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Corbetts: Ben Tee
Sub 2000 Marilyns: Druim na h-Earbha.
Date: 07/10/2017.
Distance: 9.5 + 2 km.
Ascent: 890m + 120m.
Time: 3 hours, 45 minutes + 45 minutes.
Weather: Light showers, in/out of cloud, breezy, some sunshine.
I was heading down to Glencoe for the night, which would ideally have resulted in a day out in the hills down there. The weather forecast was looking poor though, getting worse towards Loch Linnhe, so I decided to stop off while things still looked semi-reasonable. Although I thought I'd packed every conceivable map, I'd forgotten the one with Ben Tee on it. Oh well - I remembered it being pretty straightforward, and I was able to get enough signal on my phone to get a screen shot of the right bit. I was pretty sure I wouldn't get lost and perish!
For some time I have been quite keen on the idea of a horseshoe around Coire Glas, so I set off with that in mind. I didn't think I'd get any further than Ben Tee unless there was a drastic improvement in the weather though, so I stretched the beginning of the walk out a little by following the Kilfinnan Burn right in to the waterfalls. I haven't seen these close up before, and it's worth the effort. There is a fairly off-the-beaten-track feel to the glen, with only a faint deer track to follow, and after an impressive view of the falls, it's quite an effort to extract yourself back onto the more conventional route up Ben Tee.
Heading up to the falls Kilfinnan Falls Kilfinnan Falls Looking back to Loch Lochy After looking at the falls, if you want to avoid retracing your steps, there is quite a steep pull up through deep heather, bracken and small trees before a deer fence is reached. Once over the fence, I was on some semblance of a path heading towards Ben Tee.
Kilfinnan Burn above the falls Cruiser heading for Fort William I can't remember finding a path previously, but then it is easily lost and rather wet. It was across the moorland, up the lower slopes of the summit cone and into the cloud.
Approaching Ben Tee There was little to see at the top but I stopped for lunch anyway, sheltering from the wind on a lee slope. I'm glad I did hang around, as there were some intermittent clearings towards Sron a' Choire Ghairbh and Loch Garry, the latter with some beautiful autumn colours. The ridge up onto Meall a' Choire Ghlais looked tempting, but not tempting enough to convince me to carry on.
Meall a' Choire Ghlais from Ben Tee Loch Garry and Meall Dubh Loch Garry I decided to go back down a similar way, although I somehow missed the path for the majority of it. It made little odds though.
Meall nan Dearcag Coire Glas I didn't repeat my route past the waterfalls, and stayed out on the moorland instead, dropping down directly above the car. The sun came out over Loch Lochy and it was worthy of another stop to enjoy the colours.
Meall nan Dercag Loch Lochy Ceann Loch Loch Lochy Laggan Locks Given the forecast, this little walk turned out way better than expected. I didn't think I was going that slowly either, but I almost doubled up on my previous ascent time by a similar route, which I have recorded as 2 hours! I think I was racing the darkness, and probably ran the entire descent back then.
It was early in the day, so with the weather improving a little, I decided on another little wander above Fort William. I remember Druim na h-Earba as a handy viewpoint for Loch Linnhe, and somewhere you can see all the way down to Mull from - all for a 15 minute or so ascent.
I parked up at the viewpoint layby above Upper Achintore and headed through a gate. There is a trodden way all the way to the summit, so I'm far from the only person to appreciate the ease of views from here. It was rather muddy though, more so than I remember. Must just be the amount of rain we seem to be getting this October.
Stronchreggan and Stob Coire a’ Chearcaill Loch Linnhe looking NE SW down Loch Linnhe Firth of Lorn Caol and Loch Linnhe Fort William Fort William No need to say much about the route! Back down the same way and then on to Glencoe for a few drinks.