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Planning this walk was heavily influenced by the wallpaper on my laptop – a view I’d enjoyed a few weeks earlier looking across to Sgurr a'Choire Ghlais while sitting on the Corbett Sgorr Na Diollaid
I was wondering what hills to do and this view was staring me in the face every time I went online
As this was going to be the only weekend in July that I could add any new Munros to my tally, I wanted to make it a good one
And my photo from Sgorr na Diollaid clearly suggested this would be a good one
And the weather forecast was looking superb too, which meant it had to be done
This was also going to be a different experience for me too. Apart from a few walks with a colleague at work my walking has been pretty much solo stuff (with the odd occasion here and there where I maybe walk for a while with some random walker I meet while out on a walk). During the week I’d seen a post on the WH meetings forum from SAVAGEALICE, asking what peoples plans were for the Sunday. I mentioned that Strathfarrar was calling me and a few replies later and arrangements were being made for a two car attack of the Strathfarrar four, avoiding the tiring 4 mile road walk back to the car at the end of the day
I was slightly apprehensive though
I know I’m a slow steady plodder when it comes to walking. This works for me and I’m comfortable with it (it’s an approach that has been honed to almost perfection over the last six years
). A “photo opportunity” or three here and there, especially on the steep bits, is also to be much appreciated
My concern though is that if I walk with someone else my approach might just grate on them after a while, especially if they want to move a bit faster, or “photo opportunities” just aren’t their thing
My preparation for the walk probably wasn’t the best either, with not enough sleep before I headed off at some stupid time in the morning. I arrived plenty early though, so was able to catch a few more zzzzzzzzzz before the walking started.
Just before “opening time” SAVAGEALICE drove up and introductions made. By now a few other cars had arrived and we were all awaiting the magical 9.00 a.m. when the gate would be opened. I have to say it was weird. As SAVAGEALICE and I were talking car ignitions were all suddenly turned, engines burst into action and crazed drivers jockeyed for position at the head of the queue as if the gatekeeper might suddenly decide to restrict access to even fewer cars
It must have been 9.00 a.m.
Once in possession of our respective passes it was into the glen
(the least said about locating the two parking areas the better
). I’d often considered in the past the Strathfarrar access restrictions as something of an annoyance, but the drive in went some way to changing my mind on that score. It’s a charming little glen, whose seclusion gives it a very different atmosphere to many other places
Eventually parked up
and we were off. We had decided on the traditional anti-clockwise approach to this round. Thankfully the boggy ground wasn’t that boggy (although yours truly did manage at one point to sink his foot into one particularly squelchy bit of bog on the way up onto Sgurr na Ruaidhe
)
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- Start of the walk
The walk onto the first Munro of the day was pretty straightforward, although SAVAGEALICE was to discover that I describe my walking style as a slow, steady plod for good reason. I’m slow
and I plod
I can only hope I wasn’t too slow and plod-like though
It was a scorching hot day too, so not particularly conducive to speed
).
Despite my slow plod we made pretty good time to the first summit (based on the timings from the man from Cicerone
), as we did the usual hill walkers thing throught the walk of chatting about hills we’d done, walking experiences we’d had, etc, etc, etc
We had a short stop on this summit, enjoying the views that were starting to develop.
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- Sgurr na Ruaidhe summit cairn
From here it was a fairly easy descent over the soft, spongy, grass to the Bealach nam Botaichean and the climb up onto the broad plateau below the rock hopping final ascent of Carn nan Gobhar (still making reasonable time against the man from Cicerone despite my plodding
).
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- View toward the Ben
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- Mullardoch Munros - Sgur na Lapaich
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- View toward Carn nan Gobhar
It’s an odd looking cairn on this summit, sitting as it does in the middle of the rock pile that is the summit. They had clearly had to find which individual boulder had been sticking up the highest and then built a cairn on it. Still, it gave good views to Munro number 3, Sgurr a Choire Ghlais and beyond to the rest of the ridge
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- Fannichs from Carn nan Gobhar summit
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- Route ahead to Sgurr a Choire Ghlas
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- Beyond Sgurr a Choire Ghlass to Creag Ghorm a'Bhealach
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- Orrin Reservoir
It’s an even easier descent of Carn nan Gobhar, starting off very gradually before a final drop to Bealach Sneachda.
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- Toward Sgurr na Diollaid from Bealach Sneachda
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- View back toward Carn nan Gobhar and Sgurr na Ruaidhe
The climb up onto Sgurr a Choire Ghlas looked steep from a distance and still looked steep when we stood at the foot of it. We both reckoned we would be up it in no time at all – which we would have been had we not stopped half way up to admire the view of the hills to the north and take part in a bit of “hill spotting”
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- Sgurr a Choire Ghlas south ridge
Sgurr a Choire Ghlas gives you a choice of two cairns and a trig on the summit. No idea which officially marks the highest point, so all three were touched
Better to be safe than sorry
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- View to Sgurr Fhuar-thuill from Sgurr a Choire Ghlas
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- Carn-trig-carn on Sgurr a Choire Ghlas
The walk between Sgurr a Choire Ghlas and the fourth and final Munro of the day Sgurr Fhuar-thuill gives the longest walk between summits. Care could be needed on the initial descent, as we managed to place ourselves on some pretty sizeable boulders. A slight traverse back toward the ridge and we were back on the path. Once passed the initial section of boulders the path drops down to the Bealach Toll Sgial. This was the narrowest part of the ridge and looked pretty impressive from the Munro summit. From the Bealach it was then a short climb up to the non-Munro summit of Creag Ghorm a’Bhealaich. By now my plodding was turning into huffing and puffing
so SAVAGEALICE walked on ahead of me at her own pace and I eventually joined her at the small cairn, where more great views were on offer and more “hill-spotting” could take place
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- Looking back along the ridge to Sgurr a Choire Ghlas
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- View back along the Strathfarrar ridge from Creag Ghorm a’Bhealaich
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- View west toward Loch Monar
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- Lochan Fhuar-thuill Mhoir from the climb up to Sgurr Fhuar-thuill
An easy drop down and then a final climb to Munro number four. SAVAGEALICE again moved on ahead of me as my huffing and puffing continued, but eventually I joined her at the summit.
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- Final climb up to Sgurr Fhuar-thuill
By now the warmth of earlier had been replaced by a fairly chilly wind, so it was on with an extra layer as we prepared to head down. Sods law of course, as the wind dropped markedly as we lost height and eventually we were sweltering again.
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- View to the west again
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- Toward the Fannichs
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- Slioch and friends
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- Mullardoch Munros and beyond and Sgurr na Muice in the foreground
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- Toward the Strath Carron Munros
At the saddle between Sgurr Fhuar-thuill and Sgurr na Fearstaig we picked up the excellent stalkers path that would take us back to the road. Despite suggestions that this path is initially steep we both felt it was easy and good progress was made, as we took in the great view toward Loch Toll a’Mhuic and the impressive Graham Sgurr na Muice
As the walkhighlands route description says the Allt Toll a’Mhuic provides some impressive waterfalls on the route down.
Eventually though we were back at the roadside and into the car just in time to listen to the hullaballoo that immediately followed Andy Murray’s impressive win at Wimbledon
The soles of my feet sure were grateful for the lift back from SAVAGEALICE
, instead of the further four mile walk along the road back to my car
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- Down Strathfarrar, with Sgur na Lapaich from Loch Beannacharan
All in all a great day out on a super round of hills and great to meet a fellow walkhighlander too
I think we both agreed that the round of these four hills was pretty impressive and had probably exceeded our expectations of what the round would be like
