I was staying in Fort William and had originally planned to climb Stòb Ban and Mullach nan Coirean today, but with strong and gusty winds now forecast I didn't fancy rocky ridges. Since I had my bike with me, I decided to do the Loch Lochy Munros which are more rounded and can be cycled into. For a combination of reasons I ended up with less than 4 hours' sleep, so I wasn't sure how today would go.


After one false turn, I managed to find the car park at Kilfinnan and started the cycle at 8.20 am. The weather was very pleasant, and the track through the forest was very good quality. The cycle was mostly a gentle uphill, although the last bit was downhill again, which would unfortunately mean going uphill to begin with on the way back. The turn-off to the path up the hill was very obvious, marked with a signpost and a big boulder. I covered the 2 miles to the path in 20 minutes, and stashed my bike among the trees before setting off up the path. A girl with a dog who I'd passed on my bike went up the path shortly before me. The path climbed reasonably steeply through the trees, so needed some effort.


It became an easier gradient once it reached open ground, continuing up the Càm Bhealach. It was surprisingly windy on a path that I would have expected to be sheltered, and the wind came from varied directions. From time to time I felt slightly queasy - I'm not sure why, perhaps tiredness? - but I didn't want to risk eating anything until I felt better. When well up towards the bealach which is at the top of the path, between the two hills, I had to stop to put a plaster on a blister developing on my heel. At this point 3 young lads overtook me, although I passed them again soon after when they stopped for a break. After nearly 1½ hours walk, I reached the somehow uninspiring bealach, which lies between steep slopes on either side which I would have to climb in turn to get to the top of the two hills.



I continued on to the right to climb Sròn a' Choire Ghairbh first. There is a good path which zigzags up, making for an easier climb. Part way up, I met the girl I'd seen earlier who was already on her way down - she was making much faster progress than me! The wind was picking up by this time, and once I reached the flatter grassy ground high up near the corrie edge, the gusts were starting to knock me off balance a bit, so I got out my poles to help keep stable.


The last bit of the walk to the summit was easy, and the summit was partially sheltered from the wind.


A couple of minutes after I reached it, the 3 lads arrived too, and we took pictures for each other.



The lads left, and a few minutes later I left to retrace my steps down to the bealach.



Once at the bealach I crossed a little burn which was teeming with frogs, and then climbed steeply up the other side for a bit, passing the girl who again was already on her way down. The path then led round the slightly boggy side of Meall Dubh which lies between the bealach and Meall na Teanga. Once round Meall Dubh and crossing another much broader bealach, the steep ascent of Meall na Teanga began. It was pretty windy on that bealach, and the wind got stronger as I climbed. There were frequent gusts which stopped me in my tracks a number of times, and I needed poles to prevent me being blown sideways. I was getting a bit tired and stopping frequently for breath by the time the ground finally started to flatten out at the top. From here to the summit, which lay a little distance along flat grassy ground at the top, I had to really keep on guard against the gusts, and was blown sideways a couple of times.


I reached the summit at the same time as the 3 lads. The views were really good although hazy in the distance.






Due to the wind I only stayed 3 minutes before heading down again.




Going down, I still had to cope with the gusts of wind until I reached the bealach leading to Meall Dubh. I was looking forward to finding somewhere out of the wind where I could stop to eat (the queasiness had gone by the time I was down from Sròn a' Choire Ghairbh), and eventually found a reasonably sheltered stone to sit on part way round Meall Dubh. After my sandwich, I carried on round and then down to the bealach, where I passed the frolicking frogs again and headed off back down the path.


It took an hour to descend to the track where my bike was. After retrieving the bike, the initial uphill cycle wasn't too bad, but after that it was an easy downhill all the way - altogether it took 12 minutes to cycle the 2 miles back.


I passed the 3 lads walking back just before I reached the car. I realised that I'd seen them arrive in the car park before I left in the morning, so overall we took the same time; clearly they walked faster than me. I was pleased that I'd managed the walk all right in the end despite such little sleep, and also after two previous days of walking. But despite getting to the car just after 3pm, I failed as usual to find a cafe open for coffee on the 4 hour drive home. They really should make late opening compulsory for the benefit of hillwalkers.