{"id":27438,"date":"2023-10-03T13:11:33","date_gmt":"2023-10-03T13:11:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/?p=27438"},"modified":"2023-10-03T13:21:47","modified_gmt":"2023-10-03T13:21:47","slug":"whats-your-favourite-coire-in-scotland","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/whats-your-favourite-coire-in-scotland\/","title":{"rendered":"What\u2019s your favourite coire in Scotland?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\"Ben<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

\u201cWe need a couple of volunteers next week to walk into Garbh Choire\u201d, said our conservation manager.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My ears pricked up. It would doubtless be a tiring day, as we\u2019d be retrieving some 1t bags, wooden stakes and rolls of wire netting. But I jumped at the chance because, for some reason, I\u2019d never actually visited An Garbh Choire. To my considerable shame, I might add, given its reputation as a grand and wild place, the home of the Sphinx (Scotland\u2019s most famous snow patch), and it simply being the gnarliest, farthest flung corner of my office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sandwiched between Braeriach and Sgor an Lochan Uaine, An Garbh Coire is a long way from anywhere. Seen from above, it has the appearance of a huge bite taken out of the high ground to the west of the Lairig Ghru, with four smaller \u2018bites\u2019 around its edges: Coire Bhrochain, Garbh Choire Dhaidh, Garbh Choire Mor, and Coire an Lochain Uaine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In all, the complex is more than 3km long and about 2km wide. The altitude of its floor ranges from about 650m to 950m, which means, given it is ringed by some of the highest hills in the land, its upper walls still tower a further 300m above you. For such a massive feature it does a good job of hiding from view until you\u2019re level with its entrance, but the scale of the place is quite unlike anything I\u2019d experienced before in Scotland.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/a>
An Garbh Choire \u2013 too big for a normal photo!<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

After completing our work, we explored all the way up into Garbh Choire Mor to check up on the size of the Sphinx (woefully small for June), before contouring around into Garbh Choire Dhaidh.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In all, we were there for about three hours, had the entire place to ourselves, and it felt immense. Boulders lay everywhere, waterfalls tumbled, cliffs and slabs towered, and all the while Ben Macdui hulked on the other side of the Lairig. One of my colleagues had a ten-minute headstart on the walk out, and it was sobering to see how readily he faded into insignificance as he descended the coire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was a hot, tough walk back to Derry Lodge with the heavy gear we had to lug out, but I was on a high that lasted a week. In the days following our visit, I excitedly told anyone and everyone who\u2019d listen what an immense place Garbh Choire was. They all knew already, of course, as they\u2019d been there before, but they indulged me nonetheless. One colleague agreed it was a special place, but as we discussed coires in general he paused, looked into the distance and then said:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCoire Mhic Fhearchair – is that not a contender for the finest coire in Scotland?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hmm. Now that was a question, so I went onto Facebook and Twitter to conduct one of my famously unscientific surveys, asking: \u201cWhat is your favourite coire in Scotland?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is a coire?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Before you can pick your finest coire in Scotland, you need to know exactly what you\u2019re choosing from. Often anglicised to \u2018corrie\u2019, in gaelic the word means a hollow, or cauldron, and unsurprisingly it therefore crops up all over Scotland as a topographical noun.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On maps you\u2019ll find \u2018coires\u2019 in the kinds of places you\u2019d expect, but not exclusively so. In the more sedate Campsie Fells there\u2019s Corrie of Balglass. In Strathbraan in Perthshire, a stone\u2019s throw from Dunkeld and at barely 350m, you\u2019ll find Coire a\u2019 Mhor-fhir. On Islay, you\u2019ll find Coire Liunndrein.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In many cases the word merely refers to the upper reaches of glens, both big and small, where the sides of the glen start to close in. \u2018Coires\u2019 in that sense are frequently just grassy bowls or depressions, gentle in slope, perhaps with a small burn draining them down the centre.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But to most hillwalking folk, when you ask them what their favourite coire is, they\u2019re not going to be thinking of sedate slopes at the head of grassy glens. Most will be thinking of something bigger and more dramatic. Something semi-circular with that distinctive bite-like appearance, open on one side, perhaps flanked by narrow aretes. Archetypal \u2018armchair\u2019 coires.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Coire an Dubh-lochain, Beinn a\u2019 Bhuird<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Craggy and imposing, there will likely be scree slopes below a steep, rocky headwall, and large boulders will be scattered all over the place. It will look undeniably glacial in origin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Such features are common the world over, although the names differ: in French, \u2018cirque\u2019. In Welsh, \u2018cwm\u2019. In Scotland, \u2018coire\u2019. But even within this more targeted definition, the variation of form is considerable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some coires are small, others are enormous. Some have lochans, others don\u2019t. Some are more grass than rock, others the opposite. But how many do we have?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Well, if I had a spare month, I\u2019d happily work my way through all the grid squares in the country at a 1:25000 scale, counting all the coires manually and then letting you know the answer. But that assumes they\u2019re all named, which of course they aren\u2019t. Suffice to say, there are hundreds of them, and so even being familiar with them all is nigh on impossible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some, like Coire na Tulaich, which forms the main approach route up Buachaille Etive Mor, are of course on well-established routes up hills and are therefore well-trodden and well-known. Others, by virtue of their inaccessibility or roughness (or both) are little visited, if visited at all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Carn Ban for instance, the remote corbett up by Alladale. I wonder how many people have visited Coire na Glasa on its northeast slopes? Well, given that even geograph.org.uk (whose dedicated band of volunteers always seem to have been EVERYWHERE) don\u2019t have photos for those OS grid squares, I\u2019m guessing very few.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For that reason, many coires will likely remain the domain of those with more esoteric interest – devotees of truly wild places, for whom remote coires might represent the wildest of the wild. But probably also ecologists, scouring far flung ledges for new biological records, as Sarah Watts, conservation manager at Corrour Estate said when she responded to my question:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAt the moment I’m really into Corrie Sharroch (Glen Clova), where there’s the largest remnant patch of montane willow scrub in Scotland. There’s really nothing quite like it elsewhere in the country.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s a nice illustration of how different coires mean different things to different people, and of how coires have long acted as refuges for biodiversity – their crags and ledges being inaccessible to the mouths of grazing herbivores.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Certain grandstanding coires do of course spring to mind when you\u2019re asked to pick your favourite. But when you consider just how many coires there are, how many glacial \u2018bowls\u2019 you\u2019ve walked through or looked down upon, and how many hill miles you\u2019ve likely racked up over the years, if your memory is anything like mine there are doubtless some real gems that are easily forgotten or overlooked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They might not be the biggest, the rockiest, or the grandest, but sometimes places can be made special by other things too \u2013 something you encountered or something you did, the memories of good times and experiences. As one repsondent said of Corrie Fee:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018where i saw my 1st Golden Eagle and Peregrine as a wee lad.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Or perhaps you rate coires differently for different pursuits:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWith a hillwalking hat on guess it has to be Coire a Grunndha. With a skiing hat on\u2026..the Fionn Choire of the Glas Maol\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maybe the walk-in itself is what makes a coire special – the way it reveals itself, or even the impact of other sights en-route:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCorrie Fee. The view that hits you when you come out of the forest\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCoire \u00c0rdair on Creag Meagaidh because I love the walk through the woods on approach with all the amazing regeneration that’s going on\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

And while a particular coire might not be the most spectacular, its inaccessibility might be what makes it notable for nomination. Conversely, perhaps its very accessibility, the fact that it can be enjoyed so easily, is what makes it special?<\/p>\n\n\n

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Coire a\u2019 Chaorachain, Applecross<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Certain coires also inspire differently depending on conditions, with the weather, the light, or even the time of year playing their part:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCoire Ardair – ideally around May time with snow still in the gullies\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCorrie Kander is a wee beauty in the winter\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Or, for one person, what the coire actually looks like isn\u2019t necessarily relevant:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cKilbo Coire, and simply because I love that name!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

All these variables conspire to make a \u2018whole\u2019, an experience of a place beyond what you can simply see once you get there. So, for the sake of variety, I hope you\u2019ll indulge me as I go a bit off-piste for my selection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My favourites<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The coire that springs to mind instantly is Coire Gaothach on Ben Lui<\/a>. I adore the perfect \u2018armchair\u2019 it displays to anyone viewing it from Tyndrum, and under snow cover and a blue sky, it looks almost Himalayan.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Coire Gaothach, Ben Lui<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

It\u2019s also very different in form to, say, the big coires in the Cairngorms. Instead of being a bite out of a plateau, with a relatively flat base, Coire Gaothach is a chunk bitten out of a steep, high mountain. Everything is therefore on more of a gradient.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As you approach from Dalrigh, foreshortening exaggerates this appearance, and yet the coire is surprisingly bowl-like once you get in there. I have fond memories due to a visit in March 2018 \u2013 a perfect cold day, with hard spring snow everywhere. Climbing into the alpine coire that day I was probably at the limit of my winter experience, but it was fantastic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I do, however, like lochans in my coires, and so for my next choice I\u2019m heading to Glen Clova, as I\u2019m very fond of the coire in which Loch Brandy<\/a> sits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s definitely not the most spectacular, but the size of the loch and the way it fills the entire basin, coupled with a lovely curve of the coire headwall, makes it aesthetically beautiful in a way many coires aren\u2019t. But I think also its accessibility makes me so fond of it, because when I stayed in Fife, Glen Clova was easily on hand if I ever wanted a small dose of big scenery.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Loch Brandy, Glen Clova<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

I also cast my mind back to the many expansive, seemingly impregnable coire floors I\u2019ve looked down upon, strewn with boulders and glacial moraines, wondering if anyone EVER has reason to go down there. For sheer mind-boggling rockiness and inaccessibility therefore, there\u2019s Coire na h-Uaimh on Arran, laid out below Cir Mhor<\/a>. What reason could folk have for going there? Well, this week I checked with Arran mountain guide, Lucy Wallace, who said she\u2019s been there \u2018loads of times\u2019 and confirmed it\u2019s popular with some climbers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then there\u2019s Coire a\u2019 Chaorachain, on the edge of Sgurr a\u2019 Chaorachain<\/a>, in Applecross. For no other reason than on that winter\u2019s day, in that light, it was as fine as any coire I\u2019d ever seen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, seeing and \u2018knowing\u2019 a place are two very different things. Yes, I\u2019ve looked down into more coires than I can count, but how many of them have I actually walked through, or lingered within? How many of them do I actually, therefore, \u2018know\u2019?<\/p>\n\n\n

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Coire na h-Uaimh, Arran<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

This point was rammed home to me recently on Beinn a\u2019 Bhuird<\/a> when, instead of walking its expansive plateaux, I skirted my way along the top of all three of its huge coires. It was something I\u2019d never done before, and it made for an astonishing day. Such variety in each coire, so many weird rockforms, such ridiculously rough coire bases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If anything, it was even more impactful than An Garbh Choire, and ended up being my most enjoyable (non winter) hill day in years. But I wanted more, because I knew that until I\u2019d actually set foot inside those coires, I could never hope to really know Beinn a\u2019 Bhuird. I\u2019ll address that soon enough, but I\u2019m including those coires here because I fully expect them to become instant favourites.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But that\u2019s enough about me. What did everyone else say when I asked them to choose their favourite coire? Well, people were understandably a bit put out at being restricted to just one:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cImpossible to single out one, so can I have three?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAny corrie will do\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCoire Lair and An Garbh Choire. But actually just about all of them\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Overall, 32 individual coires were nominated (only one of which, on Maol Chean Dearg, is unnamed on OS maps), and it was nice to see a good geographical scattering from all across the country: from Creag Meagaidh, Assynt, Beinn Dearg, Seana Bhraigh, Arran, Glencoe, Torridon, even the Campsie Fells. But some areas did dominate in the number of nominations they received: Skye and the West Highlands received four nominations apiece, while Wester Ross, the Angus Glens and the Cairngorms each received six.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But\u2026. in fifth place in the overall number of votes was Toll an Lochain<\/a><\/strong>, nestling on the east side of An Teallach. I\u2019ve set eyes upon it, from Sgurr Fiona, but it\u2019s not one I\u2019ve ever walked into I\u2019m afraid. I know it\u2019s a favourite of Paul and Helen here<\/a>, and certainly those who nominated it said there was \u201cno contest\u201d. <\/em>I really must pay it a visit!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In joint fourth place were An Garbh Choire<\/strong>, where I started this whole article, and Coire Gabhaill<\/strong> in Glen Coe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of the former, people appreciated its \u2018utter remoteness\u2019<\/em>. In terms of wildness it is \u201csimply in a class of its own\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnd varied, if you count all the parts. Really special.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Coire Gabhaill<\/a>, on Bidean nam Bian, is a curious one to bear the name \u2018coire\u2019, as it\u2019s less a coire and more a hanging valley. Even so, I\u2019m not going to quibble as it\u2019s a real stunner, especially the way it reveals itself as you climb higher, with the additional surprise of the vast flat area within. With plenty of history to boot too, arguably there\u2019s nowhere else quite like it in Scotland, with folk describing it as \u201cjust magical\u201d<\/em> and \u201cso isolated\u201d.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In third place is Coire Lagan<\/a><\/strong>, in Skye\u2019s Black Cuillin. Accessed via an atmospheric walk from Gleann Bhreatail, it\u2019s one of the few places in the Cuillin I\u2019ve actually visited.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I had a weirdly atmospheric day there one March, in snow showers, warm sun and a t-shirt. I loved the contrast of the smooth slabbiness of the rocks at the coire lip, versus the rough, chute-filled volcanic craziness of the backdrop. It had a menacing, otherworldly feel to it, like it was a gateway between this world and the Underworld. And yet, somehow idyllic at the same time. One respondent said it has:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201ca sense of being watched upon by giants with the most wonderful views out to the small isles\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

And while you might think the entrance to the Underworld would be the last place for romance, someone said Coire Lagan was:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cwhere I met my better half!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n

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The Top Five. Toll an Lochain (top left c\/o Walkhighlands), Coire Lagan (top right); Coire Gabhaill (middle); Coire Mhic Fhearchair (bottom left), Corrie Fee (bottom right c\/o Walkhighlands)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

In second place is Coire Mhic Fhearchair<\/a><\/strong> (or Coire Mcfecker, as one person affectionately called it) hidden away around the back of Beinn Eighe\u2019s massive quartzite summits. Quite justified of course, on account of:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018sheer in-your-face gobbsmackingness\u2019.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018Can meander and sit in there all day, observing and absorbing (the scenery, wildlife and atmosphere, not the midgies!)\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018the superb walk in, waterfalls, the lochan and the triple buttress.\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEspecially at this time of year when the deer rut is happening.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It does take some beating, I\u2019ll admit, with its cathedral-like buttress hiding from view until almost the very last minute. I skirted up the west side of the coire on my way to Sail Mhor, and I remember stopping every ten steps or so, simply so that I could turn around and gawp at the spectacle behind me. Amazing!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In first place, and this might surprise people, is Corrie Fee<\/a> <\/strong>in Glen Clova. I was surprised too at first, but on reflection it makes sense. Its accessible, and has featured prominently and affectionately in people\u2019s early hillwalking lives:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMemory of climbing up through it aged 4 with my grandad\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201csimply because it’s so accessible yet feels so remote once you’re there.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

But to be honest, there were all kinds of reasons cited:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018cos its so pretty\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018the scene unfolds so beautifully when you reach the big rock.\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

And, as in Coire Lagan, romance appears to blossom in this particular coire:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018Got married there\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018Honourable mention to Corrie Fee where I proposed to my wife\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ultimately though, I think this comment sums Corrie Fee up nicely:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018not the most spectacular, but it’s a place that just feels right.\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

So there you have it. The results of my unscientific survey, plus loads of other coires to get you thinking. Personally, I\u2019m surprised that Coire Ardair<\/a>, at Creag Meagaidh didn\u2019t feature more prominently, or that Corrie of Lochnagar<\/a> didn\u2019t feature at all, but I\u2019m sure if I\u2019d asked folk to make longer lists, they would have been in them. Because at the end of the day, as one person said:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEach area has its special place, we are blessed\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Interestingly, in writing this article I\u2019ve been surprised to find that, despite all the walking I\u2019ve done over the years, despite all the many summits I\u2019ve stood upon, I really don\u2019t know Scotland\u2019s hills very well at all. Certainly, when you\u2019re at the top of a hill, pointing out and naming all the peaks you\u2019ve climbed, after a few years you can probably point to every single peak in a vista. But summits are small. What about what lies beneath? What about all the spaces in between?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hmm. Seems I\u2019ve barely scratched the surface of Scotland\u2019s wild places, and I can\u2019t wait to get out and explore!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cWe need a couple of volunteers next week to walk into Garbh Choire\u201d, said our conservation manager. My ears pricked up. It would doubtless be a tiring day, as we\u2019d be retrieving some 1t bags, wooden stakes and rolls of wire netting. But I jumped at the chance because, for some reason, I\u2019d never actually visited An Garbh Choire. To my considerable shame, I might add, given its reputation as a grand and wild place, the home of the Sphinx (Scotland\u2019s most famous snow patch), and it simply being the gnarliest, farthest flung corner of my office. Sandwiched between Braeriach…<\/span> <\/p>\n

Read more ›<\/div>\n

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