The Mountain of Beauty

[Grisu]

The weatherforecast for the first day after my arrival at Struan Cottage in Anat was just perfect for my next walk: Beinn Alligin.
In 2020 I had my first adventures in Torridon on Beinn Eighe so I knew: The good thing about the Torridon-Mountains is that there is usually a good path upwards (apart from the scree slope to Ruadh-stac Mòr ), the disbenefit is that it is always steep. But I think Beinn Alligin is the least steepest of the three Munro-Mountains at least when one starts the usual route reaching Tom na Gruagaich first
After the first steep section the gradient eases off for a short distance below Na Fasreidhnean and a nice preview of today's impressive walk opens up.

outlook of today's walk

At the car park I had a little chat with a couple which was preparing for the walk, too. We passed each other on the way up alternately, here they are in front of me heading for the Corrie, at the summit we met again.

Then the path climbs up relentlessly until the cairn at the plateau is reached.

climb up Coire nan Laogh

View back over Upper Loch Torridon short before I have reached the plateau

From there the last pull to the summit of Tom na Gruagaich is quite short and quickly done.

Plateau with cairn below Tom na Gruagaich

The summit was very busy and a number of walkers have come up over the Horns and Sgùrr Mòr, saying that this was the easier approach - I am not sure about this.

Party at the summit

summit of Tom na Gruagaich

The views were absolutely amazing:

Sgùrr Mòr and the Horns

Abhainn Coire Mhic Nòbuil with the Big Beinns: Beinn Dearg and Beinn Eighe and the mighty Liathach

The Horns with great views behind: Slioch behind Beinn Dearg and An Teallach to the left in the far distance as well as the Ullapool-Mountains to the right (I think)

the same with Sgùrr Mòr

Gairloch

sorry another one of The Horns zoomed with the fortress-like rock face of Slioch behind

The walk along the ridge from Tom na Gruagaich to the summit of Sgùrr Mòr was very pleasant and enjoyable.

ascent to Sgùrr Mòr

The Black Cleft

Look back to Tom na Gruagaich and the steep slopes to the west

summit picture with the cairn of Sgùrr Mòr

simply awesome

views to the north

views to the south

Views to Gairloch

The couple was not sure whether they would go over the Horns and thought about going back the same route, because they had a long drive back home (can't remember where), but finally they decided to continue. From time to time we were walking and talking together, sometimes the gap between us became bigger and then closer again. At one point I was very thankful that I wasn't alone. There was a tricky scramble downwards where I couldn't see where to put my foot and they helped me to find a grippy grip.
The up and downs and the scramble sections made the walk over Na Rathanan very diverse.

the adventure begins

heading for the first Horn

view back to Sgùrr Mòr

hello

outlook

descent from the second Horn

Beinn Dearg from the second Horn (when I remember it right)

outlook to the third (?) Horn

Looking back

the last bump and then it went down steeply

The last Horn expecially the steep descent was quite challenging after this long walk with decreasing concentration and tired legs and I was happy when I finally reached the valley and even ground.

looking back from the last cairn (a fourth Horn?) to ridge

looking back the steep slog down

back to even ground, a long but nice walk along Abhainn Coire Mhic Nòbuil in the hot afternoon sun

In the valley I plodded behind the couple most of the time but finally regained some strength and was able to catch up with them short before the woods at the end of the walk where the shadow gave a nice relief from the burning sun in the valley. At six o'clock sharp - exactly after 8 hours we were back at the car park.
I hope you had a safe journey back home and if you read this report, I would be happy to hear from you! Thanks for your nice company, it was a great day out: The Mountain of Beauty has offered many impressive and unforgettable views on this wonderful warm and sunny summer sunday. Thanks so much!

Later, a nice sunset over Upper Loch Torridon finished this day peacefully.

A perfect line this time, no diversions, detours or other struggle to find the path :

Beinn_Alligin_and_it_s_two_Munros_.gpx Open full screen  NB: Walkhighlands is not responsible for the accuracy of gpx files in users posts

[HalfManHalfTitanium]

Fantastic photos - what a brilliant TR!

Really enjoyed reading that - thanks so much for posting.

tim

[Grisu]

Fantastic photos - what a brilliant TR!

Really enjoyed reading that - thanks so much for posting.

tim

That was a quick response - I still was editing because I submitted the report inadvertently
Thanks a lot, I am happy that you enjoyed it!!
cheers Anke

[jmarkb]

Lovely! Alligin is one of my very favourite walks in Scotland.

There are pros and cons about which direction to go - I think clockwise (the way you went) is slightly easier as more of the scrambling is done going up rather than down. On the other hand, going anti-clockwise has more gradual ascent and the main difficulties are out of the way sooner. The Na Fasreidhnean ridge is a good alternative to the main path up Coire nan Laogh - it is easier than it looks and no harder than the Horns.

[maxie23]

Fabulous report.

Loved the photos

The weather gods were certainly kind to you.

Regards.

Robert

[Coop]

Great report, great views from a fantastic mountain. Some of those views are the ones that you wish everyone can see at some point.
Cheers

[Grisu]

Lovely! Alligin is one of my very favourite walks in Scotland.

There are pros and cons about which direction to go - I think clockwise (the way you went) is slightly easier as more of the scrambling is done going up rather than down. On the other hand, going anti-clockwise has more gradual ascent and the main difficulties are out of the way sooner. The Na Fasreidhnean ridge is a good alternative to the main path up Coire nan Laogh - it is easier than it looks and no harder than the Horns.

Thanks Jmarkb!
You are probably right about Na Fasreidhnean and going up this ridge the views wouldn't be blocked. May be I'll have the chance to try it out another time.

[Grisu]

Fabulous report.

Loved the photos

The weather gods were certainly kind to you.

Regards.

Robert

Thanks, Robert, I was very lucky with the weather in Torridon this time, and I enjoyed the amazing views a lot. Next day I was on Liathach with good weather too (at least until the descent )

[Grisu]

Great report, great views from a fantastic mountain. Some of those views are the ones that you wish everyone can see at some point.
Cheers

Thanks, Coop! You are certainly right about the views and after I have done all three Mountains I would say the views from Beinn Alligin are the best. The views from Beinn Eighe and Liatach are impressive enough but to see through the Glen from one end to the other is very special, I would say and I love this line of the mountains in this picutre, taken from Sgùrr Mòr:

[Butterscotch]

Amazing! I might do these in a couple of weeks, leaving just Liatach to do along this road.

[Grisu]

Amazing! I might do these in a couple of weeks, leaving just Liatach to do along this road.

Thank you, Butterscotch, I wish you good conditions for this walk it is a great area!!!