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I moved to Argyll in the summer so I thought that I should make the most of my time here and complete walks that I might not normally have the time, money or perhaps the inclination to do. Hence the Paps of Jura were at the top of my list.
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- Paps from the ferry
It was Saturday the 27th of October and the weather was predicted to be the coldest day of the year (so far) however it was to be clear and sunny so this was the best window for me to do the Paps before the winter set in.
I got the ferry from Post Askiaig, and then it is a short Journey across to Jura (approximately 10 minutes). I stayed in the Jura hotel which I would recommend as the staff were very friendly, helpful and the accommodation was nice.
There seems to be little in the way of an established route up any of the Paps, well none that I could glean from residents or indeed this website. So I looked at my OS map and thought that the logical place to start was the Three Arch Bridge a few miles north of Craighouse (the administrative capital of the island).
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- start at the three arches bridge
From here it is a boggy but beautiful 2k track which takes you up to Loch an t Siob. This is a truly spectacular walk up to the source of the Corran river with great views of the Paps to the west and North.
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- Loch an t - Siob
Once you skirt round the Loch I made what I would term a mistake however leading from my early point it was just lack of knowledge of the route, I continued on up to the saddle between Beinn an Oir and Beinn a Shiantaidh. From this saddle I headed North up the ridge in what can only be described as a punishing accent on scree to the summit of Beinn an Oir.
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- rocky accent
There was a variety of what looked like paths but often they would just end abruptly so from then on I just used my judgment to pick the best route up the hill.
As I reached three quarters of the way up I started to realise why these hills were so famous in walking circles, the views were spectacular, not only of the papas, but the surrounding islands.
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- view across to Beinn Chaolais
You could see Islay, Arran Gigha and much more beside.
After coming up the southern side of Bein an Oir I finally reached a short ridge to the top, all my hard work was rewarded with views that were outstanding, and therefore it is without a doubt one of the most unique walks I have ever done in Scotland.
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- small ridge to the top of Beinn Oir
My descent was between Beinn an Oir and Beinn Shiantaidh , this was where I feel I made the earlier mistake! There was a perfectly good path all the way down to the Bealach between the two Paps and then down to Loch an t Siob. Therefore I would recommend that if people are going to do one Pap, to get on to this Bealach and pick which one they fancied. (provided it was not Beinn Chaolais)
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- Path back down (which i missed on the way up)
The walk back was straight forward enough I followed the path along by the loch and then back to the Bridge, stopping of to say hello to the occasional heard of deer.
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- Deer on Jura
All in it was a fine day and as I stepped off the track the weather closed in and covered the Paps up as if it had opened them up just for me. :clap
