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Sub 2000 Marilyns: Bad a' Chreamha, An Sgurr.
Date: 13/12/2014.
Distance: 9km (walking), 20km (cycling)
Ascent: 630m (walking), 50m (cycling)
Time taken: 4 hours.
Weather: Grey, occasional sunshine, light winds. Snow gradually melting.
The Christmas works do used to be a relaxed affair, but ever since it was moved to a Friday night a few years back, it has made the prospect of getting a walk that weekend rather low. This year put me in mind of 2011, when I was working in Shropshire temporarily, and decided to head out to Mid Wales on the train the following day. Ultimately it was a
good day out, but I paid dearly for it early on!
Last year I didn't even make it out of bed the day following the night out, so I decided to plan the weekend this year to reign in excessive partying. Gill was supposed to be in Glasgow with the car so I booked the 9am train to Strathcarron, including a ticket for my bike. I hoped the need to avoid a repeat of my 2011 puke-fest train journey would stop me drinking at a sensible time the night before. It worked too, and I managed to avoid all the really awful pubs that my colleagues seem to be drawn to after a skinful
.
I wasn't really chasing the weather here, and there was a brief worry that there would be too much snow about to get to Strathcarron, or do anything there if I managed. No need to worry the weather was quite reasonable and as ever, the journey on this line was almost as good as the day out itself (hardly anybody uses this train, so you are almost guaranteed an empty table and choice of seats on whichever side of the carriage you want).
View from the train passing near Rogie Falls:
Arriving at Strathcarron shortly before 11am, I pedalled off in the direction of Lochcarron. There are a number of walks and cycles you can conveniently do from Strathcarron, but I had my eye on a reasonably leisurely round of Bad a' Chreamha and An Sgurr. These looked to promise good views without high winds, subzero temperatures or wading through deep snow. Initial plans had been to include An Staonach, but I opted for an earlier train home instead.
Glas Bheinn from the head of Loch Carron:
So no hangover, but I felt bit leaden cycling around the head of the loch, probably due to a slight headwind and too much stuff in my bag, but views of the surrounding snow-clad peaks compensated. Lochcarron was almost deserted. I soon found out why - a large funeral was in progress at the wee free church.
Sgurr Ruadh and Fuar Tholl:
Glas Bheinn from near Lochcarron golf course:
With more time available, I'd have cycled down to Ardaneaskan to start the walk from there. As it was, I parked the bike up just past Lochcarron Weavers and headed up the path to the deserted village of Stromemeanach. This has the look of a clearance village, but it appears to have been voluntarily evacuated by the residents some time later, leaving for the more fertile grounds of Lochcarron itself.
Bike at the start of the path to Stromemeanach:
Above the village, it was typical small hills terrain - heather and small crags. Not too wet though, and I was soon on the summit ridge, from where there were nice views back up the loch. The Applecross hills also put in an appearance.
Creag Dubh Mor across Loch Carron:
Remains of houses at Stromemeanach:
Back to Lochcarron and Strathcarron:
Sgurr a’ Chaorachain and Coire na Ba – road over to Applecross:
Summit ridge of Bad a’ Chreamha:
Sgurr a’ Chaorachain and Beinn Bhan across Loch Kishorn:
At the summit, I wandered a short distance beyond the trig point to get a better view of Plockton. I didn't succeed, but got a nice view down onto the narrow entrance to the loch instead.
Looking down to Portchuillin and the narrows of Loch Carron:
At this level, the snow was nothing more than window dressing, and there were no drifts to wade through. Footptints suggested I was not the first person up here today, but I saw no-one else. I retraced my steps a short way down the ridge then dropped down the steep and heathery north face. Slithery slabs pushed me further east than I had intended going. After a bit more rough ground, the rock type suddenly changed to something much more akin to limestone and the going was easy.
Crags on the approach to An Sgurr:
Looking back to Bad a’ Chreamha:
On the way up An Sgurr, the easier ground continued for a bit, before forcing me into an unavoidable deer fence crossing. Looking back to Bad a' Chreamha, the full extent of the crags on the north face became apparent.
There was a bit more snow on An Sgurr, and it provided an even better viewpoint for Sgurr a' Chaorachain and Bheinn Bhan. Skye looked good too, although I could see another band of poor weather moving in. So far the timing of the walk had made the best of the day.
Plockton from An Sgurr:
Beinn na Caillich above Broadford:
Bheinn Bhan:
Loch Kishorn and Sgurr a’ Chaorachain:
Glen Mor farm from An Sgurr:
Bheinn Bhan from An Sgurr:
Bad a’ Chreamha from the approach to An Sgurr:
I retraced my steps approximately to the glen between the two summits, then followed the burn back towards Loch Carron. Initially I was going to traverse directly back to my start point, but a couple of swampy patches aside, the floor of the glen was much more pleasant and grassy.
In the glen between the two hills:
Attadale and Beinn Dronaig:
Soon a 4x4 track headed off in the direction I wanted, so I followed this instead. It led easily back to Stromemeanach and the bike.
Above Loch Carron:
With the reduction in slushy snow and a tail wind, the cycle back to the station was much more pleasant than the outward one. The various low rocky Marilyns up and down the west coast normally provide good entertainment and great scenery, and these two were no exception.
I hadn't been looking at my watch too much, but the timing turned out to be perfect, with half an hour to spare before the train. Just right to have a pint and eavesdrop on the local conversation in the Strathcarron hotel.
Felt I could justify this after a bit of exercise:
Strathcarron could easily become a favourite public transport destination, having a great bar so close to the station. I have a number of other walk ideas starting here which I hope to get around to over the coming years. Now if only there was an earlier train out from Inverness in the morning...
