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Saturday's walk in Monadhliath was a cracker, but Sunday looked even better with crystal blue sky and very little wind. We simply couldn't bare the thought of staying home and watching TV (though Rocket Ronnie was scheduled to play
) so we grabbed the map and found a "quickie in the neighbourhood"...
Actually, Kevin told me he wanted something not too tackling. A hill with good views, where you can sit on the summit, have a spring picnic and warm yourself in the sun (I'd rather miss the last point). Fionn Bheinn seemed a perfect route for it ticked all the boxes, plus it's only a short drive from Beauly so we saved a few quid on petrol. It's a straightforward walk and one of the easiest Munros to bag.
The Achnasheen Munro generally suffers from a lot of bad press, not only on our forum
Several people told me they found this hill pointless, uninspiring, a waste of time and only worth climbing because it improves your statistics. I understand that everybody is entitled to their own opinion and I swear I never had any intention to offend fellow walkers, but sincerely, I think they couldn't be more wrong!!! I can imagine if one approaches Fionn Bheinn in misty, cloudy weather then I agree, there's no technical challenge, not much excitement to it and one can feel they did a pointless walk. The biggest advantage of this Munro is its location, in the heart of the northern Highlands, and it's a fan-tas-tic viewpoint. Therefore, one cannot appreciate the magic of Fionn Bheinn without seeing the vistas.
OK, I felt this Munro needed some support and a bit of advertising, now back to the walk itself. We wanted to make a proper traverse so here is how we walked it:
After parking in Achnasheen next to the railway station, we crossed the road and headed straight uphill. It looked steep-ish...
...but as we gained height very quickly, views came just as well, first was the one down to the village and the bulk of Strathconnon Corbetts to the left:
The path follows a fence and a rocky ravine, it's a bit wet but generally - a piece of cake:
At some point the path vanished and the ground became more boggy, soon we emerged on the col between Creagan na Laogh and Meall a'Chaorainn. I guess we should have headed slightly further east, to avoid the wettest area. We found ourselves at the edge of another ocean of peat hags (as if the bog feast the day before wasn't enough!!!). Luckily, this time we didn't have to cross most of them, just a few steps through boggy, squelchy ground, and we left them behind
.
Looking back at the peat hag kingdom:
Meall a'Chaorainn, the hill behind the peat hag area, is indeed a Graham and hypothetically, it could be added to the Munro traverse, but we gave it a miss. Another time, perhaps. I didn't fancy another squelchy trod.
Anyway, who cares about a few stupid hags, when some familiar shapes begin to show up? Slioch was the first one to enter the stage:
...Then Beinn Eighe joined the party:
And eventually, Liathach announced its mighty presence:
Not to mention the Strathfarrar four:
Ben Wyvis also had something to add:
The summit was now well visible and it looked only a short stroll away:
One more stream to cross:
A wet world, but well worth swimming through
We didn't really push ourselves too hard, the day was great and we enjoyed climbing:
The most interesting feature of the mountain is the northern corie, hidden from view unless you climb the hill
Here, at last we encountered some snow - and were stunned by the views...
Looking east along the ridge:
Toll Mor corrie and the summit of Fionn Bheinn:
The Fannichs still in white dresses:
An Teallach from an unusual angle:
Close-up:
Now we were only a few minutes away from the top, so we could waste some time on taking countless photos and striking silly poses:
The northern vista: An Teallach in the middle, Sgurr Breac and A'Chailleach to the right:
The final push to the summit:
We arrived by the trig point in about 2 hours and that counting in all the breaks for photos. I guess a fit person can go up and down this mountain (if returning the same way) in about 3 hours, but that's not what we had in mind. We planned a picnic on the top! Luckily conditions were perfect for a longer break, very little wind and lovely sunshine... And the views... Second to none.
By the trig point:
Slioch:
Fisherfield mountains:
Zoomed out panorama to the north-western side:
I absolutely loved the view towards Beinn Eighe and Liathach. My favourite mountain reminded me of a big, white starfish from this angle:
Liathach doesn't really show its best profile from this direction, just a big, bulky monster
I was surprised to see the distant ridge of Conival - Ben More Assynt duo:
Fionn Loch:
Fuar Tholl (left) and Achnashellach Munros:
Picnic time! Tea, sandwiches, cookies, home-made almond muffins, what else? And he doesn't put on weight! Not fair... I gain inches only from looking at food
It wouldn't be a proper trip without one photo to "Me on the rock" collection, this time it's "Me on the rock with superb view behind":
We spent about 45 minutes on the top. Some other walkers started to arrive and soon the summit was quite busy, so we packed our stuff and set off to finish the traverse. We walked along the ridge, still glimpsing back to the magnificent northern corrie:
Ben Wyvis rocks
And who said Fionn Bheinn was a pointless mountain???
The return route follows an old wall:
The wall and Sgurr Mor group behind:
Some more easy walking, with Sgurr a' Mhuilinn and Meallan nan Uan group dominating the view:
We left the wall when we noticed a boggy path/track heading down towards the forest:
The track offered us a comfortable descent, through the woods and down along a small stream. Eventually we reached the A832 about 1km east from Achnasheen. A quick jaunt along the road - and we were back in the car. Another 40 minutes saw us arriving at home, where we cooked yummy cauliflower cheese and watched Ronnie O'Sullivan turn Mark Williams into a mashed potato
Maybe some of you will be surprised that we opted for an easy hill on such a superb day instead of going for something more challenging. Well, the mountains will always be there, waiting for us, other good days will certainly come (it can't rain forever!) and we did the justice to Fionn Bheinn. I'm in my element again. Meow!