walkhighlands

Beinn a'Bhacaidh - small hill, big views

Sub 2000s: Beinn a'Bhacaidh

Date walked: 19/04/2024

Time taken: 2.5 hours

Distance: 5km

Ascent: 348m

On the way down to Walkhighlands Spring Meet in Laggan, we stopped to climb something on the way. My ankle was still a bit swollen and I wasn't sure how much pressure I could put on it, so a shorter walk with only about 350m of ascent felt like a good test. We picked Beinn a'Bhacaidh since we were driving through Fort Augustus anyway and we always assumed that this Sub must be a good viewpoint. And we were not disappointed.

Track_BEINN A BACAIDH.gpx Open full screen  NB: Walkhighlands is not responsible for the accuracy of gpx files in users posts


There is a decent spot for parking in the forest just west of Brachkashie, in the forest next to a locked gate (stile provided for walkers). We took a well-worn track through the woods, with some good views to wards Loch Nan Lann from the very beginning.
wh spring 2024 001.JPG

After about 1km we left the main track and turned left, uphill on a much more boggy access track to the hill, but Kevin was determined to do "some kinda circular" and nearly forced me to go off piste, heading straight up the slopes above us. The ground was wet-ish and a bit overgrown in heather in places, but apart from that, nothing too difficult. We saw a small herd of mountain goats in the distance, but apart from that, it felt like a very remote spot. Strange feeling, being only a short distance from the main road.
wh spring 2024 004.JPG

Views were getting better as we gained height, including Loch Nan Lan and Loch Knockie:
wh spring 2024 005.JPG

Soon Loch Ness came into view. Weather was a bit on the windy side but sunny, a few white clouds drifting in the sky. I was glad to be out and enjoy the hill, even if I had to carefully place my left foot to avoid twisting it again.
wh spring 2024 012.JPG

View north-west to Loch Ness and the characteristic round shape of Meall Fuar-mhonaidh in the far distance:
wh spring 2024 016.JPG

Looking south through the rocks scattered around the summit area:
wh spring 2024 018.JPG

View east towards Monadhliaith:
wh spring 2024 024.JPG

Wee Lucy accompanied us on this one since it was a new summit for us all. Sub no. 76 for us, No. 44 for her.
wh spring 2024 028.JPG

We spent some time on the top, enjoying the vistas of Loch Ness, then dropped carefully due east, where we spotted the upper end of the ATV track we left earlier to start a more direct ascent. Our descent route followed a shallow gully of a small stream, lower down we even noticed traces of a faint path. This is obviously the most popular line of going up and down this Sub. Well, at least we did something not-so-obvious. In recent days, we tend to go for alternative routes rather than walk up the same path all over again.
The "easy" route from the track below:
wh spring 2024 034.JPG

The track was mostly grassy and we enjoyed good views to the local lochans:
wh spring 2024 035.JPG

My leg was behaving so my hopes for a bigger walk the following day were still kept high. We drove to the youth hostel in Laggan and enjoyed a lovely evening catching up with old friends and meeting new ones. It was our first Meet since the COVID madness and it felt great to be back amongst the hillwalking crowd :D :D :D

More WH Meet details in my next report.
And a reminder: #StandWithUkraine

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Comments: 3



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Ascent: 615m
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Ascent: 519m
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BlackPanther


User avatar
Location: Beauly, Inverness-shire
Interests: Hillwalking, cycling, jogging, mushroom picking, aircraft investigations and many other outdoor activities, meowing on mountain summits included :P
Activity: Mountain Walker
Mountain: Beinn Eighe
Place: Isle of Skye
Gear: well... my husband ;)))
Camera: FujiFilm Finepix HS10
Ideal day out: Anything - from beach strolls to scrambling up icy slopes. Just bring it on!
Ambition: Tick off all Munros...

Munros: 268
Tops: 135
Corbetts: 185
Fionas: 137
Sub 2000: 77
Long Distance routes: Dava Way    Moray Coastal Trail   



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Statistics

2024

Trips: 4
Distance: 43 km
Ascent: 2613m
Munros: 1
Corbetts: 2
Sub2000s: 1

2023

Trips: 10
Distance: 210.1 km
Ascent: 8961m
Munros: 1
Corbetts: 3
Fionas: 4
Sub2000s: 3

2022

Trips: 19
Distance: 271.9 km
Ascent: 10563m
Munros: 5
Corbetts: 5
Fionas: 2
Sub2000s: 8

2021

Trips: 69
Distance: 1296.5 km
Ascent: 52116m
Munros: 14
Corbetts: 21
Fionas: 23
Sub2000s: 8

2020

Trips: 56
Distance: 929.5 km
Ascent: 37157m
Munros: 11
Corbetts: 12
Fionas: 10
Sub2000s: 10

2019

Trips: 68
Distance: 1137.3 km
Ascent: 57105m
Munros: 28
Corbetts: 32
Fionas: 15
Sub2000s: 4

2018

Trips: 72
Distance: 1239.15 km
Ascent: 65343m
Munros: 42
Corbetts: 21
Fionas: 27
Sub2000s: 17

2017

Trips: 60
Distance: 1128.6 km
Ascent: 55244m
Munros: 24
Corbetts: 26
Fionas: 27
Sub2000s: 6

2016

Trips: 48
Distance: 868.9 km
Ascent: 41748m
Munros: 24
Corbetts: 16
Fionas: 18
Sub2000s: 3

2015

Trips: 57
Distance: 894.2 km
Ascent: 44112m
Munros: 30
Corbetts: 25
Fionas: 16

2014

Trips: 51
Distance: 932.2 km
Ascent: 44288m
Munros: 36
Corbetts: 20
Fionas: 3
Sub2000s: 4

2013

Trips: 53
Distance: 822.6 km
Ascent: 37086m
Munros: 30
Corbetts: 17
Fionas: 5
Sub2000s: 1

2012

Trips: 76
Distance: 955.1 km
Ascent: 44087m
Munros: 37
Corbetts: 18
Fionas: 7
Sub2000s: 3

2011

Trips: 58
Distance: 645.95 km
Ascent: 30393m
Munros: 33
Corbetts: 11
Fionas: 4

2010

Trips: 17
Distance: 215.6 km
Ascent: 9756m
Munros: 4
Corbetts: 8
Fionas: 1

2009

Trips: 2
Distance: 30.9 km
Ascent: 2414m
Munros: 3

2008

Trips: 2
Distance: 35 km
Ascent: 2267m
Munros: 4


Joined: Nov 02, 2010
Last visited: Jun 23, 2025
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