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Thieves road - Fort William to Dalwhinnie

Thieves road - Fort William to Dalwhinnie


Postby andrewl7642 » Tue Feb 27, 2018 7:26 pm

Date walked: 02/09/2017

Time taken: 4 days

Distance: 70 km

Ascent: 500m

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Thieves Road - A 44 mile hike from Fort William in the Highlands to Dalwhinnie in the Cairngorms.



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Image

Day 1 (2 September, 2017)
I begin my 44 mile hike from Fort William after arrival by train late afternoon (and after a quick visit to Morrisons for supples).
I pick up the path of the West Highland Way and begin walking out towards Glen Nevis where I find a reasonable camping spot close to the lower falls.

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Day 2 (3 September, 2017)
On day 2, I climb the Nevis Gorge and pass Steall Falls to follow the faint (and very boggy) path to Meanach bothy. To my dismay the heavens soon open up and it's not long before I am returned to my Amphibian roots. Due to the heavy rain I had to put away the camera until I eventually got to the bothy. For anyone wishing to try this route you will almost certainly need to take a map if you don't want to get lost! You've been warned!!

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Day 3 (4 September, 2017)
On day 3, I leave Meanach bothy in my damp clothes and head for the abandoned Culra bothy where I had planned to wild camp. For anyone who doesn't know, Culra bothy was closed for asbestos issues. The path out of Meanach is extremely boggy but improves as Loch Treig is approached. I pass by Stoineag bothy, Loch Treig, Corrour Station and Loch Ossian. It was a very long day and I didn't make it to my destination. I spent the final hour walking in the dark with my headtorch eventually having to wild camp on top of some heather, a couple miles short of Culra bothy.

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Day 4 (5 September, 2017)
On the final day of the trip, after finding myself pitched up on a bed of heather at about 600 metres, I descend to the abandoned Culra bothy. I then pick up an easy path to Loch Ericht, where I follow another easy (but very long) track along the loch to my final destination, Dalwhinnie.

You can view all the photos from the trip here:
https://www.flickr.com/gp/156143109@N02/1wZ90x
andrewl7642
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Re: Thieves road - Fort William to Dalwhinnie

Postby gaffr » Wed Feb 28, 2018 2:52 pm

Hello,
We both enjoyed this journey made some time ago. We made use of both Culra and Staoineag bothies for overnights...in the days when Culra was useable. :( I guess not much traffic on this trail after the ruins of Steall and of course the section up to (In our case down from) the head water of the Nevis stream....a not at all very pleasant underfoot area.
Fine images of the route available in your extra images.
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gaffr
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Location: Highland.

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