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Before I took up hillwalking in Scotland I assumed the Beinn Dearg four were a modern jazz band led by Len Walters from Holbeach on accordion. The truth it turns out is much more pleasant! Having stayed in Ullapool last year and occasionally viewed these hills through the murk I was determined to tick them off the to-do list.
- Beinn Dearg from Ullapool SYH
Looking at previous walk reports I thought we should reverse the WH route and ascend Eididh na Clach Geala first and Beinn Dearg last, this would give us the option of walking out via the NW ridge of the latter rather than back along the coire. In the event of clear weather the views would be far superior. It turned out a good plan!
- We arrived at the path beyond the woods just as it stopped raining
- Looking back towards the woods - Hydro scheme down to the left - beyond that can be seen the cleared strip over the pipeline, with whiite plastic posts as markers.
- Across the river Lael the dry stream bed we followed to get down off the moorland later in the day
- Looking back along the Gleann na Sguaib to the woods, the descent route the shallowest slope on the left
The forecast for Wednesday 24th wasn’t brilliant but suggested that the weather would get better during the day. We started from the Inverlael car park at 8;00 in light drizzle, within 15 minutes it had turned to continuous rain and by the time we got to the end of the woods we were soaked. Every time we stopped for shelter we were assailed by midges. We had a quick debate as to whether we should postpone a big walk (for the 4th time this week) but decided to see how it goes when we got out in the open. Almost immediately it started to ease off and although wet underfoot we gradually dried out as we walked along the River Lael valley.
The turn off on the left for SnCG was easy to spot but we could not find a second turn off the path that went onto the Southwest ridge, Sidhean Dubh, which seems to be straight up. I opted to take a long angled shallow ascent to the summit and Ben, characteristically, went straight up the slope. Beforehand we were distracted by a Golden Eagle soaring along the ridge line; it turns out it was disturbed by another walker whom we met at the summit. The elongated summit is reached by a grassy slope coming off the SW ridge. The bouldery summit has two cairns, I went to the Western one first, Ben the Eastern. By this time the cloud was breaking up though still clinging to Beinn Dearg, views were opening up North and West. We met the lone walker at the East summit, he was a local who had started ahead of us but sheltered from the rain; he kindly gave us some advice on the route to the next top and returned back the way he came.
- Eididh nan Clach Geala, the path bears up sharply to the left to Sidhean Dubh but i took a shallower route direct towards the summit.
- The route from EnCG to Ceann Garbh Top & Meall nan Ceapraichean takes you across the bealach and above the arching band of rock to the dip in the ridgeline.
The East slope of EnCG was the nicest walking of the day, grassy and shallow with good views of the next hill, Meall nan Ceapraichean and the bealach below. The latter was rocky with a number of attractive Lochans which we picked our way amongst. There was a good view East along the barren coire of the Allt Ling a Bhrisdidh. The path up the other side was fairly easy to pick up and sloped up above an arching band of rock; turning Eastwards uphill we picked up the ridgeline and were soon on the Munro Top of Ceann Garbh. The whole of the area was stony grey limestone with occasional outcrops of bright white quartz. We didn’t hang about long on the Munro summit but were keen to get onto the next target; as we descended the Southeast slope of MnC the cloud cleared from Beinn Dearg to our right. Another nice straightforward slope down to the bealach which picks up the main path from Coire Mathair Lathall. We swung South of Lochan Usain and then contoured around a lump marked 884 on the map. The views down into the stupendous Coire Granda opened up together with the flanking walls of Beinn Dearg to the West and Cona Mheall to the East, the latter extended by a descending spur to the Southeast.
- After picking a way between the Lochans the route up is fairly easy to find.
- Looking back at EnCG from Ceann Garbh - 968m
- The rocky bealach between the first two Munros
- Ben on the summit of MnC just as the cloud was beginning to shift
- Ben walking down the grassy East slope of MnC with Cona Meall in the background, the route bears towards Beinn Dearg on the right and then round the Lochan
- View over to the Meall Breac ridge of Beinn Dearg with An Teallach in the distance. The long destitution wall visible on the ridge
- Cona Mheall, the Munro peak is at the left hand end but there is more interest at the RHS where the South ridge drops down to Coire Granda.
Cona Mheall looked rocky and somewhat tedious to walk up but proved to be fairly straightforward, a path picking it’s way across the boulder field. The summit cairn, to the North end of the ridge, overlooked the beautiful and stark Coire Lair where a waterfall tumbled over a massive stone cill from a high level Loch. We decided to have a look at the Southeast ridge which dropped dramatically into the coire and looked like it had good opportunities for scrambling. As we approached we spotted 4 figures amongst the outcrops; these turned out to be a group who had walked in from the ‘public road’ (presumably the A835 near Loch Droma) over 10Km of wet ground and were intending to return via the South ridge of Beinn Dearg – an interesting route maybe best kept for a dry Summer.
- The SW face of Cona Meall overlooking the Coire
- Coire Granda viewed from the bealach
- The bealach between Beinn Derag and MnC (on right)
- Beinn Dearg's Creag a Choire Ghranda above the coire
- Ben at the summit cairn of Cona Mheall
- The waterfall of Creagan na Still and Loch Prille to the East of Cona Mheall
- An Teallach as viewed from Cona Mheall
- The South ridge of Cona Mheall, the route taken by the party of 4 we met on the route
- Ben on the South ridge over the Loch a Choire Ghranda
- Yet another pose on an outcrop
- Beinn Derag viewed from the Cona Mheall South ridge
- Ben returns to the main hill of Cona Mheall, with the East facing cliffs and summit in the background.
- Meall nan Ceaparichean summit in sunshine
After a chat we headed a short way down the spur and they for the summit. We then skirted back Northwest, mainly across grassy slopes, back to the bealach. Ben made the mistake of walking across some bright green mossy ground which turned out to be boggy and he was in up to his calf before he could react, another lesson. At 2;30 we stopped for lunch in the windy, midge free, bealach with great views of the coire below. Recommencing we skirted the 884 hill and ascended the flat slabs just below the start of the famine wall, a drystane dyke, which climbs up the Northeast face of Beinn Dearg.
- The Beinn Dearg 2 posing with Assynt hills in background.
- EnCG and MnC as viewed from Beinn Dearg
- The long walk out along the NW ridge and wall, Coire Mathair Lathall on right
- Looking back at the summit from the NW ridge (Meall Breac)
- Cairn and view of Ullapool
The route up is steep and rocky and you can only have admiration for the men who built the wall in the most appalling personal conditions and for a pittance of a handout. In contrast I find it bizarre that the best thing a landowner could find for all that effort was a wall in the middle of nowhere. As the gradient eases off the wall bends Westwards and the route to the summit cairn South. The other party were already ensconced in the lee of the large cairn but at least offered to take our photo. Once they headed off we were able to huddle out of the wind for a while. Checking directions on the shallow domed summit we headed off Northwest to pick up the wall which followed the edge of the Coire Mathair Lathall for about 3 Km. The views onwards were wonderful, as we walked we could pick out the Assynt hills, The Fisherfields, The Fannichs and of course An Teallach. We disturbed at least three flocks of ptarmigan who when disturbed, wheeled away and flew off downwind. For a while we walked on the leeward side of the wall and only hopped back over as we got to the Cadh an Amadain outcrop. There are a couple of small uphill sections and a couple of steeper rocky descents but nothing like going back down the NE flank of Beinn Dearg.
- Towards the NW end of the wall and the moorland beyond. The route down to the valley is via a dip in the moor just in front of the Lock, about a KM from the end of the wall
- Looking East to the peaks of EnCG and MnC
- The last outcrop of the Meall Breac ridge showing the end of the wall
- Looking down the slope alongside the stream to the Lael valley
- The just about discernable path, the Hydro dam is visible almost centre of picture
- Looking back through the woods to the Bealach an Lochain Uaine, the white posts over the Hydro pipeline can be seen in amongst the trees.
Once over the brow of Meall Breac the wall fades away as the hill slopes down to the moorland. The route then ran parallel to the coire in a straight line for 1.8Km until the ground begins to dip away to the right to form a small burn (about grid ref NH 213840). The slopes became heathery and at the bottom of the valley we could see the edge of the forest and in the river a small Hydro dam. The East side of the rocky burn has a heather clad rib with a faint path, this is greasy peat with many concealed steps but straightforward in good visibility. Once in the valley bottom we split up, Ben found stepping stones across the Lael and got back onto the main path before it entered the forest. I kept South of the river, headed towards the dam, hopped over the large gate and then along the strip of cleared forest that was formed by the water pipe from the dam; this is marked by a series of regularly spaced white plastic posts which eventually meet the river at a new wooden footbridge; crossing this brought me back onto the forest road and Ben who was a couple of hundred meters ahead of me. We arrived back at the car park about 6;40, just right for dinner in Ullapool.
What a great day and a really good route given the conditions. That ends our 2022 week in the Highlands with a total distance just over 100Km and ascent of 7253m, 8 Munros and 2 Corbetts, despite the wet miserable start to the week.
For a brief introduction to the subject of the famine walls see:
https://heavywhalley.wordpress.com/2019/10/31/suilven-the-famine-or-destitution-walls-beinn-dearg-and-the-road-of-destitution/