Bidean nam Bian
Posted: Mon Aug 04, 2008 8:53 pmNow as the end of our holiday is moving further and further away, I notice that there are still some walks which have to be described by me before my memories fade. This time it's Bidean nam Bian, our first big walk this year (on the 4th of July).
First of all: We are not the fastest walkers. The estimated time for this walk given on walkhighlands is 7 to 9 hours, we needed 8,5 hours without having included the second munro. I think Cameron McNeish would have passed us like a fast train.
In the morning everything looked promising. During our delicious breakfast in our lovely B&B in Invercoe we could watch the clouds lift. Some other Germans in the same B&B told us that they had tried to walk up Coire nan Lochan the day before, but had sunk knee-deep somewhere on the way. I suppose they had tried to walk across country because along the excellent path I didn't find any place where this could have happened.
The walk up Coire nan Lochan was very pleasant. To be true, it made us sweat, but the stream with all the small waterfalls to the right and the blue sky saw to it that we were in an excellent mood and our legs walked by themselves. After having crossed the stream these two motivations were gone, but still we had the great views back into Glen Coe and to all the herdsmen which had gathered there.
After more than 3,5 hours (yes!) we reached Stob Coire nan Lochan, and after a steep climb and another 50 minutes we were on the summit of Bidean nam Bian. Time for lunch. Well, we couldn't see very much of the horizon there because the shy Bidean had decided to hide in clouds, which means that we couldn't see the tremendous scenery to the south. After a snack and a bit of cloud watching we walked on along the ridge, and a bit later it was time to put on some waterproof clothing.
As a long drive to the next B&B in Inverinate was waiting for us and as there was not so much to be seen on that day anyway, we decided to leave the second munro alone (well, not really alone, because there were several other walkers on the ridge) and climbed down into Coire Gabhail directly. We were glad that there was a little path to the right of the scree gully (it's good to have these excellent descriptions by Helen and Paul), and there were only a few steps where loose scree had to be passed.
Further down in the Lost Valley the sun came out again, and as we arrived back at the car park you couldn't imagine that it had rained not long ago. But that's Scotland, and although the views to the south of Bidean nam Bian remained hidden for us, I'd say it was an absolute classic.
First of all: We are not the fastest walkers. The estimated time for this walk given on walkhighlands is 7 to 9 hours, we needed 8,5 hours without having included the second munro. I think Cameron McNeish would have passed us like a fast train.
In the morning everything looked promising. During our delicious breakfast in our lovely B&B in Invercoe we could watch the clouds lift. Some other Germans in the same B&B told us that they had tried to walk up Coire nan Lochan the day before, but had sunk knee-deep somewhere on the way. I suppose they had tried to walk across country because along the excellent path I didn't find any place where this could have happened.
The walk up Coire nan Lochan was very pleasant. To be true, it made us sweat, but the stream with all the small waterfalls to the right and the blue sky saw to it that we were in an excellent mood and our legs walked by themselves. After having crossed the stream these two motivations were gone, but still we had the great views back into Glen Coe and to all the herdsmen which had gathered there.
After more than 3,5 hours (yes!) we reached Stob Coire nan Lochan, and after a steep climb and another 50 minutes we were on the summit of Bidean nam Bian. Time for lunch. Well, we couldn't see very much of the horizon there because the shy Bidean had decided to hide in clouds, which means that we couldn't see the tremendous scenery to the south. After a snack and a bit of cloud watching we walked on along the ridge, and a bit later it was time to put on some waterproof clothing.
As a long drive to the next B&B in Inverinate was waiting for us and as there was not so much to be seen on that day anyway, we decided to leave the second munro alone (well, not really alone, because there were several other walkers on the ridge) and climbed down into Coire Gabhail directly. We were glad that there was a little path to the right of the scree gully (it's good to have these excellent descriptions by Helen and Paul), and there were only a few steps where loose scree had to be passed.
Further down in the Lost Valley the sun came out again, and as we arrived back at the car park you couldn't imagine that it had rained not long ago. But that's Scotland, and although the views to the south of Bidean nam Bian remained hidden for us, I'd say it was an absolute classic.