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The last few days of my summer trip north should have seen me finish the Knoydart munros, that would have been the case had it not been for navigational difficulties in the clag on Ladhar Bheinn putting the other two eastern munros out of reach due to time constraints in what was planned epic
I chose to finish Knoydart on Sgurr Mor hoping for a day to match a trip a few days earlier to Sgurr na Ciche and its partners in the company of hill walking legends Mr & Mrs Scoob and hill royalty Bod and Val
The good books suggests you add the corbett Sgurr an Fhuarain to your day – and why wouldn’t you? It’s a long way for a single hill. The Scoobs brought to my attention another corbett Sgurr Cos na Beachd-laoidh which just rolls straight of the tongue does it not. I planned to add this also.
A evening drive along the road north of Loch Arkaig reminds you of just how remote Knoydart is, it’s a good forty minutes from the Commando Memorial which, in comparison is the centre of the Universe. A collection of long-standing caravans and lodges along the loch shoreline gave me an slighty uneasy feeling as scenes from the film “Deliverance” entered my head.
Overnighting at the parking area I was rudely awoken by a logging lorry passing through the locked gates and heading off along Glen Pean for its load. There were other cars there but no occupants, they must all be overnighting in the hills or bothys
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- The rough bounds of Knoydart - you have been warned!
Last time I was here I had the loan of a bike from the Scoobs, I have used a bike once before but am of the opinion that hills should be done on foot. This time a bike was not necessary as the walk takes you off the track after about 3km and you head north over the bealach on a faint path, the path disappears on the other side and you pick you own route down into Glen Kingie. Kingie is very short on signs of human activity – the glen that time forgot.
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- Ridge line comes into view
There are two ways to cross the Kingie burn the dry way and the wet way. I opted for the former but performed the latter by immersing both boots into the water slipping off a rock, nothing a few minutes squeezing socks out didn’t resolve.
The descent down into Kingie fills the eye with the ascent,described as a “slog” it is just that, a cow of a climb that forces you to assault it straight up, no path, just a relentless climb, the sort that you question if you are making progess on, the sort that if someone was introduced to hill walking and given this as their first climb they would never set foot in the hills again
3 hours later you’re on the ridge, turn right and climb the last few metres and there you are summiting Sgurr an Fhuarain and it all seems worth it, views all around and down to Loch Quioch, north to hills I ‘ve climbed earlier in the year and west too, the sexy shape of Sgur na Ciche in the distance
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- Sgurr Mor and Sgurr na Ciche in the distance
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- Sgurr an Fhuarain summit view
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- Sgurr an Fhuarain summit view
I retrace my steps and carry on westwards to Sgurr Mor the climb is over surprisingly quickly, the summit cairn there on a plateau. I stop for a food break as the views are dampened by mist descending, it doesn’t look like rain but I decide to cut my break short and carry along the ridge to the 2nd Corbett.
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- Summit view Sgurr Mor
The ridge undulates a fair bit and thus accounts for the nearly 2000 metres of ascent and takes you over the bumps of Sgurr Beag and An Eag where you meet the famous and pointless wall.
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- Glen Kingie
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- Sgurr na Ciche (again!)
The final climb up to Sgurr Cos na Beachd-laoidh had my legs crying for mercy and unlike earlier the summit cairn took ages to come into view. I rested awhile and took in the views, it would be a good while before I’m in these parts again – if at all.
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- Munro Sgurr nan Coireachan from Sgurr Cos na Breachd-laoigh
There are a few options for getting out from here, I could descend the shoulder to the landrover track and walk that out – a bit long or take Bod’s short cut across the pathless bog to upper Glendessary and run the gauntlet of the cows and bulls on the path (it was ok with bod as he is the Cow Whisperer) or make a beeline for the swanky lodge that I could see way below.
That was my option and made for a surprisingly quick decent despite my aching knees that were really suffering having to make do with a single pole, the other a victim on Ladhar Bheinn. Once at the lodge it’s just a case of walking the driveway and then the Glendessary track back to the car park.
Part of the reason for adding Beachd-laoidh was I wanted to bag a corbett that Johnny the corbett bagger hadn’t done…. Only to find his walk report of this very hill already post on this forum….He’d walked 2 days earlier….. Life can be a bitch
