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Having climbed Little Wyvis earlier in the day, I drove the short distance north to the parking area by the Black Bridge over the Glascarnoch River. It was just after midday as I set off cycling in the sunshine on the smooth tarmac of the Strath Vaich estate road. The highland cattle by the farm were tucking into their lunch and ignored me as I sped past, which was quite a relief.
The tarmac ended after 4km at the junction for Strathvaich Lodge down below on the left, to be replaced by a loose gravel path, but good for cycling except for one initial sandy section.
- The gravel track heading up the glen, Loch Vaich coming into view
The track carried on along the east bank of Loch Vaich for another 5km and at the deserted settlement of Lubachlaggan, I locked up the bike to a gate and set off up the heavily overgrown hillside to the right of a high fence. As I gained height I realised I should have been on the left of the fence to gain access to the SW ridge, which had been my original intention, however it was too late now, so I stayed on the south bank of the burn flowing down from Beinn a' Chasteil, gaining height up slopes of heather and bracken. I aimed for the col between the Corbett and Meall a' Ghrianain to the south more or less parallel to the SW ridge across the other side of the burn.
- Looking back down to the start of the walk. The hill peeking out at the back is the Munro, Am Faochagach
As I gained height, the hills on the west side of the loch showed themselves. I checked my map and the highest point I could see was in fact the Munro of Am Faochagach. I wondered if there was a route to it from this side as it seemed like a relatively straightforward climb with options to take in some of the adjacent lower peaks - provided you could cross over the loch at its narrowest point. Zooming in on my picture some time later, it looked like there was a very narrow channel. If I decide to climb Carn Ban by cycling in from Black Bridge, then I might be tempted to make a detour and have a closer look!
Higher up, the ground steepened so I contoured around and eventually reached the flatter ground between the two peaks. From there it was only a short climb up to the summit plateau and at 2pm I was at the summit shelter and trig point under cloudless skies.
There were excellent views to the west of the Beinn Dearg group and Seana Bhraigh and the Corbett of Carn Ban to the NW, which I still have to do.
- Summit with Beann Dearg group and Seana Bhraigh behind
- Another view to the Beann Dearg group and Seana Bhraigh
After a long rest and lunch, I set off northwards along the plateau to a small lochan before gradually turning to the left and starting my descent down to the track. I aimed for the pointy hill of Meall a' Chaorainn across to the NW and once down the steeper section between 600m and 400m, contoured round to the west and emerged on the track. I now had a gradually descending 4km walk back to the bike and then a fast ride back to the car. The cattle I'd passed on the way in were thankfully on the other side of the river as I enjoyed the final few kms of the road to the car park.