The Corryhully Horseshoe

Monday 28th May 2012

On my second walk in Scotland this year I was still feeling very tired. The day before I had abandoned my walk half way round because I didn’t have the energy to continue, and although I managed to finish the walk this time I still felt very tired, especially during the ascents. I caught an early train from Fort William to Glenfinnan, and while passing over the famous viaduct in excellent weather I couldn’t help thinking that the view along Loch Shiel has to be the best view in Britain from a train. After getting off I walked along a side road, past scattered houses and onto the valley road that passes under the viaduct. I felt privileged to be so close to this awesome structure that I could reach out and touch it. Concrete buildings usually have a grey, drab appearance but this early example of mass concrete construction is a tremendously striking sight.

I continued up the valley along the wide track, past the Corryhully Bothy and started to climb the hillside to the right of the wide Coire Thollaidh ahead. I had a good, though faint, path to follow but still found it exceptionally difficult to climb the steep slope. Once again I felt a huge lack of energy, but also it was once again very warm, though possibly not as hot as the day before. I frequently collapsed onto the grass, gasping for air, until I got my breath back before getting up and walking a few more steps, only to collapse again. I felt so unfit; I didn’t know what the matter was with me. Was it the heat? Was it lack of sleep? Or was I just unfit? Slowly I managed to get up Druim Coire a’ Bheithe and along the ridge to the Munro, Sgurr Thuilm. I was on a deadline with this walk and needed to be back at the station before five p.m. so I could catch the train back to Fort William. So, to that end I’d calculated that I needed to reach the Munro before twelve noon, but by the time I’d dragged myself up to the top I was already half an hour late. The train was looking out of reach, but while standing on that mountain all thought of catching trains went out of my mind.

I ignored my deadline and simply absorbed the awesome splendour of the fantastic mountain that I was on. It felt like an injustice to rush a walk on such great mountains, taking my time so I could enjoy the walk, I set off along the fabulously rugged ridge that connects Sgurrr Thuilm with Sgurr nan Coireachan. With clouds building overhead the temperature finally began to cool, and with an excellent winding path that negotiated the many crags and tops between the two Munros I had an excellent walk. After eating lunch while sitting on the western slopes of Beinn Gharbh I continued along the ridge over Meall an Tàrmachain and up to the top of the second Munro of the day, Sgurr nan Coireachan. The cooler temperatures made the walking much more pleasant as the heat that I’d encountered the day before had made it very difficult to do strenuous mountain walking. The best weather for walking over mountains is probably for it to be overcast with high clouds, or at least a lot of cloud that is well above the tops of the summits, to keep the temperatures cool. That is not the best weather for taking pictures, but that’s not my reason for being on these hills. My photos are there to illustrate the walk, not for the walk to describe the pictures. The walk itself was why I was out there, not to take pictures or even to bag the summit.

I had taken far too long to reach the second Munro, Sgurr nan Coireachan, so as I made my way down the rugged southern ridge I abandoned all thoughts of reaching the five o’clock train (the next train was two hours later). After passing over Sgurr a’ Choire Riabhaich I dropped steeply down and joined an excellent stalker's path that brought me back down to the track in the valley bottom. I really enjoyed this walk, despite the great struggle I had getting up the hills. I had no problem going downhill so I was able to get the most out of the walk. Unlike the day before, I managed to complete the whole walk as intended, even if not in the time intended. Since I had already missed the train I slowly walked down the valley, taking my time and even stopping off for a swim in a gloriously deep rock pool near Corryhully Bothy. The water was lovely and warm, and I had a wonderfully relaxing swim. The sun may now have been hidden behind clouds but this just made the walk back so much better. I slowly made my way down the valley all the way back to the Glenfinnan Viaduct, and after a quick visit to the monument that blots the landscape I returned to the railway station.

This was a fantastic walk around gloriously rugged mountains. The paths on this walk are very well designed, ingeniously snaking their way up and down the mountains, and the terrain, especially between the two Munro’s, is deliciously rugged. This is the sort of landscape that I crave for, and not the sort of thing you want to be rushing over. I was happy to just savour the walk and the incredibly wild area that I was walking through. Everywhere I looked there were mountains as far as the eye could see, with the Glenfinnan Viaduct, far down the valley, the only sign of human activity. I was reminded of the Cruachan Horseshoe while doing this walk, which also has two Munros at the top of the valley and a great rugged ridge that separats them. There the similarity disappears as there is no reservoir in Coire Thollaidh, thank God. They are both a fantastic range of mountains with a great walk around them.