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It was a photo of Beinn na Lap which first really stirred my interest in hillwalking thirty years ago( where did the time go?
) It was in one of the SMC guidebooks, the mountain covered in snow, glowing softly pink in the rosy light of dusk. It looked so unspoiled and lovely and benign – and short and easy. All things that get a big tick in my book! I’m ashamed to admit that it took me until August this year to finally visit Corrour, part of Chris and I’s recent push to up our Munro count. Call ourselves hill walkers and we hadn’t even been in to Corrour?? OR - even worse – hadn’t even been up Ben Nevis?? (that was for next day. Hopefully Beinn na Lap would be fairly short as promised and not too strenuous!
)
Glencoe hills from Beinn na Lap's wide ridge by
scotlandmac, on Flickr
A good weekend forecast had us waiting patiently at Bridge of Orchy’s pretty station, for the 10.45am train. We had arrived about an hour early as I like to have plenty of time in case of major earthquakes/no parking for miles around/multiple punctures/other major disasters etc all designed to thwart my plans.
Tickets purchased the day before too.
Waiting for the train to Corrour at Bridge of Orchy by
scotlandmac, on Flickr
While I’d thought that last was probably overkill, when the train came, it was so busy it was difficult to find a seat! What I didn’t expect either was just how spectacular that short 30min journey would be. I think it was seeing familiar mountains – the Glencoe hills, the Black Mount, the mountains round Achalladair Farm - from a completely different angle and against the vast expanse of Rannoch Moor. In fact, I was mesmerised by it. Despite the less than crystal clear train windows, I couldn’t stop taking photos of it all.
Untitled by
scotlandmac, on Flickr
Black Mount at Rannoch Station by
scotlandmac, on Flickr
Moody light from the train by
scotlandmac, on Flickr
At Corrour itself , passengers poured off the train. The driver said to me as I passed – ‘that’s us empty now!’ It was incredible; there must have been 50-60 people disembarking. There were folk in fancy dress too standing outside the Café – turned out it was someone’s last Munro and a huge group had come out to join the climb. I’d been expecting a silent wilderness, not party central
Lovely Corrour Station and Cafe by
scotlandmac, on Flickr
I really enjoyed dogplodders report on her visit here and the excellent Lemon Drizzle cake in the café but decided a cake stop (a must for me) would this time wait till later. We wanted to get underway and ahead of the mega squad!
So off we headed down the big track and already I just loved Corrour. What a beautiful area, I don’t think any photos I’ve seen of it do it justice. The moorland was already quite golden, with the little lilac heads of Devil’s Bit dotting it with extra colour. Already, I could see the faint outline of a path of sorts going up Beinn na Lap - expecting trackless moorland, that was a bonus.
I did look quite longingly at the pretty Youth Hostel, sitting so nicely down by the shores of Loch Ossian but it was whole group only bookings given Covid. We’d looked at staying in the accommodation in the Stationhouse but it was fully booked and mega pricey at £200 a night!
Back at camp - Ben Nevis now clear by
scotlandmac, on Flickr
After 25 mins or so of walking down the main gravel track, the start of the hill path appeared, so off we set onto softer, boggier ground but it wasn’t anywhere near as bad as I’d expected.
Better track than I thought going up -boggy in places by
scotlandmac, on Flickr
It began at a pleasant angle before steepening a little but it was just the usual ‘head down and get on with it’ slog up grass until it turned a bit stonier below the ridge itself. Already the views behind were great over Loch Ossian and towards the Southern Highlands.
Loch Ossian and a lochan dotted moorland by
scotlandmac, on Flickr
To the west , the Mamores were still being swept by heavy showers but were also looking very atmospheric. Somehow I didn’t quite expect the vistas to be so good but of course thinking of Corrour’s location, no wonder they are.
Showers over..... by
scotlandmac, on Flickr
Showers coming in across the Mamores by
scotlandmac, on Flickr
The forecast wasn’t anywhere near as good as MWIS promised (groan, that’s familiar) but it didn’t matter today because the big showers that swept in and passed over created some great light and effects. I could hardly pull my gaze away from the views of Binnein Beag and Binnein Mor , with a shadowy Ben Nevis lurking in there somewhere, wrapped in a mini maelstrom of its own.
A short stonier bit and we were up on the big broad ridge and wow – the views were just superb. Mile upon mile of the Southern Highlands lay to the south, a great line of peaks literally as far as the eye could see – Ben Lawers, Schiehallion, Meall Ghaoraidh.To the west, the Glencoe peaks were looking great with the serrations of the Aonach Eagach ridge very distinctive.
Southern Highlands in rain beyond Loch Ossian by
scotlandmac, on Flickr
Aonoch Eagach in the centre/right by
scotlandmac, on Flickr
To the east, the giant whaleback of Ben Alder rose above Loch Ossian, still with low cloud on its summit plateau. As we made our way along the easy angled ridge on a good dry path, the mountains to the south of lonely Loch Treig appeared, the rounded golden hillsides of Meall Garbh and Chno Dearg.
Deer grass beginning to turn tawny above Loch Ossian by
scotlandmac, on Flickr
P1100976.jpg by
scotlandmac, on Flickr
Beinn Alder on the right by
scotlandmac, on Flickr
Lonely country to the east from the summit by
scotlandmac, on Flickr
This was all new country to me and it looked fabulous , unspoilt and remote.
We passed quite a few false summits but at around 1pm, just 75 mins from starting on the hill proper (not the station) a lovely wee lochan appeared, beyond which was the summit cairn. A family were just leaving, so luckily we got the prime seats inside the cairn itself and out of the now - Baltic wind. Incredibly, the fairly constant hefty showers which were throwing such dramatic light all around us, never actually fell on ‘our’ summit.
Nearing the summit cairn by
scotlandmac, on Flickr
Tea and homemade Coronation Chicken sandwiches went down a treat – it’s amazing how much extra energy food gives so quickly on a really cold day. But I wanted to be back up on my feet, spotting peaks that were appearing briefly before being shrouded in mist, watching the light changing. The familiar wedge of The Ben, tomorrow’s objective, even made a temporary appearance.
Rain and cloud over the Mamores and Ben Nevis by
scotlandmac, on Flickr
Glencoe and the Mamores from the summit by
scotlandmac, on Flickr
Ben Nevis with Aonach Beag in front by
scotlandmac, on Flickr
Ben Alder looked very grand as the cloud lifted. Today was also a bit of a trip down memory lane for Chris who had been on Beinn na Lap 25 years ago with his oldest brother, part of a cross country trip with the tent when they took in Leum Uilleim and Ben Alder, before a walk out to Rannoch.
Ben Alder's great plateau clear at last by
scotlandmac, on Flickr
Ben Alder clearing by
scotlandmac, on Flickr
There was no rush, as our train back out wasn’t until 6.25pm and we had dinner booked in the Station Café at 5pm.It was all looking so good we spent nearly an hour enjoying the eagle’s eye view but the cold eventually began to bite even through the multiple layers of clothes and jackets. The mountains were clearing though - Schiehallion’s pyramid cone looked very distinctive, as did Buachaille Etive Mor.The shadows on the Mamores above Kinlochleven looked wonderful.
Schiehallion clearing - the Fairy Hill by
scotlandmac, on Flickr
There was something about the great expanses of moorland as a foreground to the peaks that for me, just made it all look drop dead stunning. We were surrounded by an ancient, mystical landscape softened by the haze of passing showers, before being lit by dappled sunlight as the rain cleared.
Glencoe and the Mamores from the summit by
scotlandmac, on Flickr
As we descended beyond one of the false summits I was shocked to see about 40 people on the ridge, some having stopped in small groups to chat, others making their way up the path towards us. One group of women were in pink tutus and black tights – they must have been frozen.
But when I stopped to speak to them they were in great spirits, celebrating “Moira’s Last Munro.” I wanted to ask who Moira was amongst everyone but felt I was interrupting them as it was and might come across as too nosy. Congratulations Moira!
One final admire of Loch Ossian, sparkling in the last vestiges of sunlight before thicker cloud swept through. The landscape beyond was dotted with silvery lochans, hundreds of tiny mirrors on the moorland. It was glorious.
Descent to the track by
scotlandmac, on Flickr
We had taken ages meandering along the ridge before heading down, reluctant to leave our high vantage point. It felt much soggier coming down –possibly the general dampness was having an effect but in no time we were back at the big land rover track and making for the Station Café .
I opened the door expecting it to be quite quiet at 3.30pm but a cacophony of loud voices hit me – the place was mobbed!
In fact so much so, we were lucky to get the last table. The space was mostly taken up with a big family group and a variety of dogs who were obviously in the middle of a long lunch. They never got on the train later so I guess they were staying in one of the lodges on the estate or else had booked the hostel.
Other walkers who arrived behind us in dribs and drabs had to sit outside and it was really chilly now. Adding insult to injury, the midges were now fierce despite the cold dampness. I thought it was a bit of a shame that those enjoying the great outdoors couldn’t get a seat! If I’d been in the lodge or hostel , I think I would have wanted to enjoy the lovely facilities and privacy I’d paid for rather than drive out here (several cars were parked outside) to eat out.
Everyone now had a 3 hour wait for the train so it was a long time to be huddled outside.It was no hardship to wait for dinner in the cosy interior, as it is a nice atmosphere, with lots of train and local memorabilia to peruse plus two areas with good books. I was quite taken with one of the Agatha Christie’s they had for sale– ‘The 4.50 From Paddington!’ As a big fan of her books I’d read it twice (and still never remembered who’d dunnit second time round.)
Loch Ossian by
scotlandmac, on Flickr
Once back at Bridge of Orchy, the plan was to drive to the Corran Bunkhouse for an overnight, before climbing Ben Nevis tomorrow, but it meant we’d be arriving late and I knew I’d be starving well before then. I’d have preferred doing our own thing at the bunkhouse but needs must. Plus it was nice to support the café – not that it seemed to be needing that!
I didn’t have quite the successful cake stop I’d hoped for – the Raspberry and Almond cake wasn’t good at all, dry and heavily doused with vanilla flavouring. I found out later it was Gluten Free but hadn’t been labelled such!
Our dinner was much better – the Venison Stew was outstanding, the meat so soft it was falling off the fork, rich and tasty; they cook it for 14 hours apparently.
I loved Corrour so much that we headed in again a couple of weeks later, with the tent this time for an overnight before climbing Carn Dearg and Sgor Gaibhre. We arrived late on as the sun was setting and the views were just a glory.
Southern Highlands from Corrour Station by
scotlandmac, on Flickr
I’ll happily go in again too just for the stunning journey and a wander down to the loch, a cup of tea (and maybe a try of their Lemon Drizzle Cake this time) and to enjoy a truly beautiful, unspoiled area of wild country. Beinn na Lap would also be a good one to do again under snow given how relatively short it is. Magnificent country all around. Can't believe it took me so long to get there.
Moody mountains on the return train journey by
scotlandmac, on Flickr
