Buidhe Bheinn, from Glenshiel rather than Kinloch Hourn
Posted: Thu Oct 07, 2021 2:22 pmForecast was for the west side of the Highlands to be pretty good, maybe showers coming in the afternoon, but nothing too bad. There aren't many hills I've still to do from the A87 through Kintail / Glen Shiel, but I spotted that the corbett Buidhe Beinn can be done from that side (it's a shorter walk from Kinloch hourn but that would mean a longer drive for me, so I preferred the Glen Shiel start point) .... so off I went.
4 or 5 cars already parked in the large layby (used as a start point for a few hills), surprisingly busy for a Tuesday in October, though it was a lovely morning. The route I took up was the one described in the WH instructions for Sgurr a'Bhac Chaolais, the peak previously thought to be a corbett but demoted when resurveying put Buidhe Beinn as slightly higher with insufficient drop for them both to have the corbett status.
From Sgurr a'Bhac Chaolais it's not a particularly long walk to Buidhe Beinn, but it took longer than I expected compared to looking at it on a map or even seeing it initially from the Bealach Duibh Leac. There's a lot more up and down than I thought there would be, and zig zagging through and over rocks. It was quite a relief to get to the summit cairn.
My return route was pretty much the same, though along the ridge I didn't go over the high point of every bump and crag as I knew better on the return leg where I was heading. I suspect my return leg to the car wasn't much faster than the ascent leg though, as by then the rocks were quite slippy and I had a couple of slips before deciding to slow things down. Even then, I managed to miss the path splitting near the end to cross back over the wooden footbridge and ended up at the ford (no way to cross it with dry feet today, so I backtracked up the bank to find the bridge) and then once back on the path on the other side, missed the nicer track I'd taken initially and took a path through high bracken - glad that the colder weather meant I wasn't a tick sacrifice in t-shirts and shorts at least.
A good day of walking overall; I can certainly think of quite a few munros which are easier days than this corbett!
4 or 5 cars already parked in the large layby (used as a start point for a few hills), surprisingly busy for a Tuesday in October, though it was a lovely morning. The route I took up was the one described in the WH instructions for Sgurr a'Bhac Chaolais, the peak previously thought to be a corbett but demoted when resurveying put Buidhe Beinn as slightly higher with insufficient drop for them both to have the corbett status.
- Not sure why I started off by taking a photo of the hills I wasn't actually going up today?! (Faochaig straight ahead here, though I headed up the glen to the left of it). Shows what a beautiful morning it was though.
- Once I'd crossed over the wooden footbridge, there seemed to be 3 worn routes on the other side; I opted to take the middle one, though think they all met up slightly further up the glen. By then, as seen in this picture, it's one clear path to follow with the burn on one side and, at this point, a fence on the other, so hard to go wrong here. Sgurr a'Bhac Chaolais is up ahead, but Buidhe Bheinn not visible from down this glen.
- Looking back to the start point on the A87, not really visible but it lies at the base of Sgurr na Ciste Duibhe, the imposing hill across the way (on The Five Sisters route)
- I knew I was going to have to cross the burn soon, and was a bit apprehensive, it was quite a torrent of white water after recent rain
- ...Fortunately where the path crosses it's on a short flatter section with stones to get across on (walking pole definitely helped for balance though), white water waterfalls further upstream and downstream of this point. Sgurr a' Bhac Chaolais is straight ahead, but the path swings left to zig zag up slopes out of shot in this photo
- The zig zagging path comes out on the ridge at the Bealach Duibh Leac where it meets the drystone wall. This is the view to the east, Creag nan Damh and the South Glenshiel Ridge ....
- ...and this is the way I was heading, up to Sgurr a' Bhac Chaolais, from where I'd then be heading to Buidhe Beinn along that ridge heading off to the left
From Sgurr a'Bhac Chaolais it's not a particularly long walk to Buidhe Beinn, but it took longer than I expected compared to looking at it on a map or even seeing it initially from the Bealach Duibh Leac. There's a lot more up and down than I thought there would be, and zig zagging through and over rocks. It was quite a relief to get to the summit cairn.
- Heading from Sgurr a Bhac Chaolais to Buidhe Bheinn, I could see darker clouds over Ladhar Bheinn and Knoydart. I had a fleece and hat on by now, but it was still dry.
- South Glen Shiel ridge munros still clear of cloud
- The wide rocky ridge runs south east initially, before curving right to head south to Buidhe Bheinn. It looks a more straightforward walk than it is.
- Relieved to be getting nearer, and hoping to get there before the rain reached me
- The summit at last ... view north to The Saddle, Sgurr na Sgine and Sgurr a'Bhac Chaolais
- The ridge I'd just come along and was just about to head back along
- Zoomed to The Saddle (in the clouds) and Sgurr na Sgine
My return route was pretty much the same, though along the ridge I didn't go over the high point of every bump and crag as I knew better on the return leg where I was heading. I suspect my return leg to the car wasn't much faster than the ascent leg though, as by then the rocks were quite slippy and I had a couple of slips before deciding to slow things down. Even then, I managed to miss the path splitting near the end to cross back over the wooden footbridge and ended up at the ford (no way to cross it with dry feet today, so I backtracked up the bank to find the bridge) and then once back on the path on the other side, missed the nicer track I'd taken initially and took a path through high bracken - glad that the colder weather meant I wasn't a tick sacrifice in t-shirts and shorts at least.
- Although it had been a lovely sunny start to the walk, I'd taken a fleece, waterproof coat, hat and gloves just in case ... and just as well, I was wearing it all on the way back. This was now the 'view 'of the South Glenshiel Ridge as I headed back towards Sgurr a'Bhac Chaolais
- Back at the the Bealach Duibh Leac and about to head down the path, glad I wasn't over there doing The Five Sisters or the Brothers ridges of Kintail now
A good day of walking overall; I can certainly think of quite a few munros which are easier days than this corbett!
Probably a good decision not to add on Sgurr na Sgine (or any of the other munros nearby) the way the weather went in the afternoon.
which we didn't visit, annoyingly! Nearly a decade later, we still haven't managed to repeat this route for the sake of the extra 600-700m of flat walking