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Somewhere in the far west of Scotland there is a place called Glenfinnian. It used to be just one of many villages on the western coast, mostly recognized for the famous monument and the association with Bonnie Prince Charlie, but since the start of Harry Potter madness, many tourists head west along A830 "to see the entrance to Hogwart". Hands up, I never read any JK Rowling books or seen any of the movies. I guess I was too old for fairy tales when Hary Potter first came along. But I like the fantasy world, I grew up with Aslan the Lion and Shannara Chronicles, so I could easily switch on my imagination and pretend, just for a day, we were in the land of elves and magicians
This duo of Munros has been on the list for a long time but we were saving them for a sunny day, as it's a demanding route: the 25km circular might seem misleading on the map - just a straightforward ridge traverse over a few lumps, with a good access road to the bottom of the hills. But beware! Sgurr Thuilm and Sgurr nan Coireachan are as tough as it gets in Scotland. Hamish Brown in the book on his epic walk describes them as "bulky big brutes" and the ridge as "craggy and wild, with tumbling burns dodging down its flanks". He also suggests to keep to the crest of the ridge during the traverse ("Contours do not pay."). Adding up all the ups and downs on the ridge, our GPS calculated the total ascent: 1448m. We have done more in the past (Cairngorms, Mamores, Mullardoch Round) so the number didn't scare me, but we took a lot of time, much longer than expected. It was mostly Kevin's fault, 'cause he stopped on every lump, bump and rocky outcrop to take photos of this wild, primordial landscape.
Our route followed the usual line of attack, anticlockwise over Sgurr Thuilm first then to Sgurr nan Coireachan. Weather was reasonable: some patchy cloud and quite windy on the ridge, but it improved as we traversed to the west, rewarding us with superb panoramas from the summit of Sgurr nan Coireachan. It is a magic world indeed and really, really worth visiting... Even if you don't bump into Harry Potter
The starting point is a small car park just west of the bridge over the River Finnan. It was already getting crowded when we arrived but we managed to squeeze in. Most people were probably "Potter tourists", because throughout the whole day we only met one chap on the ridge, doing the round in opposite direction. Apart from that, nobody in sight!
The entrance to Hogwart... Or Shannara Kingdom... Or Narnia...
The car park was midgy, so we quickly prepared and headed through the gate, past a large sign saying "STRICTLY NO DRONE FLYING" which as we thought, applied to the area of Glenfinnian Viaduct. I can understand, drones could be annoying/dangerous to the passing trains. I joked, there should also be another sign: FLYING BROOMSTICKS NOT ALLOWED
The ban of course, does not apply to big, flying thingies, because soon we heard a buzzing noise and saw a helicopter flying past:
From the bottom of the glen, the viaduct really makes a big impression:
The walk-in is excellent on tarmac first, then a good track. Weather was not too bad, some cloud still lingered but the forecast for the afternoon was sunny so we were in positive moods. A lovely, humming river and high, steep slopes of the hills around... Welcome to the world of magic!
We walked past the bothy where a small group of people were getting ready to leave. They must have gone up on other hills or maybe just walked back to Glenfinnian, 'cause we never saw them again.
The easy part of the walk came abruptly to an end when we faced Sgurr Thuilm:
This is the way up. Looks easy, very green and lush
but don't be misled. This slope is very boggy for the first 200m of ascent, and soon it becomes steep! WH description says "there are traces of a path at first", but I guess after thousands of feet had marched up the slope in the long quest to compleat the Munros, things have changed. No wild magic here, I'm afraid. The path is well worn and obvious all the way to the summit.
The initial climb, as mentioned above, was quite boggy, but higher up the path improved. It's a long haul though, about 400m of steep pushing, then another 350m of slightly less steep climb to the summit.
I kept my eyes wide open just in case I caught a glimpse of a fairy flying past, or maybe Allanon the Druid would appear somewhere on the ridge, or perhaps Repicheep the Talking Mouse was hiding in the bracken?
The view behind us was splendid: Glen Finnian at its best:
We climbed up to the point where the angle eases off - now we could see our first target - the summit of Sgurr Thuilm:
To the right, we recognized the long ridge of Streap - a magnificent Corbett also on the list. one worth keeping for a good day, too!
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Ewa Dalziel, on Flickr
We found a suitable flat rock and sat down for a few minutes, to have a sandwich and gather strength before the final push to the summit. Kevin played with his camera again, far too many pictures
The climb to the top meant more hard work, wish I had wings like fairies or maybe a flying broomstick
The cloud keep lifting and on the final col just below the summit, we were welcomed by fantastic views:
Just a few more meters and we will be celebrating another new Munro in the bag!
A small but persistent cloud lingered around the summit of Sgurr Thuilm but it didn't discourage us from celebrating! M no. 206 for me, no. 45 for wee Lucy
We waited for a few minutes and the cloud did lift, just about to reveal the views. The top end of Loch Arkaig:
The ridge awaiting us:
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Ewa Dalziel, on Flickr
Loch Morar and Isle of Rum:
Having snapped enough photos, we began the descent to the first of many cols. We spotted a large herd of deer in the corrie below so I tried to get a good zoom on the vidcam... Not easy to keep it steady when the wind is pushing you around
We climbed to the first top (unnamed, 858m) and from here we could now see the rest of the ridge - WOW, that's a long traverse!
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Ewa Dalziel, on Flickr
I found this constant up-and-down experience quite entertaining, Kevin was lagging behind with his camera, snapping and snapping, that man is mad
Some cloud re-appeared but it didn't look dangerous, just some grey, fluffy matter
:
Up to another lumpy bump... This one a bit steeper, it's called Beinn Gharbh:
View down to Glen Finnian:
Looking back to Sgurr Thuilm from the tiny lochan near the summit of Meall Gharbh:
The hills of Arkaig, still an area we haven't really explored. I'm dying to get a tasty bite of climbing here... Sgurr na Ciche, here we come!
...but before we embark on any Arkaig explorations, we have to finish our magic Glenfinnian round! Don't tell me there is more to climb!
We clambered up to Meall Tarmachan, the last of many intermediate tops, quite tired already, and there was still one more push to do, looking steep:
I was still looking around for any signs of magic, maybe a dragon flying past, maybe a few dwarfs marching across the path...
...but soon I understood, that here, in the forgotten world of western Scotland, the magic is in the landscape itself: the lochs, the islands, the sea, the mountains, the glens... It's all pure magic.
The forgotten world of western Scotland:
Zoom to Sgurr na Ciche:
The final climb was not difficult technically, just steep-ish, we took a bit longer than expected on tired legs, but we timed it just right. When we finally reached the summit of Sgurr nan Coireachan, weather improved significantly, the sun came out and we were delighted to experience more of the western Scotland magic
On the summit (Munro 207) with Lucy (Munro 46):
The man who didn't believe in magic - now completely converted:
So now to the magic itself - enjoy:..
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Ewa Dalziel, on Flickr
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Ewa Dalziel, on Flickr
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Ewa Dalziel, on Flickr
West to Loch Morar:
Ben Nevis on the horizon:
Zoomed Isle of Rum:
Sgurr na Ciche and Loony Bin:
Panoramic view to the east, the length of the ridge and Sgurr Thuilm:
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Ewa Dalziel, on Flickr
Panorama north:
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Ewa Dalziel, on Flickr
Wish we could have spent more time in the land of magic, but we still had the long way back to Glenfinnian and the 2 hrs drive home...
The descent route traverses Sgurr a Choire Riabhaich, there is some rough ground to cover here and the path is not as obvious on rocky ground:
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Ewa Dalziel, on Flickr
The steeper sections were a bit annoying, with ground still wet from the previous days rain, good balancing skills required:
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Ewa Dalziel, on Flickr
We walked past some vertical drops:
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Ewa Dalziel, on Flickr
Looking back to Sgurr nan Coireachan from Sgurr a Choire Riabhaich:
From the top of Sgurr a Choire Riabhaich, we suffered through 60m of a very steep descent down a horribly eroded
path
Care should be taken here, especially in wet weather. Lower down, it was less steep if boggy in places, but the views were still amazing:
Over a few small lumps and bumps, down steep, slippery grass and eroded slopes, we eventually found the upper end of a much better stalkers path:
Now it was all plain sailing, no more bog-drowning, no more slipping on eroded ground. I felt the touch of magic again as we walked down... We found an abandoned wheelbarrow, but I doubt if it was left there by dwarfs - far too big for that!
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Ewa Dalziel, on Flickr
Once down in the glen, we could now relax and enjoy the stroll back to the car park
As we passed under the viaduct, we heard the chuffing sound of the train. We returned to the civilized world...
I was a bit sad that we had to leave all the magic behind... I firmly believe, that we brought a small chunk of it back home: the spell of mountains, glens, corries, lochs... The magic of moments up there, when you can feel your heart beating faster, when for a few minutes, all the pains and tears of everyday are forgotten. The charm of nature, the rough beauty of wilderness. There is no better magic than that - and I'm sure we will return to the area to be enchanted again.
..............
My next story will continue the theme of supernatural, but in more serious and spooky sense. We visited a very haunted wild lochan near Shieldaig, where I wouldn't dare stay for the night
TR to come soon.
