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So I was off to Knoydart on Friday evening hoping to do Ladhar Bheinn, supposedly one of the finer hills in Scotland. We parked at Kinloch Hourn on Friday night and walked in to Barisdale bothy, arriving there just after 2am. The walk in is only about 8km but the path is very very boggy and can make for a tiring trip, especially if you are carrying a lot of stuff (as I was
).
In the morning we set off to do Ladhar Bheinn, first following the path and then breaking off and going up a steep, pathless slope.
- Stob a Chearcaill peeking over the skyline
- Looking down to Barisdale bay
- Way to Stob na Muicraidh is steep and pathless
The terrain seems to level off a bit at around 650m, but the final push to reach Stob a Chearcaill does involve some scrambling. However, once up, views of loch Hourn, Knoydart, and Coire Dhorrcaill are fantastic.
- Looking back to glen Barrisdale
- Parts can be very boggy, although it's not that common higher up
- Stob a Chearcaill doesn't seem to be getting any closer
- We are rewarded with some nice view of surrounding hills
- Luinne Bheinn already has some snow on it - wonder what Ladhar has in store for us?
- First (very easy) scrambly bit
- View into Coire Dhorrcail with loch Hourn in the background
- A very nice view of Beinn Sgritheall and village of Arnisdale
- The further ridge will be our way down
- Ladhar Bheinn is somewhere in that cloud. You can also see the Cuillin ridge in the background
Continue along the ridge (which is very flat at this point) until you reach 849m point and then turn northwest. Descend into the cull and follow the path up again (easy scrambling) and down again, a couple of times
. There is a good path all the way and the going isn't very tough.
- Looking back to Coire Dhorrcail
- The path zig-zags up the ridge
From the final saddle before Ladhar Bheinn, the final push is quite steep and the path seems to run out (or was covered in snow). This goes on for about 190m of ascent and was probably the toughest part, at least for me. Once up on the ridge, there is one branch that goes to Ladhar Bheinn (and the trig point) and one that goes to Stob a Choire Odhair. Do Ladhar Bheinn, retrace your steps, and go down over Stob a Choire Odhair. Note that there is already lots of frozen snow
on the hill and ice axes and possibly crampons would be most welcome. We didn't have any, and we did the descent in the dark, so this made our going fairly slow. The descent is exposed so care should be taken.
- Our way down will go over Stob a choire Odhair
- Ladhar Bheinn (on the left) and the trig point on the right
- Final views towards the sea before heading down
Once down, find the path and go back to the bothy. A quick note about the bothy: it costs 3 pounds per person per night, and there is no fire so it gets quite cold inside. There is electricity (just for lights), and a toilet with running water. There is room for about 12 people inside.