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At last a decent bit of weather. Slioch!!! I had first seen Slioch when I did the Cape Wrath Trail a few years ago and had been wanting to come back ever since. We nearly did it last year but I wasn’t feeling too great so we just came home instead.
It wasn’t raining, the clouds were quite high, the sun was almost shining. So off we went up the road from Kinlochewe to the turn off for Incheril. Going through the car park beyond the houses we started the walk in towards Loch Maree, a very pleasant walk through the trees along the Kinlochewe River.
As Slioch came into view we kept taking photos in case the weather deteriorated!
After crossing the bridge over the Abhainn an Fhasaigh we headed up the deep cleft of Gleann Bianasdail with its towering cliffs before turning off up the hillside to reach the bealach between Meall Each and Sgurr Dubh. On the way we encountered a couple of goats with very long horns but they weren’t as smelly as the ones you see on Loch Lomondside.
We entered the corrie, enclosed by the two arms of the mountain and made for the south east ridge.
A steep climb up a heathery, grassy slope led to the ridge, close to a couple of lochans.
- climbing up to the ridge
The weather was still fine, there were great views across to the hills on the other side of Loch Maree.
A steep, very eroded path leads up to the cairn. Magic!!!
A very tame ptarmigan posed for me on the way up.
The wind was very cold so we continued on our way finding some shelter behind rocks overlooking Lochan Fada. Again there were spectacular views across Fisherfield and even An Teallach.
When we emerged on to the ridge the wind had become much stronger. The ridge becomes quite narrow as you approach Sgurr an Tuill Bhain
but then after that it is a fairly straightforward descent in to the glen and a long walk out again, stopping to admire waterfalls along the way,
to Kinlochewe.
A brilliant day.