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Beinn Eighe, Coire Mhic Fhearchair and lochan visible by
Anne C, on Flickr
Spending the weekend with the family in Fortrose, the east coast was experiencing cloudy, drizzly weather while the forecast for the west was virtually wall to wall sunshine. Given the general plan to do some kind of walk on the Saturday, west it was and I suggested Beinn a Chearchaill, the ‘forgotten mountain’ of Torridon which had always appealed given its situation. It also promised to be not too taxing a day with – hopefully – terrific views over the Torridon giants and Slioch.
Admittedly, I did feel a bit guilty suggesting this Graham as my son and daughter in law were initially eyeing up another ascent of Beinn Eighe or Liathach
. But I wasn’t in the mood for anything too challenging (to my eyes anyway, given that vertigo is my constant companion
.) Normally I just fall in with whatever is suggested but the ball was put in my court so - the Circular Mountain, as it translates from the Gaelic, it was!
Chris got himself in the good books right away by making up everyone’s rolls first thing in the morning and they were Morton’s rolls too no less, Glasgow's and dare I say, Scotland’s finest
Off we set at 8.30am and weather anxiety soon built because even at Achnasheen, the cloud was well down. Was it going to be another case of the forecast being totally wrong? I know it’s not an exact science but it often seems to me these days that accuracy is getting worse!
But as we drove down the Kinlochewe road, the heavy mist which had so far wrapped everything in grey gloom, lifted like magic and the landscape sparkled under blue skies and fluffy white clouds. Relief!
We pulled into the parking area near the bungalow beyond the Bridge of Grudie, Slioch looking mighty grand and rearing out of a very blue Loch Maree.
Setting off at 9.50am - Slioch looking grand by
Anne C, on Flickr
I noticed my son Gregor eyeing it up - was that longing in his gaze? 🤔
Looking back towards Slioch by
Anne C, on Flickr
Had I cheated him out of something 'better'? I’m a worry bead anyway so this niggled at my conscience a fair bit. Like me, Gregor also loves a view of the sea from a summit (well, who doesn't?) and he had asked if I thought we might get that from Beinn a Chearchaill but though I assumed we would I really wasn't 100% on this. More to worry about😄
After the initial track up towards the bungalow, the path becomes no more than a raised bit of grassy ground and doesn’t initially look much like a path at all! However, it very quickly re-establishes itself as the correct way ahead. We were tempted to follow the more obvious forestry track but it’s a dead end.
The path climbed very gradually up Glen Grudie and already, there were stunning views back to Slioch, with the great pyramid of Beinn Eighe’s Sail Mhor dead ahead. Fantastic country all round I thought.
Beinn Eighe looking good and it would get even better by
Anne C, on Flickr
A group of four had set off ahead of us and we caught up with them after 20 mins or so. Hellos were exchanged but the group didn’t seem up for a chat (I usually am – plus it’s a good excuse for a breather, as two very fit thirty plus year olds go at some pace, even if they always do their best to slow down for the oldies; it's very difficult to sustain that for any length of time, I think. Natural pace soon takes over. ) As Chris said to me the previous day, it was going to be another weekend of chasing young people up mountains
The issue now was to look out for where the path branches off right into Coire Briste rather than keeping on straight which would be a LONG route to Coire Mhic Fhearchair. Chris and I had actually set out to climb Beinn a Chearchaill two winters ago on a gloomy day which soon deteriorated into incessant, drizzly rain. Embarrassingly, we managed to miss the right fork. So, I was on the lookout for it today. I don’t know how we missed it last time because after 40 mins or so of pleasant walking, a large-ish cairn appeared!
I think we must have been in one of these trudges when it’s wet, heads down, hoods up, one foot in front of the other because the next thing we knew we were below unpleasant looking cliffs. With the rain getting heavier by the minute, we’d decided to cut our losses, turn back and return on a better day.
Well, the better day was now here. Now, we got a fair bit of ribbing over how on earth we’d missed the cairn last time; me mumbling about hoods up and rain, didn't cut it at all
It’s a good path up the corrie which ascends very gently to a little col. Now my main thoughts were…would the mountain live up to its reputation for superb views? I crossed my fingers multiple times as we had a couple of Scramblers and Munro Baggers Extraordinaire with us today
whose favourite days out are on the Cuillin Ridge. Grahams so far hadn’t got much of a look in. I just hoped my choice for our outing today wouldn’t disappoint.
The nicely contouring path leads up to a little chasm with water tumbling down it and suddenly, we were on the upper slopes at the 450m mark where everything flattened out for a bit.
It had taken us 1hr 20 of walking to get here so it was time for some food and a break. There were truly fabulous views to Slioch and over big empty country.
After 1hr 20mins walking...Slioch looking grand by
Anne C, on Flickr
Mullach Coire Mhic Fhearchair (zoomed) now appeared beyond Slioch...
Mullach Coire Mhic Fhearchair by
Anne C, on Flickr
Directly opposite, Meall a Ghiuthais was looking really impressive too – another hill that is on my ever - lengthening
(rather than shortening) ‘to do’ list. There was a cold, brisk wind but we were sheltered from it here so a good 25 mins went by, just relaxing, enjoying Mr Morton’s rolls and savouring what was a really beautiful spot.
However, once we stood up and turned round to survey what lay ahead, I’ll be honest, it didn’t look all that appealing – pathless and rough, terrace after terrace of stone and boulder - dotted moorland. But with only another 270m of ascent to go, it really wasn’t anything to complain about compared to a typical Munro day out.
Chris taking over the navigation by
Anne C, on Flickr
In fact, by heading to the right , almost immediately we picked up the semblance of a path
- more a deer track - and this continued, threading its way upwards. It was surprisingly dry too though the recent bout of good weather probably helped a lot.
There was actually a reasonable little track... by
Anne C, on Flickr
The best ground was certainly to the west of the hill’s very wide upper slopes. What had looked like a soggy trudge turned out to be an easy gradual ascent on decent ground. I say this because we made the mistake of sticking to the opposite (east) side of the hill on the descent, thinking it would be much the same but it was incredibly boggy and rough.
Just minutes after our stop, we came upon a lovely lochan, with a woman sitting on a rock, contemplating the dark water. We all looked over, ready to say hello but she kept her head well down, as if she didn’t want to be disturbed in her thoughts to the point where it seemed a bit intrusive to shout out a greeting. Still, it always feels a bit strange to pass someone else in a wild place in silence but who knew what pain or emotions she was feeling or memories re-lived?🤦♀️
So on we headed, the path weaving its way through the best ground, occasionally disappearing but then we picked it up again – all the time, gradually gaining height. It’s one of these mountains (actually, this applies to most of them) where you think the next rise will be the summit but it’s not! However, in around 50 mins or so from the col, we finally reached the great flat slabs which are such a fantastic feature of Beinn a Chearchill’s huge summit; they look great and also offer lots of nice dry places to sit down very comfortably.
Lovely stone pavement at the summit by
Anne C, on Flickr
Looking over the stone pavements to Slioch; A Mhaighdean on left by
Anne C, on Flickr
But great looking slabs or not, it was the grandstand view which was the thing - a 360 degree panorama of sheer magnificence.
Pano north and east...
Pano from summit - Meall a Ghiuthais on right by
Anne C, on Flickr
Endless layers to the east by
Anne C, on Flickr
And south...
Sail Mhor , Liathach and Beinn Dearg by
Anne C, on Flickr
Near the top - Beinn Eighe Massif ahead. by
Anne C, on Flickr
I had wondered whether the summit would be a plateau that actually cut off some of the view but the opposite was the case. Because of its shape and it being lower in height, all the big Torridon giants stood proud out of the moorland, shapely and looking every inch their full height. Basically, we could see them from their bases to their very tops with a string of lonely lochans setting them off beautifully. Seeing this other, usually hidden side of these giants was unusual and all the more spectacular for that.
Liathach zoomed...
Liathach by
Anne C, on Flickr
Beinn Alligin looking great...
Beinn Alligin and the Horns by
Anne C, on Flickr
Beinn an Eoin and The Storr...
Beinn an Eoin and The Storr behind by
Anne C, on Flickr
Slioch looking as if it's final slopes are made of multiple spears...
Slioch - living up to its name, The Spear by
Anne C, on Flickr
A Mhaighdean's cliffs...
A Mhaighdean zoomed by
Anne C, on Flickr
Three Torridon giants...
Liathach, Beinn Dearg and Beinn Alligin by
Anne C, on Flickr
Beinn Eighe and Sail Mhor with that great prow marking the entrance to the glittering high lochan of Coire Mhic Fhearchair. Even the Triple Buttresses were visible.
Beinn Eighe, Coire Mhic Fhearchair and lochan visible by
Anne C, on Flickr
I was amazed to see the lochan so clearly, sparkling in the spring sunshine...in late December , Chris and I had walked up to the corrie though it was heavily iced. What a change now.
Coire Mhic Fhearchair and the Triple Buttresses by
Anne C, on Flickr
Sail Mhor with Liathach behind - 12.20pm on the summit by
Anne C, on Flickr
Away to the south, Applecross's Beinn Bhan’s long summit ridge was visible to the right of Liathach.
Off to the north beyond mighty Slioch, reared Mullach Coire Mhich Fhearchair, the cliff face of A’ Mhaighdean and the peaks of the Fisherfields.
Beinn Airgh Charr was looking good above Loch Maree. Beyond that, the sea was an intense blue and the houses of Gairloch were little dots of white.
The sea, the sea... by
Anne C, on Flickr
Beinn Airigh Charr above Loch Maree by
Anne C, on Flickr
I could also make out the ‘easy’ but very long route up Beinn Dearg described in Peter Barton’s great book ‘ Walking in Torridon.' It's the wee feartie's route up the mountain which is right up my street.
Gregor had wandered over to the eastern edge of the summit and he stood there in silence, contemplating the scene. Then he walked back towards me, shaking his head a little.
Gregor now glad we did this one! by
Anne C, on Flickr
‘Amazing, ‘ he said. ‘That view of Sail Mhor…wow.’
Yes, this relatively lowly summit had worked its magic and both he and Lucy were as bowled over by the vistas as we were! Relief!👌
I was really drawn to Meall a Ghiuthais' outline which looked so ancient somehow. Through the gap between it and Ruadh Stac Beag were layer upon layer of distant peaks; Moruisg I would guess and other biggies around Glencarron.
Meall a Ghiuthais and Ruadh stac Beag (B.Eighe) by
Anne C, on Flickr
Beinn a Chearchaill translates as the Circular Mountain given its shape from above; offering one of the best seats in the house over the Torridon stage.
We must have spent nearly an hour at the top, enjoying lunch, wandering about admiring the views, checking what we were looking at, chatting about previous walks we'd all had on some of the nearby mountains, taking photos (well, that was mostly me, a relentless photo-taker who drives everyone mad
) Lucy just recently became a Compleatist and Gregor is well on his way, but today the chat was all about the next Graham we could do!
Happy, happy, happy! by
Anne C, on Flickr
Life in the auld pins yet... by
Anne C, on Flickr
The summit was a tough place to leave on this sunny day of great clarity...
A hard summit to leave... by
Anne C, on Flickr
...but down we had to go though we headed too far east and soon found the boggiest and most boulder -strewn route down
Young people, they just can't be trusted with routes
Leaving the summit at 1.10pm by
Anne C, on Flickrd
Back along the contour path across Coire Briste...
The traverse across the moorland by
Anne C, on Flickr
A final admire of Beinn Eighe...
Admiring Beinn Eighe by
Anne C, on Flickr
On we drove to Jo’s Café in Torridon, a great place for carrot cake and scones and well-earned cups of tea. Sitting in the warm sunshine, looking across to Beinn Damph over turquoise Loch Torridon, delighted at ‘discovering’ Beinn a Chearchaill, life felt as if it didn’t get any better than this.But then, I often think that climbing any hill with those you love tends to have that effect - for a parent at least!
We had a stroll along the loch, through the Torridon Estate where Chris and I have often seen otters; in fact, when staying years ago at the now much modernised (and wildly more expensive) Lochside Cottage, the Estate owner told us the otter we often saw hunting around the shallows was known as Nancy! There was also a pine marten that used to visit the cottage at night if you put out an egg or bread and jam. He was known as Marty (of course
)
Nancy, who we saw often near the cottage...
Otter, Loch Torridon by
Anne C, on Flickr
Looking for otters by
Anne C, on Flickr
But no otters today, just the sheer beauty of Torridon and the deep yellow of the gorse out in full bloom, a striking contrast to the aquamarine sea.
Torridon and Beinn Damh by
Anne C, on Flickr
It was too difficult to leave the west behind on such a glorious day , so on the spur of the moment, we headed round to Shieldaig for dinner. That journey round Loch Torridon, high above the sea, is one I can never do without stopping at the various viewpoints over one of the finest vistas anywhere, absolutely stunning.
Beinn Alligin, Torridon by
Anne C, on Flickr
Torridon skyline by
Anne C, on Flickr
We were very lucky to get an outside table at the Shieldaig Inn, our seats a stone’s throw from the sea. The Langoustines in Garlic Butter and Home-made Sweet Potato chips were excellent! Gourmet food to match what I really think is a Gourmet Graham…one to be savoured again and again and enjoyed in different seasons when the colours change or under snow.
There are many hills and walks I know I'll always want to return to - this is one of them.