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Corbetts: Sgorr na Diollad
Date: 23/05/2015.
Distance: 7km.
Ascent: 730m.
Time taken: 3 hours, 15 minutes
Weather: Warm, overcast, a little hazy.
I intended to do this walk on Easter Sunday, but started a bit late to get through the gate at Glen Strathfarrar. I didn't exactly get up at the crack of dawn today either, but with the gate being closed at 7pm, I had a good 6 hours or so to walk, which was plenty of time.
Sgorr na Diollaid doesn't really have much of a profile beyond its pointy summit crag, but it stands out much more obviously from Glen Strathfarrar than it does from the more usual starting point at Muchrachd, Glen Cannich. Worth a walk from this direction then.
Loch Beannacharan and Sgorr na Diollaid:
You could start from Coille an Ath, where there are paths onto the hill, or west of Ardchuilk, where rough heather gives way to a grassier shoulder. I opted Cambussorray between these two points, as it looked to give the shortest route (I was feeling lazy today).
North to Creag a’ Bhruic:
There is a nice stroll over the bridge and along an unmarked track through grazing areas, before the path becomes poorer and heads into the trees. While the path isn't great, the Caledonian pinewoods of the glen are lovely and well worth a wander through.
Sgurr a’ Choire Ghlais:
River Farrar:
There were good views north to the remaining cornices of Sgurr a' Choire Ghlais from the floor of the glen. I struck upwards towards Stac na h-Acain, but it is hard to be too precise about the route here. You wind about on heathery ground, avoiding crags and steep sections until you are clear of the trees and eventually the summit of Sgorr na Diollaid is in sight again.
Sgurr a’ Choire Ghlais and Carn na Gobhar:
Back to Loch Beannacharan:
Loch a’ Mhuilidh:
As I got higher up, more hills came into view, including the impressive Sgurr na Muice.
Beinn na Muice and Sgurr na Muice:
Most of the Strathfarrar Munros:
Sgurr na Ruaidhe and Beinn a’ Bha’ach Ard:
North across the glen:
Once at about 600m, the ground became grassier and easier going, and there was a final steep haul up to the base of the spiky summit crag. This is a little ridge aligned in the NW-SE direction.
Lurg Mor to Maoile Lunndaidh (and Loch Monar):
For a bit of fun, I scrambled up the NW end, where the arête is formed by the top edge of a large slab. Nothing particularly exposed or difficult here, but quite enjoyable all the same.
Summit of Sgorr an Diollaid:
…with Glen Cannich in the background:
There had been some patches of sunshine on the way up, but for the most part it had been overcast. It was still overcast on top, but pleasantly warm and still. The high winds forecast for later in the day had not reached here yet. West over Loch Monar and the Affric hills looked darker and grimmer though (hence not many photos in that direction).
The descent was fairly rough, crossing the grain of the rock. I was planning to use the burn NE of Loch Meall a' Mhadaidh to take me back to my starting point, but I began descending to it too early. I missed out on seeing the loch completely (mostly because I wasn't looking at the map and had forgotten about it), and had to re-ascend and contour a couple of times to avoid some heathery crags.
Back to the start of the walk:
Once I picked up the burn, there was also a fairly well-worn path heading my way. I followed this back down to the unmarked track, then back over the river to the car. I a pleasant little circuit if you don't mind some heather bashing, which allows you to keep the best views over Glen Strathfarrar for the whole ascent and descent, rather than just from the top.
Although I wasn't hurrying, I was somewhat surprised to take over 3 hours for this. It had only taken me 2 from the Glen Cannich side previously, and that way looks longer and has almost as much ascent.
