Beinn a' Chlachain - before tourists arrive for staycations!

[Strathlassie]

I've been wanting to climb this hill for a while, so we decided to drive over to Applecross before tourists are allowed into the area and you get queues of camper-vans up the Bealach na Ba. There wasn't a camper-van in site, nor another car. It was a delightful drive. We parked by the Heritage Centre and basically followed the walk described in the SMC guide.

Parking area by the Heritage Centre

It was a beautiful day as we followed the river along to the start of the climb.

Lovely views at the start of the walk

The climb was quite tough but we soon emerged onto easier ground. This came with a strong wind and damp cloud. So no views were to be had. 400 metres later we got to the summit cairn and lunch.

Trig point

We walked down the south west ridge, passing numerous lochans on the way. I'm glad we hadn't come up this way. As we slowly descended we came out of the cloud and had tremendous views over to Raasay and Skye.

Gradual views as we got lower

The coastal path back to the car

The sea was crystal clear and looked inviting - alas no wet suit with me!