free to be able to rate and comment on reports (as well as access 1:25000 mapping).
Before I continue my tale about our pre-lockdown climbs, I'd like to describe a certain Boris walk we did shortly after the restrictions started. The original idea was just to wander in the forest for a couple of hours and nip up to a local TUMP summit with good views down to Loch nam Bonnach. Accidentally, Kevin turned into an Iron Age specialist and spied two ancient forts en route, so our trip turned into "walking with Boris in the Iron Age".
Actually, I should thank Mr Johnson. If not for the lockdown, we'd probably never discover these fascinating archaeological sites so close to our village.
In my short report about the Beauly River circuit, I mentioned two local forts situated by the river. Sadly there's nothing left here but earthworks and even the actual time when they were created is questionable. The sites hidden in the woods/up on the hills are much better preserved and virtually unknown to the wide public. As they can be included into a route from from home, we saw no reason why we couldn't visit them on a sunny Sunday as a part of our daily Boriswalking routine.
There are several points of access to the forest above Beauly, we decided to go up via Ruilick and return past Ruisaurie, making a very nice circular walk including Torr Breac (360m) and the two archaeological sites.
Started early from the village, enjoying lovely views down to Beauly Firth:
A quick march uphill on the tarmac road warmed our muscles so when we reached the forest, Kevin was ready to take the challenge:
After about a kilometer, the main forest track reaches a junction. Here, Kevin consulted his GPS just to be sure he didn't get lost in the woods
We turned left and followed the forest track for another km or so, before turning right onto another track leading towards Torr Breac. Nice woods around. Some of the trees have been felled recently but there is still enough forest left to make this walk feel wild...
I had been to Torr Breac before but I was very excited to see our target hill. It might be small and insignificant compare to Munros and Corbetts we usually tackle, but in these tough times it has to suffice:
But before climbing the hill, we had another fish to fry. According to 1-25k map, somewhere in the forest lies the secretive Dun Fhamhair. Kevin rushed up the bumpy terrain to find it:
...and he succeeded!
According to Canmore database, the fort is described as "
Roughly oval on plan, it measures about 43m from N to S by 35m transversely (0.12ha) within a wall about 3.5m in thickness; the line of the inner face can be seen only on the SE, but the outer face can be traced around most of the circuit. "
It has been recognized as a
Scheduled Monument. The remains of the wall are obvious on all sides of the fort:
The highest point on the fort site is marked with a small cairn, but the hill itself is not even a TUMP, yet a cairn is a good excuse to pose for a photo
Looking down from the hillfort into the surrounding forest:
After exploring the Iron Age fort, we returned to the track and aimed for the summit of Torr Breac. The fence shown on the map is long gone and there is easy access to the moorland. No obvious path, but it doesn't take long to climb the heathery slope:
Once on the summit (not marked by anything but the highest point is easy to find), we stopped for a few minutes to sink in the views. I know, I have already said that in my previous Boriswalking reports, we are so lucky to have this mini-ridge with fantastic vistas within walking distance from home, but I must repeat it again: lucky us!
The best views are towards Loch nam Bonnach and Ben Wyvis:
Dun Fhamhair is situated on top of the hill to the right, the left one is the TUMP we visited earlier, Creag na Manachainn:
Beinn a'Bha'ach Ard aka "The Struy Corbett" (left) and Cnoc an Teine (foreground). A good look at the latter and we decided, it would make a nice target for our next Boriswalking trip.
Instead of returning to the original track, Kevin suggested we could make a circular walk by traversing to the lower top (Bealaidh Mhor), seen here in the foreground with slightly hazy southern views behind:
Panoramic view west towards Glen Affric. I wish I could nip up there for a walk. So close yet so far...
Speaking of missing the big hills. I didn't realize how many different peaks are visible from the tops above Beauly. From Glern Affric to Fannichs and Beinn Dearg, not to mention Wyvis. We'll go back to them soon. As soon as we can!
We noticed, we were not alone on Torr Breac. A large herd of deer grazed nearby:
The traverse to Bealaidh Mhor provided some unexpected fun: tuft-hopping, bog-avoiding and heather-scratching experience. Kevin was always first everywhere
Torr Breac from Bealaidh Mhor:
Views from the lower top were less impressive but still nice despite the haze in the air:
Beauly Firth from the distance:
According to the map, there should be a second Iron Age fort nearby! - said Kevin with his I-always-know-it-all voice...
...and soon he located our second archaelogical target - Dun A' Chliabhain!
We descended towards the fort, noticed it was fenced off but there was a gate in the fence to the right hand side (not seen in this photo but believe me, it's there):
We reached the track circling Torr Breac and approached the gate, it wasn't locked so no problem with access to the fort. The ground on the other side was quite boggy but the fort itself was very impressive - worth the detour for sure!
The main track and the gate as seen from the top of the hillfort:
Kevin exploring the site:
Me posing on the wobbly remains of the wall:
Again, quoting
Canmore:"Dun a' Chliabhain, a fort, occupies a steep-sided rocky boss. It is 77 ft by 48 ft within a stone wall up to 12 ft thick, with an entrance on the E. An outer wall covers this in the NE (2). Wallace gives the wall thick- ness as 6 ft 6 ins and adds that the S side is defended by a 5 ft broad ditch, gradually becoming wider towards the SE. "I didn't realize how much interesting stuff was there to find and see so close to home. Neither did Lucy. She really loved the ancient site!
One last look at Torr Breac and Bealaidh Mhor:
The easiest way to retreat from the fort would be to go back to the main track through the gate, but Kevin spotted another gate in the forest below us and he decided to do some more walking in the woods. We dropped from the fort in southern direction and picked a fire break with a deer path in it, it lead us relatively easily to the above mentioned gate:
Dun a' Chliabhain seen from below:
The easiest route off the hills here is through Drumindorsair but we preferred to take a faint path through the forest, just to stay away from farms and avoid climbing over/opening too many gates:
Back in Farley Wood, we took a shortcut to Ruisaurie, one I named The Mushroom Path, due to abundance of edible fungi in late summer. Now, too early for mushrooms but still nice to stroll along:
On the tarmac road in Ruisaurie:
So not every aspect of the lockdown is bad. Boriswalking allows us to discover local treasures, views, places and sites we'd probably never visit if it wasn't for the restrictions. Of course, we always keep the social distancing and disinfect our hands as often as possible. As for wearing masks - I don't think that wearing them while walking in the local woods would make any difference...
It wasn't our last Boris walk. On another occasion we visited Cnoc an Teine - TR pending.
