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Fionn Bheinn and Beinn Enaiglair (WH "Summer" Meet)

Fionn Bheinn and Beinn Enaiglair (WH "Summer" Meet)


Postby jupe1407 » Mon Aug 10, 2015 10:30 am

Route description: Fionn Bheinn, Achnasheen

Munros included on this walk: Fionn Bheinn

Corbetts included on this walk: Beinn Enaiglair

Date walked: 07/08/2015

Time taken: 13 hours

Distance: 24 km

Ascent: 1590m

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I'm sure i'm not the only one who virtually counts the days until the next Walkhighlands meet the moment the "volunteers" post up the "next meet" thread on here. I've only missed one since my first in Torridon back in 2013 (Durness due to injury), and this past weekend's meet, superbly organised by Charlie (Trekker53) was no exception, with the remote Aultguish Inn by Loch Garve the venue.

After a fair few changes of plan, including limiting myself to low-level stuff due to my ridiculously crap knees, I'd been out for a couple of easy local walks in the preceding couple of weeks (Mt Keen and Mayar/Driesh) I decided on Fionn Bheinn for on Friday en-route to the meet, possibly Wyvis on Sunday, with a wee hill on Saturday. Much would depend on the weather which was forecast over Fri to Sunday as OKish-Bad-Atrocious.

With the plan set, I told a clearly delighted Anne that we were leaving at 5am on Friday morning, which went down like a lead balloon. However, we somehow managed to leave at about 05:07, heading for Perth then the now extremely tedious A9. The journey was not without incident, as we discovered that Blair Atholl's council-run 24 hour pay toilets were obviously used to inspire the infamous "Worst Toilet in Scotland" scene in Trainspotting. After somehow managing to keep our respective breakfasts down, we eventually made the start point at Achnasheen Station around 10am.

Friday 7th Agust
Fionn Bheinn



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Now i know Fionn Bheinn had a reputation as a boggy hill, and driving through a great deal of standing water on the roads, I decided that this was a good time to tell Anne that this walk, would in all probability be a total bogfest. And we weren't let down. We followed the signed hillwalkers route up a very boggy incline, which brought us to some very boggy and wet peat hags. After finding a way through those, we aimed for the rocky looking Creagan nan Laogh, via an very boggy hillside. We then had a slight drop to a col before ascending the steepish wet slope to the main ridge to Fionn Bheinn.

Basically what i'm saying here is that the only dry thing on Fionn Bheinn is the trig point. I kept Anne going with the promise of good summit views and lies such as "the weather will get better", "It's only a few hundred yards away" and "The worst bit's over". Thankfully the final ridgewalk is really pleasant and the views are indeed tremendous from the summit.

Fionn Bheinn-1.jpg
Towards Lochan Fada and Fisherfield


We hung around the summit taking photos and having some lunch for a few minutes, before the wind got up and some rather menacing looking clouds started heading our way.

Fionn Bheinn-3.jpg
Anne looking across to the Fannichs


Fionn Bheinn-5.jpg
Trig and the return route


With rain sweeping in, we made good time back along the ridge and given the choice of returning the same way, across what looks from above like about a million peat hags, we decided to follow the WH route down through different wet grass :lol:

This basically consists of following the wall down until you reach a faint, but easy to follow track. We shortcut it slightly but found the track easily and followed it down through a gate and into the forestry plantation. From here it's a quick descent through a mini Fangorn Forest (during which Anne went knee deep into a mud patch, much to my amusement), then onto the road before a quick jaunt back to the car.

Although we spent a day on what must surely be the wettest munro of the lot, then got rained on, a lot, this was still a really enjoyable day, with the views off the summit more than making up for the trudge in getting there, and indeed getting back down.

After quickly knocking off the remaining miles to Aultguish we met up with the others, demolished a curry and had a few drinks.

Saturday 8th August
Beinn Enaiglair



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After considering a few hills for Saturday, we eventually formed up with a few friends to climb the nearby Corbett/Graham combo of Beinn Enaiglair and Meall Doire Faid, handily only a few miles along to the Braemore Junction starting point.

The start of the walk is a bit strange, as the path leaves behind the car park, before almost rejoining the road, then taking you up into a boggy mess which remains so for a mile-plus to Loch Home, at the end of which a proper track is joined.

Beinn Enaiglair-9.jpg
The Boggy Start


The WH route is scenic and swings right round the north side of Beinn Enaiglair. However we decided to shortcut matters and headed straight for the bealach between it and Meall Doire Faid. This part of the wk is tremendous, on a mostly decent path with a series of slabby waterfalls to the right and great views of the Fannichs behind and out towards Loch Broom and Ullapool to the left.

Beinn Enaiglair-3.jpg
The Fannichs and Home Loch


Beinn Enaiglair-4.jpg
Waterfalls on Allt a Chumhainn


The initial climb to the bealach levelled out somewhat and we were now enclosed by the Corbett on one side, and Graham on the other. It's a very pleasant part of the walk and the weather had been unexpectedly kind with no sign of the predicted strong winds and rain (yet). We took an unmarked stalkers path off the main path to begin a rising traverse of the Beinn Enaiglair's southern slopes, before deciding just to head straight up the steep-ish grassy and heathery slopes. This was fairly tough going through awkward heathery tufts. However steady progress was made and height gained fairly quickly.

Beinn Enaiglair-5.jpg
A distant Loch Glascarnoch


Once the heathery nonsense is passed, the terrain eases slightly with shorter grass and plenty of flat slabby rocks and the final push to the summit was quite enjoyable.

Beinn Enaiglair-7.jpg
Easier Upper Slopes


The views from the top are fantastic and I was quite annoyed at myself for only having the camera on my mobile phone, although carrying the dead weight of the DSLR for a few miles would have been a bit of a pain. We stayed at the top for quite some time, enjoying the fantastic views, and our sandwiches.

Beinn Enaiglair-1-2.jpg
View from Beinn Enaiglair Summit


Beinn Enaiglair-8.jpg
Towards Ullapool


With the wind getting stronger and a member of the party feeling extremely hungover, we started heading down. The descent was mercifully quick and it didn't take long to regain our outward path. Just as we did so, a long heavy shower hit us, and made the already wavering decision to bother with Meall Doire Faid an easy one. We made fairly short work of the stretch down to the loch, with me losing the falls contest on a slippy patchy of mud. We decided to follow the track down past the loch hoping to find a less miserable walk out. Hilariously this track simply swings round to rejoin the outward boggy mess (via a river crossing), which merely added extra distance, bog and a few metres ascent to the recommended route :lol:

Still, we got back to the cars easily enough and headed back.

Deciding to treat ourselves to a sit down meal, we successfully managed to defeat the obstacle course that is ordering food at the Aultguish Inn within two hours of the end of serving time. To be fair the food was excellent, with a haddock so massive, I'm convinced it must have been harpooned.

As is tradition at these meets, a night of flowing drink, conversation and merriment followed, briefly interrupted by an excellent quiz courtesy of ScotJamie and GillC and Tomsie kindly "volunteering" to organise the next meet.

Yet another brilliant weekend, with massive thanks to Charlie for organising it and Alan for the quiz. See you all next time :D
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jupe1407
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Re: Fionn Bheinn and Beinn Enaiglair (WH "Summer" Meet)

Postby PeteR » Mon Aug 10, 2015 12:11 pm

Nice and quick on posting your report JP. Well done :clap: Glad your knee held out for these two walks.

Despite FB being a bog-fest it certainly does give good views from the little dry bit on the top :wink:

Beinn Enaiglair looks an interesting hill too. I've only looked at descriptions of it briefly before, but may have to give it some more serious thought by the looks of it.
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PeteR
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Re: Fionn Bheinn and Beinn Enaiglair (WH "Summer" Meet)

Postby The Rodmiester » Mon Aug 10, 2015 1:12 pm

Nice photos there JP, should of gone back over the Graham though, much drier and quicker up top, nice wee hills those.
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Re: Fionn Bheinn and Beinn Enaiglair (WH "Summer" Meet)

Postby jupe1407 » Mon Aug 10, 2015 1:19 pm

The Rodmiester wrote:Nice photos there JP, should of gone back over the Graham though, much drier and quicker up top, nice wee hills those.


Thanks Rod. I'm afraid a combination of laziness and hangover kicked in, with the rain being the deciding factor :lol:

Good excuse to go back though, as the views are tremendous.

PeteR wrote:Nice and quick on posting your report JP. Well done :clap: Glad your knee held out for these two walks.

Despite FB being a bog-fest it certainly does give good views from the little dry bit on the top :wink:

Beinn Enaiglair looks an interesting hill too. I've only looked at descriptions of it briefly before, but may have to give it some more serious thought by the looks of it.


Thanks Pete.

It's a cracking hill, glorious views all round, once you've endured the opening bogtrot :lol:
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Re: Fionn Bheinn and Beinn Enaiglair (WH "Summer" Meet)

Postby trekker53 » Tue Aug 11, 2015 8:37 pm

Some good photo's there JP.
Getting a Munro and a Corbett done shows you're getting back to good health and can up those hill tallies now.
Thanks for the praise but did no different than you and the other organizers. It was a pleasure to be involved.
See you both in Torridon.
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