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A bit delayed report from 3 weeks ago. Not a huge undertaking, one of easier Munros, but still a story worth telling.
It was a warm, sunny Saturday, we couldn't waste such a nice day. Beinn Fhionnlaidh had been on the list for some time now, since we decided to do at least a few long drives every year, to slowly chew through Munros in the far south. Out of the two possible routes, we picked the one suggested by WH as it seemed less steep.
Most folks probably would save this one for winter and so would we if it wasn't so far away from Inverness. 3 hrs drive each way means spending an awful amount of time in the car, something my stomach doesn't appreciate...
That Saturday morning I woke up feeling a bit queezy (must have been something I ate on Friday) so I popped up a dose of travel sickness pills. Still, Kevin had to stop a couple of times as we drove down the Great Glen, for me to get out and catch fresh air (or maybe he was just worried I'd puke all over his beloved car
). I only hoped, once I'm out walking, my tummy would settle and we could still enjoy a good day out.
Arriving in Glen Creran was a relief, even though the car park was busy with midges
We followed the track past Elleric towards Glenure Lodge, soon the target slope came into view:
The summit is not visible from here, it will only show up as you are 2/3 way up the mountain
We turned left and walked past the buildings in Glenure, enjoying the morning sunshine. Sadly, I was still feeling a bit sickly, basically felt my half-digested breakfast raising up my throat
Kevin said, better you return it through the upper hole rather than occupying every bush on the way up! Ha ha ha, joker.
The climb begins on a grassy track, which branches into the forest from the main one at 047485. It's well hidden in the woods and can be easily overlooked. But once on this track, we were heading straight for the Munro.
The track doesn't go very far, after about 300m it ends abruptly with a large turning area. From here, there are a few paths climbing the slope - we took one on the ascent and somehow managed to find a different one on the way down
But despite the confusion of paths, this slope is straightforward: very grassy on lower levels (would probably be slippery when wet), a bit more stony higher up. We could only see the first 300m or so of ascent, but it didn't look too difficult:
View down the slope, with the track well visible by the edge of the forest:
An Grianan (549m), an interesting shape from this side. It's a sub'2000 Marylin, maybe we will visit this hill one day.
But at the moment it was Ben Sgulaird we admired the most. Our plan to climb this one? In combination with Creach Bheinn!
For a short time we were accompanied by a small but very graceful four-winged friend:
As we gained height, views were getting better. Behind us, the wide panorama to the south-west opened up:
And to our left, Balachullish Munros proudly presented their rocky tops:
The slope eases off at about 550m and from here we could see the upper reaches of our target Munro:
I was very happy to reach the two little lochans. Not only was it a lovely spot, but it meant we only had about 300m of ascent left! My stomach was eventually beginning to settle. With my breakfast long gone (nevermind which way it went
), I suggested a short snack break in this idyllic place...
...Kevin took the opportunity to snap too many photos
Beinn Trilleachan, the only Corbett Kevin climbed without me!
Back to Ben Sgulaird with the lovely little lochan in the foreground:
From the lochans, there is a good path all the way to the summit and the ridge is straightforward:
The ascent was again steeper, but as we quickly gained height, the views behind us took our breaths away:
Is this the summit? Not the very summit, but very close!
Nevis! Nevis!
A wider view, Nevis range to the left on the horizon, Sgurr na h'Ulaidh and Meall Lighiche just behind Beinn Fionnlaidh:
At last, I felt better but on such a superb day, we decided there was no need to rush it...
We took time to reach the summit. There was a group of walkers resting near the summit cairn, they have climbed the Munro from Etive side, but after exchanging a few polite sentences, they packed up and started their return walk. Now, we had the summit to ourselves so no wonder we spent over half an hour here... Most of the time was wasted lying belly-up in the sunshine
Lazy pose on my 190th Munro (Lucy's 21st):
View east with Fraochaidh (a Corbett) right in the middle. Since this hill is Forestry Commision area and there are no stalking issues, we decided to keep it for an autumn walk (Sept-Oct possibly):
Zoom to Nevis:
The Big Buachaille. Frankly, it doesn't look as splendid from this side:
Bidean nam Bian and other Glen Coe hills:
Bidean zoomed:
Beinn Trilleachan... and the Cruachan group behind:
Glen Etive mountains and beyond...
Hills were busy that day...
A few panoramas:
Oh how typical... Lucy stole the camera again!
...at least she agreed to take a snap of us, as well! Not the best pose, though
As we were getting ready to leave the summit, we noticed we were spied upon...
The descent was easy, on the path first, then straight down the grassy slopes. At some point, we stopped again, simply to enjoy the views for a bit longer...
Back in the glen, just as we passed a herd of cows grazing near Glenure, we were attacked by a whole swarm of vicious cleggs! They must have sniffed us from the distance! We finished the walk running
.....
Summing up, not a big walk, but a great easier Munro for any time of the year. Superb viewpoint, too - so definitely worth doing on a clear day. We might come back to do it in winter someday, time will tell.
I've got one more report to write, from last weekend, sadly weather wasn't as good and we experienced 4 seasons on a forgotten hill near Alladale...
