Heaven

[weaselmaster]

The start of August, the nights drawing in, the last gasp of summer. Get 'em in while you still can. At least the far away ones that need a long drive to reach. I don't enjoy driving in the dark, so trying to get my more remote targets done this year is always good. Forecast for the Northwest was reasonable; I suggested to Allison that we head up to Poolewe and get some Fishy goodness.

I love the Fisherfields, as any regular reader will know. My idea of Heaven, really (if you disregard the midges).

The name "Fisherfields" apparently comes from the Gaelic for "the fishing meadows" which describes the mix of land and loch rather well. It is certainly one of my favourite parts of the country and I can't imagine tiring of reasons to go visit. For this weekend I had selected the Corbetts of Beinn Airidh Charr & Beinn Lair and the Grahams of Meall Mheinnidh and Beinn a'Chaisgein Beag. Four hills was a little short of the six I like to get in a weekend, but these were a bit special. If there was time after the walk out on Sunday, we might take a drive along to Beinn Ghobhlaich and nip up there.

I picked Allison up from work on Thursday, having asked her to get away sharpish if possible, which she managed and we set off up the A82 having noticed there were emergency roadworks at the Kessock Bridge. Apart from getting behind some of the slowest drivers in Christendom for stretches of the journey it was alright. Heading through some heavy rain near Beauly I worried what it was going to be like weatherise in Poolewe...forecast had suggested it would be dry after 10pm. I knew it was possible to camp a bit down the track in but didn't want to be encumbered by wet kit on the first morning if possible to avoid. And rain it did as the twilight fell and we drove through Gairloch. Allison suggested a spot she had driven to between Gairloch and Poolewe - this proved suitable and we were able to use the bigger tent, pitching in very hard ground (why I keep a hammer in the car) and thereby avoid having a wet backpacking tent for the next day. Despite there being not much noise overnight I didn't sleep at all well.

userroute-44.gpx Open full screen  NB: Walkhighlands is not responsible for the accuracy of gpx files in users posts

We got away by 8 and drove along to the car park at Poolewe, just at the beginning of the walk in. Voluntary donations at the car park, a trend I heartily approve of. We got packs on and set off into a dry, if cloudy morning to walk along the metalled road towards Kernsary. Ahead we could see that the hills had clouds on the tops, clouds that didn't really look like they'd be shifting much today. Take a right before the bridge at Kernsary and continue on good track that skirts around Loch Tholldhoire. We missed the cairn that marks the footpath heading north - there's a little quarry at the roadside with a strange small stone structure in the edge of the track, the cairn is probably before this, but we went up onto deer tracks which brought us quickly to the proper footpath, not a bad stalkers track. Plenty spots to top up water supplies, lots of interesting flora and fauna around.

73A78D3C-469E-46EE-80DB-11D97AB4D80F_1_201_a by Al, on Flickr

B0B24A56-0CBA-4947-9536-17F9704BB060_1_201_a by Al, on Flickr

132384A8-5846-4B6C-8776-10FBB735029D_1_201_a by Al, on Flickr

400CCA87-0A09-4C22-9A22-F2C13BB612F9_1_201_a by Al, on Flickr

7D904C8F-F56F-462B-B769-93C48E27E6ED_1_201_a by Al, on Flickr

01824C9F-220D-4F27-AF11-BC4FCD6D4B6D_1_201_a by Al, on Flickr

Yellow Mountain Saxifrage
9758FD4F-3371-4134-809E-341019A7977D_1_201_a by Al, on Flickr

The track splits again with the path we wanted heading up into Coire nan Dearcag and continuing all the way to the summit. Last time we'd been heading off to include Simms on the way up: it was nice not to have that bother today. To our surprise, the clouds lifted as we climbed higher - we had views south to the hills of Torridon and, as we gained the summit, that breathtaking view of Fionn Loch and Dubh Loch sitting below A'Mhaighdean, with all the surrounding remote grandeur. I think this is one of the very finest views in Scotland and I was delighted to have it granted instead of having a face full of clag. We could see down to the causeway where we planned to camp tonight. But we had a fair amount to do before that.

Torridon hills
D595367A-E099-4EE2-84C9-E675A6607D40_1_201_a by Al, on Flickr

A9DD3CAD-204A-4555-BF06-C2160F14C775_1_201_a by Al, on Flickr

9FDEA5C4-765D-4FAC-AE48-29CBD195AC11_1_201_a by Al, on Flickr

F75FC831-640B-47CD-94E1-ADC4750EAEA5_1_201_a by Al, on Flickr

CC64686C-EA3E-43A5-B2F0-3528E0EDBAA3_1_201_a by Al, on Flickr

5D3E94A0-91DE-4E1D-A0CD-F291DAE6544F_1_201_a by Al, on Flickr

One of the best views in Scotland?
8F79B50C-AABD-4B41-987E-61CDE6130893_1_201_a by Al, on Flickr


Descent from Airidh Charr is straightforward, down into Coire Reidh. You do drop a frustratingly long way, down to 250m which is a bit of a grind. The floor of the valley, Strathan Bhuidhe, presents lovely camping opportunities - I do love a river valley - but we had to go on. Meall Mheinnidh is Mhean indeed - a steep wee critter, requiring about 500m of re-ascent. Mostly grassy, use the deer paths to find your way, some easy scrambling to gain the last 150m or so if you want. From the summit the causeway looked nearer - I couldn't see any tents around, whew! Descent is around the small lochan then just pick your way down the grassy slopes. We saw herds of deer, grazing in the bealach, stop and stare at our intrusion, before the more nervous ones sparked a headlong flight. Fortunately the bealach between Mheinnidh and Lair is much higher, over 500m, than its predecessor.

Meall Mheinnidh
C1851777-C17B-4B63-8D69-53A48C018DF3_1_201_a by Al, on Flickr

9AC6A976-5C2B-47F2-AC33-241BD15C5F03_1_201_a by Al, on Flickr

View back to Airidh Charr
0EB340E9-187F-4353-B1E8-BF4EFBA29A7A_1_201_a by Al, on Flickr

Eyebright
7A6D4070-8AAA-4246-A589-49006B71524A_1_201_a by Al, on Flickr

90F2F0AE-001B-47FB-968D-2B1B29ABA372_1_201_a by Al, on Flickr

Summit Mheinnidh
BE7B1B6B-1A24-4E67-9E18-67BB7113E586_1_201_a by Al, on Flickr

Causeway
184D044F-44D2-46F4-B581-9C73B9C4605D_1_201_a by Al, on Flickr

Lair
FAD974AE-0DD0-482B-92A7-A9CDE0DE4B5C_1_201_a by Al, on Flickr

I noticed the track in from Letterewe had been upgraded since we were last here (in case you get excited the upgrade only lasts til the beginning of the descent towards Fionn Loch). As we were about to cross the track and dump our packs I tripped and hit the track heavily on my hands and knees, more heavily due to the weight of my pack. A bit jarred but not obviously injured I hauled myself up, and we sat and had a coffee and a snack before heading up Lair. The midges decided to come out and interfere with that simple pleasure. Each time we've been up Lair we've seen goats, usually leaping along the frightening ledges on the north buttresses. And we saw a family outing of about a dozen gathered together on a large rock, watching our progress. Without our packs we were moving more quickly than earlier, but the goats were far from impressed.

0CC975C6-0C3F-4D7C-9E61-5E2E913B21BA_1_201_a by Al, on Flickr

After the steepness of Mheinnidh, Lair is a more gentle and refined ascent, with the big summit plateau to look forward to. Gorgeous views over A'Mhaighdean and into the heart of the Fisherfield Mountains, woolly clouds lending some atmosphere. Not to be outdone, Slioch smouldered to the south. The cairn on Lair is gigantic - I'm sure it has grown between each of our visits. Allison considered climbing it, then thought again. We returned to our packs and saddled up for the last part of the day. There is a path leading down by the Allt Poll Fraochain - the stream also gave us opportunity to top up our water supplies for the night as I wasn't sure about drinking the loch water. We passed a serviceable spot we'd used previously but this time I wanted to camp at the causeway - it made more sense for the following day's plans and let's face it - it was just a more appealing place to pitch. If it was free...

DE21C7A6-FA36-4C1B-A503-B7FEEF477502_1_201_a by Al, on Flickr

784D31F8-5C00-4962-921A-FEA61C3C601E_1_201_a by Al, on Flickr

AC26168A-3793-4FBA-AFBE-4431E4228788_1_201_a by Al, on Flickr

2069357D-A1E2-4AB5-9D94-CF422FAA9E84_1_201_a by Al, on Flickr

EA88F8BB-DF13-4054-ACF0-9C53427E35D8_1_201_a by Al, on Flickr

95FE9A35-1AF8-486E-88FC-5AD0467BD8E2_1_201_a by Al, on Flickr

Slioch
C06926F1-D4ED-4D7C-90B5-DBCA26AB17F9_1_201_a by Al, on Flickr

Sunset over the Shiants
60800341-EBA3-4AA0-A872-81219AB53739_1_201_a by Al, on Flickr

We rounded the shingle beach before the causeway and saw nobody at all. There's a lovely flat spot immediately on the north side of the causeway and we pitched, keen to get some food inside us - by this time it was about 8.30pm. We sat eating our Huel and noticed the breeze diminishing...within seconds the midges had taken advantage and started their persecution. We've been pretty lucky with midges this year - there's usually been sufficient breeze to hold them at bay, but they were in the ascendancy tonight and we headed indoors. Sadly, so did a troubling number of them Another night with no sleep, though I can't blame the midges for that. Don't know what was wrong - a perfect spot, no noise apart from the wavelets on the loch and the occasional deer going by...

AA1CAB1B-DD4F-426B-9D67-1B61D9D5CB16_1_201_a by Al, on Flickr

I felt exhausted when morning came and it was time to get out of bed. There was no real hurry as we only had Beinn a'Chaisgein Beag on the menu today, about 20k but almost all on track. I managed to spill hot (but luckily not boiling) water on my bare legs when making the coffee, so if anyone happened to be walking past the tent and heard some sweaty ranting, I do apologise The midges were still in evidence when we emerged, although we left them behind pretty quickly. I couldn't find any accounts of doing Beinn a'Chaisgein Beag by this route, so I didn't know what the state of the track would be - turns out it's a good'un. We walked past Carnmore Lodge and the Barn - which we'd read about but never passed by. Had to have a peek inside. Beds with mattresses! Table and chairs! Cow Skull! Silver high heels! Dirt Floor! It would be ok if the elements were adverse I guess and the midges didn't seem to have found their way inside.

6841D560-F3FD-49E0-9D9F-CC2FD1078114_1_201_a by Al, on Flickr

301192AB-D95B-4719-BF05-7EA5DE64D427_1_201_a by Al, on Flickr

D69DE1D5-7AD6-42FC-B26A-BEE2CEA4620E_1_201_a by Al, on Flickr

872B49D6-0052-40DD-BA77-393B23DD5EF8_1_201_a by Al, on Flickr

We pressed on. I was sluggish and slow, which didn't lessen as the day went on. I decided that the fall I'd had yesterday had jarred some of my soul loose and it had escaped, possibly transferred to the watching goats. That got me pondering on whether the soul was divisible or not - the old Greeks believed in Metempsychosis which requires the soul to remain indivisible, much like the Buddhist ideas of transmigration or reincarnation. Did your soul permeate all parts of your body, and if so, did you lose part of it if you had, say a leg amputated? Could midges drain tiny amounts of your soul away when they bit you? I attempted to engage Allison in these meanderings, but she said it was all "shite"

Beinn a'Chaisgein Beag
675CED34-49C6-49A1-8CF4-80E963BB3693_1_201_a by Al, on Flickr

DDF03F0F-3963-4917-AE12-A7545E995A43_1_201_a by Al, on Flickr

We continued on up towards the bealach between Chaisgein Mor & Beag. From here it was a pleasant walk up rough grass and rock to the summit, passing by the rock artwork done some years ago and now looking a bit neglected. And views! We could see some things - unlike on our last two visits here, although the clouds were partially obscuring some of the better features like An Teallach. We took a "short cut" back to the path, which was steeper and more bouldery than the way we'd come up. On another day I might have added in Beinn a'Chaisgein Mor, which would be easy enough to do, but I lacked the energy and in any case I needed reasons to keep coming back to this part of the world. So we went back the way we'd come up, identifying the odd tree, spider or caterpillar. All the time walking towards A'Mhaighdean, a great view. Back at the tent for 5pm, with a brisk breeze blowing over the loch which delighted us both as it meant we could sit outside and have our tea in peace from the swarming hordes.

1E66C0B1-C134-4378-AF27-E9BDD24FB911_1_201_a by Al, on Flickr

64C2EE93-CD0E-43A0-9DFC-C88AB3090267_1_201_a by Al, on Flickr

Meall Mheinnidh, Airidh Charr
F81A746F-E8D3-424A-8EA0-3B77C59990E2_1_201_a by Al, on Flickr

0C17AC2B-FA3E-472A-9DF5-E7729EB0E428_1_201_a by Al, on Flickr

9B2BFE35-8A2D-4076-999C-255241AB2F31_1_201_a by Al, on Flickr

6CBBCD9D-CDE6-4B9B-A2EB-941C1F458F51_1_201_a by Al, on Flickr

A'Mhaighdean
492A6E9F-2987-4177-B416-DB68150D0DF1_1_201_a by Al, on Flickr

1D014AA3-8C38-43C8-B217-2E6D36BA7159_1_201_a by Al, on Flickr

2B4C06CB-ADB0-41CD-9A96-80FB6175C04E_1_201_a by Al, on Flickr

1E271F2F-86D2-48AC-9578-46B627BE68BB_1_201_a by Al, on Flickr

831701EE-B556-4F18-928E-73AFC772E948_1_201_a by Al, on Flickr

I did manage some sleep overnight and felt fresher and more energetic in the morning. I decided that it was probably sleeplessness and not expulsion of part of my soul that had been the reason for my fatigue the previous day. As we lay in the tent we knew the sun was streaming outside. A quick peek out revealed blue sky and no clouds. Could we really waste a morning like this just walking out? When we were camped here? At the foot of the most remote Munro? Could we hell! Neither of us "needed" A'Mhaighdean (other than for a possible fourth round) but some days you just need to put bagging plans aside and enjoy the hills for what they are. This was one of these days. We left the tent up and set off up the path - yes, a path all the way to the summit . A gorgeous morning, although there were a few clouds starting to appear from the north east - we hoped we were not going to have a repetition of our last time up "the maiden" when clouds came in as we neared the summit. Allison spotted a wet footprint on a rock - someone else out - we were surprised not to have seen anyone over the last two days...a Bank Holiday weekend in the Fisherfields??? We continued up towards Ruadh Stac Mor, passing Fuar Loch Mor ("Big Cold Loch"). I suggested Allison might like to take a dip, she who is always going on about the benefits of cold water swimming, but she declined saying she couldn't see the bottom and might get eaten by something.

Too nice a morning not to climb a hill
194A47FB-13CB-4D66-B288-51958C107F16_1_201_a by Al, on Flickr

5E5153CD-08AD-421E-BCD5-C87A6A8F3BD1_1_201_a by Al, on Flickr

20598FD7-D104-4956-A5B7-67990B281E1D_1_201_a by Al, on Flickr

Beinn Dearg Mhor
E28AEB3D-C2FD-4303-A728-65CABFC0D458_1_201_a by Al, on Flickr

"Big Cold Loch"
FB1C6498-7832-45D0-A2F0-A67D6D5D5ECA_1_201_a by Al, on Flickr

Nearing the top of A'Mhaighdean I half expected to see a cluster of tents, given how popular a summit camp destination this seems to be, but there was no-one. I guessed our "wet footprint" person had probably gone up Ruadh Stac Mor first. We had beaten the clouds to the top and were rewarded by the glorious views along the lochs, the Beinn Deargs with the serrated spectre of An Teallach behind them. Time for an early lunch - and not the worst spot either On our descent we passed the guy who'd been ahead of us, on his way up. We half-debated about tagging on Ruadh Stac Mor - after all it is only 160m ascent - albeit steep ascent - from the path but we both decided no - we don't need to! So we merrily continued down the path on our way back to the tent. I suspected we'd arrive there by about 2pm, and that it would take us the best part of 3.5-4 hours to walk out to the car...man it was going to be another late night!

2AC7B6C8-4DC3-4461-9995-599BEAE54199_1_201_a by Al, on Flickr

8A358D04-4159-44AE-B7AF-A9B387DF4773_1_201_a by Al, on Flickr

E250003B-253D-4BD8-B388-7790270BC9F1_1_201_a by Al, on Flickr

B9CB8012-C8F6-46FA-9BA5-9642D8B1BA82_1_201_a by Al, on Flickr

F7F6FF9C-CFBC-4BA6-BA79-895E4B923C0D_1_201_a by Al, on Flickr

AF265F7E-F731-423C-9069-3DB34FE0E04F_1_201_a by Al, on Flickr

C3115DE1-4C66-40A3-954B-1DAE4A2EE88A_1_201_a by Al, on Flickr

2AFE3675-F53A-45E1-9AE0-5BDFA192FA65_1_201_a by Al, on Flickr

A8101E01-F799-443A-8CFB-CE4F669609DA_1_201_a by Al, on Flickr

2pm precisely when we reached the tent, 10 minutes to pack it up and set off. We could see three figures approaching the other side of the causeway and guessed they were hoping to camp where we'd been. I'll bet they were relieved when they saw us packing up. It turned out to be a Scandi mum and her two teenage sons, indeed planning to camp tonight before walking in to Shenaval tomorrow and joining other family members. Mum was very relaxed, sitting reading her book on the south side of the causeway whilst we had packed up. We chatted for a bit then turned our attending to the kilometres that needed to be travelled before we reached the car. Clouds were finally catching up with us and we had a refreshing shower of rain to keep us company. Allison donned her rain jacket but I just got wet, then dried off again almost as quickly. We noticed a new gate to the forest section, dithered a bit about whether we could walk through the road between the estate houses and the bridge at Kernsary (we did) and made the car with hot/sore feet, having done in excess of 30km today.

Airidh Charr in the rain
827B9970-69A8-4503-92A0-9E5CB9990599_1_201_a by Al, on Flickr

14E666F9-C5E6-4B36-AD54-3AFA2B86C1F8_1_201_a by Al, on Flickr

It was gone 6pm by now - we needed something to eat before the long journey home. Scrabbling about in the car I found one portion of Huel and one packet of instant noodles. Wow! There were also biscuits and chocolate, but bizarrely no crisps. I always have crisps in the car and we usually munch on those on the longer journeys, but not tonight. Reminder to self - stock the car with more "emergency" food!

[zatapathique]

A delightful read, and such wonderful photos! I love your macro shots, something I've never got around to trying (especially as I don't have a macro lens for my Pentax, and my 7-year-old phone has a lousy camera ).

When I climbed the Fisherfield munros, it was clear to me that I will have to come back there to explore the area in greater detail. Arriving on the summit of A' Mhaighdean has been one of the finest moments I had in my life, and I do not exaggerate.

Your elaborations on the soul which Allison cut short ("shite!") could have been a dialogue between me and Mrs Z.

[weaselmaster]

A delightful read, and such wonderful photos! I love your macro shots, something I've never got around to trying (especially as I don't have a macro lens for my Pentax, and my 7-year-old phone has a lousy camera ).

When I climbed the Fisherfield munros, it was clear to me that I will have to come back there to explore the area in greater detail. Arriving on the summit of A' Mhaighdean has been one of the finest moments I had in my life, and I do not exaggerate.

Your elaborations on the soul which Allison cut short ("shite!") could have been a dialogue between me and Mrs Z.

Cheers!
I've just been using my iPhone in recent times and focus on macro things is a bit of a challenge - especially when it's windy and you're trying to photograph a spider in the middle of a web that's blowing about

The Fisherfields are so good to stay a few days in, especially camping, as there are lots of bits that are not frequented by the folk doing the 5 Munros.

Glad to hear someone else has strange internal dialogues when out on the hills

[Graeme D]

I almost camped on that spot by the causeway on the last Friday night in July when I walked in but the dreaded midge was already making itself felt! I laboured on and found a spot just below the outflow of Fuar Loch Beag where I initially thought I had managed to outclimb the wee blighters, but alas, they soon found me! After doing a big loop from the 2 Munros the following day out to Chasgein Beag and back to the tent, I passed a couple descending the path to Carnmore on bikes and they were camped where you were the Sunday morning when I walked back out to Poolewe. Think they had taken a roasting there too!

I see Kevin hasn't been in to the barn yet to pick up his heels!

[weaselmaster]

I see Kevin hasn't been in to the barn yet to pick up his heels!

Ha! I noticed them in your post on the other forum and had a wee chuckle.

I guess that spot by the causeway gets very regular use. Clean and tidy though. And less ticks this weekend than usual 🙂

[Graeme D]

I see Kevin hasn't been in to the barn yet to pick up his heels!

Ha! I noticed them in your post on the other forum and had a wee chuckle.

I guess that spot by the causeway gets very regular use. Clean and tidy though. And less ticks this weekend than usual 🙂

Yep, I didn't have any ticks after the 3 days and I only took 2 off Luna. Was banking on a larger haul than that!

[dogplodder]

Absolutely stunning and a feast for the eyes which brought back memories of some of these places which I failed to photograph anything like as well as you have.

[weaselmaster]

Absolutely stunning and a feast for the eyes which brought back memories of some of these places which I failed to photograph anything like as well as you have.

Thanks, the weather has to take the credit for the photos. I was concerned that we’d be in clag on that first day and miss the views I knew were there, which would have been highly disappointing. But luck was with us 😊

[Anne C]

Great report and some superb photos Particularly love the view from Beinn Lair - all those layers(no pun intended)in lovely light.Had a good chuckle too - love Allison's dismissal of soul talk

[Christopher Pulman]

Unbelievable photos of the reflections in the lakes. I am very envious. I was hoping to get into the area this year (at the very end of June), but with the iffy weather, opted for the Fannichs instead; only got to see into Carnmore from a distance.

Rain

[Grisu]

I think the pictures and the memories of these walks are making it up at least twice for sleepless nights, some minor incidents and a gnawed soul
It is such a special area which makes it really worth to come back again and again.
Thanks for the report!

[Mountainlove]

What stunning set of photos and what a wonderful few days. Love this part of the world and that sounded an amazing trip.
Can't get over the silver heels 😂 that's a first.