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Previous day - lost villages and a spectacular sunsetI poked my head out of the door to see if sunrise was going to be any good – it looked promising so I grabbed the camera and snuggled down on the picnic rug in my sleeping bag to enjoy it.
Red bouncy light on Bla Bheinn
Sun about to rise
Beinn Sgritheall
Lift-off
Back in the tent, Malky was hiding from the world
I was dozing for a while, until I heard this crunch nearby….turns out the locals highland cows had decided to have breakfast here
It was a bit unnerving when they stared at us, but they basically ignored us and carried on eating
After some tea and breakfast, we packed up the tent. It was a stunning morning
Beinn Meabost2.61km
201m ascent
2 hours 15 mins
As we were packing up some of the locals arrived to cut peat, so we got ourselves out of the way quickly and drove a few metres up the road to leave the car at the start of the path for Ben Meabost. It went up steeply but at least the ground was relatively good
Looking down the road towards Elgol and Rum
Looking across Loch Eishort to Beinn Sgritheall and Kintail
Beinn Dearg Mhor above Torrin
It was very steep, but the distance was also very short and before too long we can broken through the crags and were onto the plateau
Suddenly we were on what could have been the summit….and wow
Looking back
Beinn Sgritheall and Kintail and Knoydart
We wandered over to the cairn where the view was even better – what a viewpoint to the Cuillin
Eigg and Rum
Soay & Canna
Beinn Dearg Mhor
Bruach na Frithe, Am Basteir & Sgurr nan Gillean
Sgurr nan Eag & Gars-Bheinn
Sgurr na Stri with the Cuillin Ridge behind
Soay and Gars-bheinn with the Southern Western Isles behind
It was stunning and we could have sat there for hours but eventually we headed back down a similar route
The Kylerhea Grahams with the Monar hills behind
The Kintail sisters and Beinn Sgritheall
Eigg with Ardnamurchan behind, and Tiree to the right
We wound our way through the crags
Before long we were back at the car – what a hill
Beinn nan Carn4.07km
182m ascent
2 hours 25 mins
After a good rest and some lunch we decided I might have another short walk in me – Malky was back at work the next couple of days so if I crashed out then it didn’t matter too much
We drove down the Heaste road and parked just at the top of the village and headed up the side of the fence
Other than a couple of squishy sections, the ground wasn’t bad and there were traces of path all the way around the fence. The views across Heaste were fabulous
Looking across to Ladhar Bheinn
Looking ahead to Beinn nan Carn
We were thinking about following a burn up but decided to take the next one
We broke from the fence and headed up grassy runs through the heather. The ground wasn’t anything like as bad as we’d thought it could be and we were making reasonably good progress
Looking down Loch Hourn with Ladhar Bheinn on the right
We found a series of grassy dykes which made for nice easy walking over a lot of the ground
At last on the summit plateau we could see down Loch Eishort to Rum
Applecross and Torridon
Looking straight down Loch Hourn – Beinn Sgritheall and Ladhar Bheinn either side
The summit was just a short distance ahead
Bla Bheinn with the Cuillin behind
Bla Bheinn
Beinn na Caillich
The Storr
Summit of Beinn nan Carn
We sat and enjoyed the rest of our lunch and the views for a while – it was another absolutely stunning hill. Whoever said it was all about size was definitely wrong
Malky is actually smiling!
Applecross and Torridon
The hills above Achnashellach
We headed back to the ridge before trying a different route down
Looking out towards the lochs – there was a track up to them, and although it would have been a much longer walk, it might have been easier
We picked up traces of an ATV track which led us along the ridge – we thought to drop down a bit closer to the end of the fence and avoid any extra ascent – it probably didn’t make much difference in the long run but made a bit of a change
We found a collection of paths and grassy dykes that led us right down the side of the burn – if we went up again it would definitely be this way!
Back at the car, we had a drive down to Heaste – it was a lovely place – before the drive home. What a cracking few days