Lurg Mhòr and Bidein a’ Choire Sheasgaich

Tuesday 21st May 2019

On my trek north from Cluanie to Strathcarron following the route of the Cape Wrath Trail I had reached the Maol-bhuidhe bothy, which is situated in a fabulously isolated location beside Loch Cruoshie many miles from the nearest road, and is popular with walkers tackling the Cape Wrath Trail. When I woke up at the start of this day I was pleased to see sunshine and blue skies for the first time on my holiday which made me hopeful for a good walk. If I had been tackling the Cape Wrath Trail I could have easily reached Strathcarron before the end of the day and even crossed the valley before climbing beside the Fionn-amhainn to the Coire Fionnaraich bothy. However that was not my goal and I wasn’t actually walking the Cape Wrath Trail, but simply using the route to reach more mountains. I had hoped to climb some mountains at the western end of Glen Affric the day before until poor weather had intervened, but now that I had good weather I wanted to take advantage of it so I headed towards the nearest Munro. I was sorry to leave the Maol-bhuidhe bothy as I set off north along the Cape Wrath Trail across the River Ling and through pathless peat hags around the eastern shoulder of the Corbett, Beinn Dronaig.

Once I got to the highest point on the traverse I found a vehicle track that effortlessly took me down the other side of the hill to the mouth of Loch Calavie where I found a wide, clear track that follows the edge of the loch below the steep slopes of the Munro, Lurg Mhòr. Towards the western end of the loch, immediately after crossing the Allt Coire Calavie, I turned off the track and started climbing the grassy slopes where many wild flowers, including my favourite, spotted-orchids, decorated the ground and alongside the nearby stream adding to my delight and compensated for my exertions as I toiled up the steep terrain. Eventually I reached the top of the saddle between the two Munros, Lurg Mhòr and Bidein a’ Choire Sheasgaich, where I abandoned my heavy rucksack and in lovely sunshine headed up the boulder-strewn slopes to the summit of Lurg Mhòr. The view behind me was stunning with the mountains of the Coulin Forest and Torridon looking particularly stunning in the distance where the sun reflected off the white quartzite to stunning effect. The views all around were great with mountains everywhere and the only sign of the interference of man being the vehicle track to Bendroniag Lodge.

I tried to continue along the ridge beyond the Munro but I got into difficulty when the ridge narrowed and requires a steep scramble down to the col before the rise to the eastern 974 metre top. As a lone walker I often decide to err on the side of caution so I didn’t proceed any further down the crags where I might have got myself into serious difficulty or injury. Returning to the summit of the Munro I made my way back down the boulder-strewn slopes until I reached my rucksack where I had my lunch. After eating I put my heavy rucksack back on, the weight of which was very noticeable after the brief walk up the Munro without its load, and set off up the Munro on the other side, Bidein a’ Choire Sheasgaich. Behind me, the mountains that I had passed the day before were basking under dark clouds and rain while I was enduring blue skies and sunshine, but enjoying a strong cold wind as I slowly made my way up the Munro. The walk up to the summit of the Munro was relatively easy on gentle grassy slopes, but beyond the summit the ridge narrows deliciously and excitingly in amongst dramatic, steep, rocky terrain. I had been a little worried that I would encounter at this point similar problems to those I had found on Lurg Mhòr, however an excellent path weaves a cunning course through the difficulties.

The terrain was fabulously craggy and a tremendous pleasure to be walking through thanks to the brilliant path that enabled me to negotiate the rocky ground with safety. I thoroughly enjoyed walking through this complex, craggy terrain though with great care as I slowly made my way along the path with steep drops not far to my left and my right while ahead of me were stunning views north-west across the Coulin Forest towards Torridon. At the end of the ridge is a ridiculously steep descent to Bealach an Sgoltaidh that I felt sure the path would fail to negotiate, but despite being very steep with a little erosion it successfully and safely brought me all the way down to the bottom of the pass. Despite the difficulty this descent was a joy to walk in such a rock-filled landscape. I considered continuing north onto the Corbett, Beinn Tharsuinn, but when I saw how deep was the col and how steep was the slopes up the hill on the other side I decided it wasn’t worth the effort. Although it was only two o’clock I turned left at the bottom of the pass and headed down towards the Bearnais bothy making my own way across the pathless slopes down to the bottom.

Slowly I made my way across the heather and grass slopes to the valley bottom where my problems really started as I had to cross the peat hags to the reach the bothy on the far side. Not far from the bothy there is a wide bog and rather than going around I thought I’d be able to step across, and my leg disappeared up to my knee. Soon after that I reached the Amhainn Bhearnais where I attempted to wash my dirty leg and foot in the stream, but only succeeded in getting water inside my boots. So it was that when I reached the Bearnais bothy I had wet feet, and although it was only mid-afternoon I was thankful to be at this fabulous bothy whose location is amazing surrounded by great mountain scenery, especially towards the pass of Bealach Bhearnais. On this walk I went up two great mountains that are infamously a long way from any road while the second Munro has some awesome rock scenery that, although challenging, provided me with some great walking. It was a pity the walk ended as early as it did, and I possibly should have gone up the Corbett. Nevertheless I was more than happy to be at the Bearnais bothy and quite happy to be spending the next couple of days there.