by daleswalker » Thu Jul 09, 2020 10:22 am
Date walked: 08/05/2018
Time taken: 4 hours
Distance: 7 km
Ascent: 250m
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Staying in a holiday cottage some 2.5mls down the road from the Stoer lighthouse, a visit to the Old Man was always going to be on the cards. Before setting off from the car park by the lighthouse I had already benefitted from some wise words from locals who suggested that the usual clifftop path would be very wet, whilst another possible alternative along a track leading NW from Culkein past Loch Cul Fraioch would lead into swamps from which we might never escape. Thus the 'dry route' over the moor via the track towards the transmitter and then to Sidhean Mor was chosen.
The start is quite promising on the ascending track which goes past some old military tat left over from WW2, but then one must bear left, drop down into some boggy ground and then up a sloping but somewhat drier path on the far side. The route to the trig on Sidhean Mor is easy enough to follow, but one spends much time seeking out the driest [or least wet] route rather than slavishly following the path. There's a superb 360 degree view from the trig and a path can be seen heading down towards the Old Man, but we chose to head off to the NE down heathery slopes to view the superb cliffs on this side of the headland where some fulmars and guillemots could be seen on the ledges. The ground close to the Point of Stoer is good underfoot and so one can spend time watching the sea birds on the ledges or out to sea. The Old Man appears ahead, the best view being from just beyond it looking back. We initially headed along the clifftop path, but encountering the first slimy section opted to contour the hillside eventually rejoining our outward route at a col to the SW of Sidhean Mor. Strangely the driest part of the return route was across the pathless hillside below the trig.