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And so to Strathfarrar; the locked glen... You get ten hours for this walk courtesy of the locked gate at the entrance to the Glen; or longer if you cycle down; but motorised vehicles are banned from spending the night here. A good thing I think, it keeps it as unspoilt as it can be... I've been waiting for a nice day to turn these four into blue pins; and today was that day; 163 miles door to door, and I've arrived at the gate 15 minutes early. At smack on 09:00 the lady opens the gate and gives me my pass for the day... I'm excited; it feels like more of an adventure with an entrance gate...
The glen was beautiful, and driving down it, totally empty of all life except wildlife; roof down, in the sun was working. The perfect start to the day, and a touch more sedate than the drive from Bridge of Allan
The ascent begins on a bulldozed track; not for long mind, but still a pleasant start. The view dominated by what will be the highest point of the walk, the summit of Sgurr a'Choire Ghlais
Once the short section of the bulldozed track is done, the path follows the river; well that's if you can call it a path; blissful sections like this are all too brief...
It's pretty enough though; even if you get the sense that you want the walk to get a little more interesting; it looks a long way to the hills!!
The remainder of the route up to the first summit of the day Sgurr na Ruaidhe can only be described as a trudge through a combination of path, open moorland, and bog...
It's a full 850 metres of unrelenting ascent, and the legs were burning by the time I made the first summit at 11:00 on the nose... The good news is that all of the horrible stuff is now done; this is definitely the right direction to walk the ridge; the views of the ridge, and the walking just gets better and better and better from here. It's stunning...
It's spongy grass on the descent towards the beallach between you and munro number 2 of the day; Carn nan Gobhar; perfect for a walking, and a real spring in the step after the boggy ascent.
It's only a short pull to the top of Carn nan Gobhar mainly on grassy slopes, but with a final stretch on large boulders which dogs may struggle with though there's nothing difficult for you...
And from the summit the remainder of the ridge opens out in all it's glory... It's every bit as stunning as it looks and one of the nicest remotest ridges I've walked... It was empty, and I had it to myself to savour...
The walk down the slopes toward Sgurr a'Choire Ghlais (the big one that dominates the view at the start) is gorgeous,; the terrain easy underfoot; and the views to die for...
Easy walking...
It's working...
After a good climb the summit is reached which boasts a trig point and two large well formed cairns... It was blowing a little to say the least; whilst it may look like a stunning summers day the wind was up now...
Looking back the views were never as good as in the direction I was walking, so I'd definitely recommend the route in this direction if it's the sights you're after...
The final munro is Sgurr Fhuar-thuill over the top of a minor summit in between. All gorgeous walking though, and I decided to leave lunch until the end of the ridge...
The descent is easy, and gorgeous, and the walk back along the glen long but relaxing...
All in all, a 7 hour jaunt, plus 300 metres in the car; almost forgot to stop recording the route!!!
