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The quality of previous walk reports has meant that I have always considered myself unlikely to add very much in my own reports. However, I could find relatively little information about tackling the Mullardoch four from Glen Strathfarrar before doing the walk yesterday so I thought this report might be of some use to others.
I had planned to walk these hill a few years ago with my son, using Angus' ferry. A knee injury scuppered that plan so it seemed to come down this year to either the Loch Mullardoch north shore or tackling the hills from Glen Strathfarrar. The prospect of an evening bike ride, and trying out my new tent in the peace and quiet of the glen were behind my choice of the latter.
The ride in was a bit of work. It's 15 miles and the total climb on the ride up to the top of the road, beyond the two dams, was over 300m with the hilliest bit up to the Monar dam. It was well worth the effort, even with a headwind. Quite a few groups of deer down to road level were evidence of the peace and quiet. I deliberately took it easy, recognising that I ought to be reasonably fresh for the walk the next day, and it took 1h45m.
The power station at the top of the road was running full tilt, with a spectacular plume of water at the outflow which provided a nice backing soundtrack over night.
![Tent and power station.JPG]()
- Tent and power station
I was up at 05:30 and set off at 06:00. The route basically took me straight up the south side of the glen from the tent, crossing the head pond at the top of the pipeline coming down the side of the hill. I opted to include the Creag Dubh top and headed pretty much straight for it. The weather has been relatively dry for weeks and the walking was pretty nice on grass - not boggy and not that steep.
The walk along the ridge has been well documented and described by others.
![Glen Strathfarrar from Sgùrr na Lapaich.JPG]()
- Glen Strathfarrar from Sgùrr na Lapaich
The descent from An Socach involves a short walk NE towards the edge of Coire Gorm Beag, and then following the rim in an arc, initially heading north and then to slightly north of east, and this delivers you to the corrie floor at about 630m. What follows is a traverse of the hillside, essentially following the contours, for a little over 2½ miles, to a bealach below Meallan Bhuide an Fheadain at about 520m. From there, a reasonably clear track leads down to the power station, and the prospect of another delightful bike ride back down to the car. The ride was great again, although while nearly all downhill, there are a few inclines, totalling about 160m along the way
The total distance of the walk (not including the rides in and out) is similar to the "conventional" route using the Loch Mullardoch shore path. I haven't done that and so cannot compare the two directly. People I met on the walk who had done the shore path said that it hadn't been too bad for them (maybe because of the dry hillsides, low water level in the loch, wind keeping the midges at bay, bracken not yet grown). On the Strathfarrar route, the descent down the corrie rim was a delight. The walk along the contour was fine - mostly short grass - but maybe less bearable in the clouds and the rain. Overall, I thought it a great outing.
