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From Ballachulish where I was staying for the week, I drove up to Fort William then on to the A830 and parked in the Fassfern Estate car park, 100m up a slip road just east of where the road passes under the railway, a couple of miles before Glenfinnan. The forecast was pretty good with the possibility of some short showers in the morning as I headed back to the road and then immediately left along the forest track. After a few kms, I turned right over a bridge and then continued for a further 2km to the edge of the forest. To save time I had decided not to climb Beinn an Tuim en route but to gain the high ground further north. A good path continued up the glen until coming to a bridge over the Dubh Lighe burn.
- Emerging out of the forest into the open glen
After crossing the bridge, I veered westwards up rough tussocky terrain, steering a path around patches of bracken. The first of the forecasted short showers of rain began as I headed uphill to a flatter area, where I veered WNW to climb the col between Beinn an Tuim and Meall an Uillt Chaoil. The going was fairly easy, mostly on grass with a few dry peat hags to cross.
As I reached the col, another shower of rain engulfed me, accompanied by a gusty and cold wind. I stopped for a warming cup of coffee and to dig out hat and gloves before heading up easily to the summit of Meall an Uillt Chaoil. From there, an easy rocky ridge led down to the Bealach Coire nan Cearc and with the rain having passed over, the next section of the route was visible with Stob Coire nan Cearc now ahead.
- View from the Bealach Coire nan Cearc to Stob Coire nan Cearc with Sgurr Thuilm now well seen off to the left
I bypassed the crags on Stob Coire nan Cearc on the right and from its summit the remainder of the ridge was now in view with, at the end, the distinctive shape of Streap, now clear of cloud.
- View from Stob Coire nan Cearc looking north to Streap with Sgurr Thuilm on left
After traversing over an intermediate bump, I dropped down to the start of the knife-edge ridge, and began heading along it with a modicum of excitement and anticipation. I could imagine this being moderately exciting in strong cross-winds !
- The final steep knife-edge ridge to the summit of Streap
As I approached the final section, the ridge narrowed until becoming a steep, twisting staircase, weaving back and forth until ending at the small summit area.
- Summit cairn on Streap looking south
Thankfully the clouds had stayed below me to the west as I sat in the sunshine enjoying lunch and identifying the nearby peaks. To the immediate west, lay Sgurr Thuilm and Sgurr nan Coireachan, to the east, Gulvain, and to the north, the hills of Glendessary.
There was also a stunning view of the saddle to the east heading up to the lower summit of Streap Comhlaidh.
- The Glendessary peaks: Sgurr Cos na Breachd-laoigh, Fraoch Bheinn and Sgurr Mhurlagain with Sgurr Mor and Sgurr an Fhuarain beyond
- The saddle connecting Streap with the 11m lower Streap Comhlaidh
From the summit I descended steeply SE for a short way to get onto the saddle and headed directly up the easy grass slopes to the summit of Streap Comhlaidh, only 11m lower than Streap itself. I now had a good view of my next target, Braigh nan Uamhachan, directly to the east, but separated by a disheartening drop of 570m. I set off down the NE ridge, aiming to reach the southern end of Lochan a' Chomhlain. The ridge curved slightly to the north as I lost height, weaving between small gullies and rocky outcrops on the way. At a height of 600m and at a point NW of the lochan, I left the natural line of the ridge and headed down grassy slopes for the remaining 260m of descent. A short boggy walk later I was heading directly up the grassy west face of Braigh nan Uamhachan.
To compensate for the unrelenting climb up, there were increasingly good views back across to Streap as I gained height - the cloud from earlier had now lifted to well above the summits. After 50 minutes from the lochan I topped out and headed to the small summit cairn to the north.
- Summit of Braigh nan Uamhachan with Streap Comhlaidh behind and Sgurr Thuilm further back on the right
- Gulvain off to the east - temptingly close and with only a 223m drop between here and there
After a rest and more sustenance, I briefly flirted with, but dismissed the idea of a detour to climb Gulvain, temptingly close off to the east and started the long walk back along the undulating ridge, following a wall up and over Sron Liath and then an old fence line to the rounded lump of Na h-Uamhachan. Ahead I could now see the edge of the forest, still quite a long way down. A gradual descent slightly to the right of the ridge led to a flatter area but then I had no choice but to descend the steep and rough slopes to the bottom. There were numerous areas of bracken to weave between and awkward steps down broken ground - feeling quite weary I was now on auto-pilot, hoping for some easier terrain, but to no avail until, with great relief, I finally reached the track and headed back into the forest. Finally at just after 6pm I was back at the car - it had been a memorable day in mostly good weather and some stunning views from both summits.