy, and to the five young women, I set off back up the valley, past Loch Coire Fionnaraich and back up to Bealach na Lice. This was a rather tiring climb, especially with the hot temperatures and now that I was carrying a much heavier rucksack than the day before.

At the top of the valley I turned right towards Bealach Bàn, where the level gradient made the walking a little easier than it had been on the climb up the valley, with a further pleasure to be had from the tremendous views all the way down the unspoilt valley back to the bothy. As I passed delectable spotted-orchids at my feet I walked along the excellent path that I had previously taken just two days ago over the pass into Coire Grannda to outstanding views of the Torridon Mountains in the distance and the backs of the Coire Lair Mountains before me. This is a fabulous path in great mountain landscape and amazing views, and despite this now being my third time on the path I still thoroughly enjoyed it. As I approached the top of the pass into Coire Lair the clouds started to close in again and spoil the great views by putting dark shadows over everything, but since the clouds stayed well above the mountains I had nothing to stop me heading up Sgurr Ruadh.

I had first walked in this area in 2009 on my way from Torridon to the railway station at Achnashellach, and on that occasion I had elected to go over Beinn Liath Mhor, to the left of Coire Lair from the pass. Two days before this walk I’d returned to Coire Lair and decided once again to climb Beinn Liath Mhor meaning that I had still never been up the mountain on the other side of the valley so that was going to be my route for this walk to the station. However, first I had to get up there and that was proving to be tremendously difficult as my muscles screamed at me with every step. I was in absolute agony while climbing out of the pass and up the steep grassy slopes that led me to the top of the ridge coming down from Sgurr Ruadh. Once again I was thinking that my rucksack was too heavy as I slowly dragged myself along the narrowing ridge on a good path through the rocks and up to the summit of Sgurr Ruadh.

I was loving the good paths and reflected that I like a good path up to the top of a mountain that doesn’t make the climb too easy, that is just tough enough to make you feel like you’ve accomplished something, but not so tough that you feel lucky to be alive at the end of it. That is one of the appeals of the Coulin Forest as there are generally very good paths throughout the area that provide excellent access to all the mountains, with the notable exception of the route I took up Maol Chean-dearg the day before this walk. At the summit of Sgurr Ruadh I had some good views across to Glen Torridon and Strath Carron where the sun was shining brightly while grey clouds lingered over the mountains of the Coulin Forest in between. While at the top of the Munro I had my lunch before setting off down the slope on the other side of the mountain.

Having enjoyed a good path on ascent I was now faced with no path for the descent but the rules all go out of the window in descent. Before me was now a broad outcrop-filled slope that would have provided me with a tedious, prolonged ascent but in descent it was a joy as I picked my route around the crags and down to the complex loch-filled saddle of Bealach Mòr. Faint paths occasionally materialised during the descent but they were fleeting and instead I had to decide which way to go myself, which is always a lot easier in descent. The saddle at the bottom was such an undulating place it would have been like a maze in mist, but on this occasion I was able to keep heading towards the immense crags of Creag Mainnrichean in order to get across the bealach and before reaching the far side of the pass I came across a surprisingly clear and well-made path that led me unerringly down into Coire Lair.

The impressive crags of Creag Mainnrichean, to my right, constantly drew my attention as I began my descent and I wished I’d had time to go to the summit of the mountain that lies behind them, Fuar Tholl. Ralph Storer claimed that Fuar Tholl is the finest mountain in the area despite not being a Munro whereas Sgurr Ruadh and Beinn Liath Mhor are both Munros, and I’m sure it is the amazing Mainnreachan Buttress that earns it that accolade. As I slowly walked down the path into the valley I was in awe of the huge crags that line this side of Core Lair, not just on Fuar Tholl, but also on Sgorr Ruadh, and create a rugged, imposing presence to the valley. I was also in awe of the excellent footpath that I was walking along that enabled me to easily, and with dry feet, drop down into the valley amongst this inspiring landscape. It is a testament to the people who originally created these paths that the Coulin Forest, and Coire Lair in particular, is such a fabulous place to walk. I’m glad that I had the opportunity to return to the area, and at a time when the weather was so good.

My biggest disappointment with this walk is that I had to catch a train at just after three thereby cutting the walk short halfway through the afternoon. With more time I would have been able to climb to the top of Fuar Tholl and explore the impressive Mainnreachan Buttress. Instead I came down to the bottom of the valley where I carefully crossed the river and dropped down the excellent path that took me to the Rhododendron-surrounded Achnashellach railway station. I had just had a thoroughly enjoyable three days in the Coulin Forest and I was sorry to be leaving; it’ll be a shame if I don’t return sometime soon. I caught the train to Kyle of Lochalsh and there I caught a bus onto the Isle of Skye where I planned to spend a couple of days. On Tuesday it had looked like this week was ruined when I had missed the only bus all week to Glen Strathfarrar, but my backup plan turned out to be even better than I’d originally planned.

Maol Chean-dearg and An Ruadh-Stac

Thursday 29th May 2014

After spending the night all on my own in the Coire Fionnaraich Bothy I woke up to bright sunshine and the prospect of fabulous weather for a walk over the mountains of the Coulin Forest. The weather had been getting gradually better ever since I’d set foot in the Coulin Forest the previous morning and I had ended the day with clear skies in the captivating surroundings of a bothy half way up the valley beside the Fionn-abhainn. Unfortunately the good weather at the start of the following day didn’t last, though it didn’t get too bad, as it soon became overcast with the sun only managing to break through for short periods in the afternoon. Nevertheless the tops of the mountains were always clear of clouds so I always had great views of the surrounding mountains from the two rock covered tops that I climbed on this walk.

I was following a walk described in Ralph Storer’s ‘100 Best Routes on Scottish Mountains’, a book that I have been using for ten years as my inspiration for walks in Scotland. I started by climbing back up the path that I had descended the previous day, heading up the valley past Loch Coire Fionnaraich and up to Bealach na Lice, at which point Ralph Storer suggests three different routes up Maol Chean-dearg, the imposing mountain to my left. The first is up an obvious grassy rake, the second picks a route among outcrops up an open gully and the third follows a complex cairned route that weaves among the crags of the north face. Of these the third sounded the most interesting so I set off in search of this cairned route, but I couldn’t find any trace of it and soon came a cropper on steep ground high above Loch an Eion. After coming back down to safer ground, with a few deer looking on, I realised that since I didn’t fancy the second option I was left with the obvious rake where I could see a path leads up to it, so therefore foolishly I decided to take that route

There was no path actually in the rake, just at the start, and instead it was just a very steep climb that had me clutching at the grass as I tried to haul myself up. The only advantage of this grassy rake was that it put me very close to the wild flowers that grew abundantly in the rake. I have no idea what the plants were, and most were not actually in flower yet, but they gave me an interesting thing to look at as I crawled on my hands and knees up the mountainside. The grassy rake becomes a steep stone shoot near the top and I could see that this was choked with snow that blocked my way, and yet I still took this route. I knew it wouldn’t be easy and I knew that the snow would block my way and yet I kept on climbing. As I approached I decided that my best option would be to climb onto the narrow, exposed ridge to the right of the gully and climb on that to the top. If only I had done that.

Fearful of the exposure I instead stayed in the shoot staying to the left side foolishly trying to squeeze between the block of snow and the treacherously loose surface of the shoot. This was tremendously dangerous and I should never have got into such a situation. With the stones slipping under my feet I luckily and in desperation managed to climb out of the shoot to my left and after getting above the snow I finally managed to get up to the top of the shoot. I was thanking God profusely for sparing me after I had foolishly got myself into such a dangerous situation and soon started to vow that I will never get myself into such a situation again. My lucky escape made me reflect on my mountain walking and the risks that I take in walking on my own up these isolated mountains.

In recent years I have become more interested in long distance walks rather than the single-minded bag-a-hill attitude that I used to have and this incident made me think that it would be a lot safer to just walk along the bottom of the valley. However, I still love being at the top of a mountain even though it’s not worth risking my life over. I like a good path under my feet, and I don’t like it when things get too mountainous, so I could just restrict myself to less strenuous ascents. Actually Munro baggers would not take that route up Maol Chean-dearg, but would take the much easier route that I later took in descent. The summit of the Munro, which has a fabulous cairn, was not far from the top of the shoot I had just clambered up, so I collapsed beside it and had an early lunch. The descent wasn’t easy as I passed over a huge boulder field, but compared with the stone shoot it was a pleasure.

Beyond the boulders was an amazing area of shattered quartzite, a vast expanse of dazzling white stones scattered everywhere and creating a mesmerising scene of rock in startling abundance. Slowly, I walked through this wonderland to the saddle of Bealach a’ Choire Ghairbh where the Corbett, An Ruadh-Stac, dominates the view glistening in a complete covering of white quartzite. Ralph Storer recommends giving it a miss saying that only the most dedicated will make the steep stony ascent, but since it was very early in the afternoon and I felt like I needed a good climb, I decided to ascend this huge lump of rock. Traversing a small rock ridge between Loch a’ Mhadaidh Ruadh and Loch a’ Ruadh Stac brought me to the start of the steep climb up the rocky surface of An Ruadh-Stac while better weather in the afternoon helped me to enjoy every moment of my climb up this awesome mountain. The views of the neighbouring mountains were equally sensational with Beinn Damh dominating the view as I reflected on my climb up that Corbett in poor weather in 2009.

I had a much better afternoon than in the morning when I had got myself literally into a tight situation. The rest of the walk, from Maol Chean-dearg, was a pleasure, especially the descents to Bealach a’ Choire Ghairbh, and from An Ruadh-Stac over tremendous rocky terrain. At the saddle I resumed Ralph Storer’s recommended route by taking the excellent stalker’s path that descends into the valley beside the Allt Mnatha Luadhadair. Despite my problems in the ascent I still think this was a great walk as the landscape around Bealach a’ Choire Ghairbh is so compelling with white quartzite stone in such abundance that it gave the area a magical appearance. This memorable terrain was able to clear my head of the terrors of the stone shoot and convince me once again of the pleasures of climbing mountains, just so long as it’s not too steep!

Beinn Liath Mhor

Wednesday 28th May 2014

After my disappointments of the day before, I was now really hoping for a better day, and that is what I got. The weather was not great at the start, but it gradually improved throughout the course of the day to end in fabulous weather in a great location. When I left Inverness it was dull and overcast with low cloud; it looked like I would have another miserable day, but the forecast gave me hope and so it proved. I caught a train from Inverness to the remote station of Achnashellach in Glen Carron, which was not what I’d planned for this day. Originally I’d planned to catch a bus to Glen Strathfarrar the day before and to spend the rest of the week going up to the top of the mountains at the western end of Loch Monar. A missed bus ruined that plan so I decided to spend the night in Inverness before travelling to Achnashellach, which is the nearest station to the West Monar Forest. When I bought the train ticket I was still thinking about going to West Monar, but the hills to the north of Achnashellach proved too strong a draw.

In 2009 I had walked through the Coulin Forest from Torridon to Achnashellach visiting the top of Beinn Liath Mhor on the way, and there I found an area of excellent mountains and good footpaths. Ever since I have been keen on returning to the area and since I felt that I needed a good satisfying walk I decided to go north from the railway station into the Achnashellach Forest. After passing through rhododendron infested woods I climbed the excellent path that winds its way up into the fabulous Coire Lair. It was already beginning to get quite warm a this point and I was soon very hot due to the exertion of climbing the steep path, so my cagoule came off for the first time this holiday and undeterred by a few drops of rain I continued to climb the excellent path that led me into the fabulous hanging valley of Coire Lair. Clouds resolutely clung to the tops of the mountains, but I refused to be disappointed while trying to decide where to go on this walk.

Since I’d climbed Beinn Liath Mhor five years ago it seemed to make sense to now climb Sgorr Ruadh on the other side of the valley, but eventually I decided to retrace my steps over Beinn Liath Mhor. Ralph Storer (in the indispensable guide ‘100 Best Routes on Scottish Mountains’) recommended climbing Beinn Liath Mhor first, and I actually thought I could do both mountains on this walk before descending east to the tiny bothy of Easan Dorcha, however I soon realised that wasn’t going to happen as I began my ascent of Beinn Liath Mhor. An excellent path meanders up steep heather slopes from Drochaid Coire Lair, but it was once the gradient eased that I found things more difficult. I had been feeling tired all week and really struggled with the long climb up to the eastern top while carrying a heavy rucksack.

When I plunged into the low clouds it was so cold and windy I decided to stop, have my lunch and put my cagoule on as well as a fleece before slowly climbing the stony slopes that seemed to go on forever. Eventually I reached the rather grand cairn that adorns the summit of the eastern top of Beinn Liath Mhor and soon after that the ridge narrows dramatically to provide me with a thrilling walk along the ridge that got even better when the clouds suddenly cleared to reveal a fabulous stony col between the eastern and central tops of Beinn Liath Mhor. As I passed over the central top the clouds lifted from the top of the surrounding mountains to reveal stunning views that opened out all the way to the Torridon giants of Liathach and Beinn Eighe. I stood just after the top in awe of my surroundings basking in everything that I could see around me. When clouds suddenly lift from the top of a mountain it is breathtaking and the best thing you can do is to just stop and take in the views that are only now revealed to you.

It was still quite overcast overhead but I now had clear views all around me while under my feet the terrain was glorious with white rocks everywhere and steep sided mountains in every direction. The third and final top, the Munro, of Beinn Liath Mhor was gradually easing out of the last wisps of cloud as I slowly descended to the second col and by the time I reached the Munro the clouds had lifted from every top and blue sky was beginning to appear. In 2009 I had sat at the top of Beinn Liath Mhor in excellent weather, but now it was slowly improving and during the rest of the afternoon would get better and better. Eventually I made my way from the summit of Beinn Liath Mhor down steep terrain and around the pathless top of Sàil Gharbh to the bealach and the main path that runs through Coire Lair.

Continuing on my route of 2009 in reverse I descended into Coire Grannda where stunning views of the Torridon giants could be seen with the serrated ridge of Am Fasarinen, the pinnacles of Liathach, drawing my attention. While the sun shone under clear blue skies and the Torridon giants dominated my attention, all my disappointments from the day before were a distant memory and I joyfully sailed along the path over Bealach Bàn and turning aside from my 2009 route I descended into Coire Fionnaraich. I considered pitching my tent beside the picturesque Loch Coire Fionnaraich, but eventually I decided to continue further down the valley to a bothy that is set in a lovely idyllic location half way down. By the evening the weather was near perfect and I was in a bothy on my own miles away from civilisation in a tranquil location. The day before this walk I’d felt that everything was going against me, but I probably ended this walk in a much better location than if I’d stuck to my original plan. I had done a fabulous walk over a great mountain and was now staying in a wonderful bothy in beautiful surroundings.

An Teallach

Thursday 3rd June 2010

After my wind-swept walk of the day before I drove further up the west coast of Scotland as far as the ferry town of Ullapool, however I didn’t catch the ferry to Stornoway. Instead, after spending the night in Ullapool, I drove to An Teallach, which is considered by some to be the greatest mountain in Scotland. The usual starting point for a walk up An Teallach is Corriehallie, and indeed when I passed the parking spot there were already a relatively large number of cars, despite the early hour. I was following Ralph Storer’s instructions and after parking near the Garbh Allt I set off beside the burn through a dense rhododendron thicket. If you ever wanted a demonstration of the problems that rhododendrons cause, then you just have to look at that path. Underneath the rhododendrons it was totally lifeless as all that was able to grow was rhododendron. The only compensation was that most of the rhododendrons were not in flower yet after our harsh winter.

I emerged from the rhododendrons to perfect weather and crossed the vast terrain under a warm sun. After my poor weather of the last two days I was being rewarded with fantastic weather at just the right moment as nothing less than perfect weather will do on a mountain like An Teallach. On this walk the wind would not put a stop to my adventures, only my fear of heights. After following the Coire a’ Ghlas Thuill burn along a muddy path I left stream and path behind in order to make a direct ascent up the massive bulk of Glas Mheall Mòr. Slowly I climbed up to the top of this northernmost top of An Teallach picking my own way up the interminably steep stone-covered hill. Eventually, after what seemed like forever, I reached the summit of Glas Mheall Mòr where I was greeted with stunning views of the coast and of the steep rock faces of An Teallach ahead of me. After a tiresome climb I joyfully crossed over the gap and climbed the steep stony hillside opposite to the top of the northern Munro of An Teallach, Bidein a’ Ghlas Thuill, where I had my lunch.

It was really enjoyable sitting on my own at the summit in such fantastic weather while gazing out at the awesome scenery around me, except for the terrifying sight of the pinnacles of An Teallach on the other side of the corrie. From the summit I descended once again on a delightful rocky path to the deep col and while keeping as close to the top of the ridge as I dared, I climbed up to the other Munro, Sgùrr Fiòna, where the pinnacles could now clearly be seen in all their terror. I probably should have at least tried to go up the first pinnacle, Lord Berkeley’s Seat, which Ralph Storer claims is an easy scramble, but for some reason once I got to the foot of the pinnacles I really didn’t want to go up any of them. The masses of people who had gone the other way round the mountain were quite happily climbing the pinnacles and making moves that I could never dare to make as I don't have a head for heights, so I quite happily missed out all of the pinnacles. Instead I walked along one of the many bypassing paths to the right while staying as high as possible so that I could peek through the gaps between the pinnacles. I like paths that cling to the side of a steep mountain, along a narrow ledge, as they test my nerves while still being quite safe so I quite enjoyed exploring the many paths that have been made to bypass these challenging peaks.

After descending steeply after the last pinnacle there simple remained a pleasant stroll along the ridge climbing over Stob Cadha Gobhlach to the top of a gully just before the last top of An Teallach, Sàil Liath, where I took a steep rocky path down the gully. For some reason I had, by now, lost all interest in the walk and all I wanted to do was to get off the mountain as quickly as possible, but I still had a long way to go. At the bottom of the gully is Loch Toll an Lochain which affords a stunning view of the pinnacles mirrored in the murky waters of the loch. From there I had a long walk along a faint path that followed the Allt Coir’ a’ Ghiubhsachain in surroundings that seemed almost Jurassic. The path eventually took me all the way back to the Garbh Allt and my starting point beyond the rhododendrons.

An Teallach may be a favourite of many people, but as I walked back to my car I was not so keen. Is An Teallach the greatest mountain in Scotland? I don’t think so, I think the giants of Torridon, Liathach and Beinn Eighe, which An Teallach shares many characteristics with, must hold a greater claim to that title. Maybe this walk was not as enjoyable as it should have been because I allowed myself to become too nervous due to the vertiginous nature of the mountain. The weather for this walk was perfect and An Teallach really is a truly awe-inspiring mountain, but I still wasn’t overjoyed by the walk. The fact that I didn’t go to the top of any of the pinnacles shouldn’t made made a difference; they are a really difficult scramble after all. I went to the top of the Munros and I had a fabulous walk; that should be enough.