I had wanted to walk this circuit for many years but I had always been slightly put off by the length of the expedition, when combined with the long cycle-in needed to make this a single day's outing. It was absolutely fine, although it certainly was a long day best reserved (for me) for the longer days of summer. The time and distance above include the travel from Dalwhinnie.
Although the MWIS forecast had, realistically, warned me, I was still somewhat miffed to find that the weather was less than perfect. Summer of 2018 has really spoiled us! Summary of what I found - low cloud and strongish wind all day. Drizzle/rain for about 90 minutes before noon and then the cloud lifted to give great views between about 12:30 and 3:30, before descending again. I was so lucky to have the wonderful views from summit to summit and I got the chance to appreciate that Ben Alder is indeed a magnificent big hill and that its neighbour is beautifully situated.
Here are a few images, taken when the weather allowed, in more or less the order of the anti-clockwise route that I took:
Some other comments on the day:
Cycling to and from Dalwhinnie was easier than I expected, mainly due to the quality of the track surfaces. I got to Culra in about 2 hours and took 90 minutes to return. See my report against the separate WH section on that route.
The bothy was closed and locked
The stalker's path from Culra up Choire Bheithe is in great condition and there was evidence of recent work to keep it that way.
the cut-off towards the Long Leachas is clearly marked by a small cairn:
To get to the Long Leachas, it's necessary to cross Allt a'Bhealich Bheithe. Although there has not been a lot of rain recently, I didn't find it to be particularly straightforward. It might become really exciting in spate!
I had read that the Long Leachas is much less challenging than the short Leachas. I'm sure that is the case, but the LL is still worthy of your close attention in the slippery conditions I experienced in the wettest and windiest part of the day.
The descent to Bealach Breabag is fairly steep and consists of that classic combination of wet and boulders that is very familiar to those who walk in the Scottish Highlands. I went too far towards the end of Garbh Coire before I started down. You might want to have a recce a bit earlier. There is a path which is absolutely obvious - but only when you are looking up from the bealach! Actually, having re-read the WH route information, I wish that I had paid attention the first time because it does tell you where to start the descent.
On the way up to Beinn Bheoil, I recommend that you take the very small detour to Sron Coire na h-Iolaire, for a spectacular view of Loch Ericht. Don't do it if you don't want to see how far it is to Dalwhinnie!
The descent from Beinn Bheoil to Culra is one of the gentlest and prettiest that I can remember.
There was a surprising number of fellow walkers for such a remote hill, although I guess it was a weekend day in holiday season. They were split roughly 50/50 between campers and day trippers. A few had approached from Corrour.
Finally, one ever-so-slightly-political note. I had been a good boy and checked the 'Heading for the Scottish Hills' website before I left, to find out about any plans for deer stalking in the area. I found that Ben Alder Estate had not uploaded any information. Instead, a walker is expected to 'follow reasonable direction given locally'. That's fine, unless you travel all the way to some remote location to find that the local direction precludes the route that you had planned to take. When I got to Dalwhinnie, I saw this board:
My gripe is that if the estate staff knew that there was going to be no stalking before 20 August, why did they not upload that info to the website and put my mind at ease? Maybe one of you good people out there will spot something that I have missed!
Warning
Please note that hillwalking when there is snow lying requires an ice-axe, crampons and the knowledge, experience and skill to use them correctly. Summer routes may not be viable or appropriate in winter. See winter information on our skills and safety pages for more information.