Back through Coire Lair

Thursday 30th May 2019

For the last walk of my holiday in Scotland I set off from the Torridon camp site under overcast skies following overnight rain. The day before I had enjoyed fabulous weather but it had now deteriorated, though I was not too bothered by this as my plan was simply to walk back to the railway station at Achnashellach and so begin my journey home. At least it wasn’t raining as I walked beside the road across the foot of Glen Torridon into the small settlement of Annat where I expected to find the path that climbs into the Coulin Forest. Although I had taken this route out of Torridon in 2009 I couldn’t find the path, and my map couldn't help me either . After passing all the way through Annat I’d almost given up hope and thought I must have passed the sign when, just beyond Annat, I came across the path that is clearly signposted for the hill path to Achnashellach via Coire Lair. This is an excellent route that gently climbs above Glen Torridon into the mountains of the Coulin Forest while behind me grey views opened out across Upper Loch Torridon with the mountain giants of Torridon on the far side veiled under cloaks of cloud.

The Coulin Forest rejoices in many splendid paths that snake all over the area, but are never invasive or ruinous to the surroundings. Their narrow paths work with the terrain snaking around the boggy ground and over the rocks providing me with a good, dry surface to walk along even though the weather was less than perfect. Ten years ago I had brilliant weather for this walk and even though I was not so fortunate this time I still enjoyed the walk as I followed the path over the Allt nan Corp, past Carn Dhonnachadh and up the valley towards the Munro of Maol Chean-dearg that brooded darkly ahead. While remembering my walk up that hill in 2014 I passed between two small lochans to reach the grand mountain tarn of Loch an Eoin, and reflected that I didn’t need to reach the summit of a mountain to have an enjoyable walk. While passing Loch an Eoin I found some boggy sections of the path, and in those parts were cycle tracks that show the popularity of this area with mountain bikers, though I was tempted to wonder if it might be the bicycles themselves that have damaged the path. When I reached the top of Bealach na Lice the view opened out ahead of me down the bleak valley of Coire Fionnaraich and ignoring the path that descends into the valley, I turned around Meall Dearg and crossed the top of the valley.

The path up to Bealach Bàn is badly eroded and since I don’t remember it being in such a poor state last time I was at this point, it must have happened during the notoriously bad weather of the last five years, most notably in December 2015. It is a pity that some of the otherwise excellent paths in the Coulin Forest have been damaged and nothing so far has been done to repair the damage, and not forgetting the path up to the top of Coire Lair that I passed on the previous Monday that also showed similar erosion. I was now passing around the northern slopes of the Munro Sgorr Ruadh, with the low lying Meall Dearg to my left. There are startling runs of white quartzite stones down the western slopes of Stuc a’ Choire Ghrannda, below Sgorr Ruadh, that can be seen from far away including, as I could attest from the day before, from the slopes of Beinn Alligin. On a sunny day they shine out and attract the eye while the rocks behind towards the summit of the Munro are a much duller, red sandstone that do not have the same appeal especially in the increasingly murky weather that I was encountering on this walk. After crossing the quartzite scree runs I came round into Coire Grannda where I joined the route that I had taken the previous Monday on my way into Torridon.

When I reached the top of the pass between Coire Grannda and Coire Lair I stopped in a sheltered spot from the cold wind and had an early lunch wrapping myself up against the inclement weather. In 2009 I had turned left at this point to walk along the fabulous mountain ridge of Beinn Liath Mhòr, but I had no such thoughts on this walk as the weather was far too bad. The word that came into my mind when I set off from the top of the pass was that it was ‘primal’, that there was something about being high up a mountainside when the weather is that poor that reduces all ones thinking to the very basics of keeping warm and dry, and finding a safe route off the mountain. It is quite exciting and challenging to be up a mountain in those conditions and it is really satisfying when you succeed in overcoming the bad weather with adequate clothing and good navigation takes you safely off the mountain. In this case the weather barely qualified as being primal and I had a clear, though initially heavily eroded, path that easily took me back down into the valley of Coire Lair to warmer and more sheltered weather.

Once the gradient eased it was a pleasure to walk through Coire Lair and even more so when the terrain steepened once again as the excellent path drops over rocky ground. I absolutely loved zooming down that path, even though I had plenty of time I enjoyed every moment of the steep, craggy descent that brought into the Achnashellach Forest. Even though the weather was poor and I didn’t reach the summit of any mountain I thoroughly enjoyed this walk, which just shows that it’s not where you walk to, but how you get there, and the paths through the Coulin Forest are fabulous. The weather on my holiday in Scotland was mixed, as you should be expect, but I was overjoyed to find some good weather on my return to Torridon for a few days when I was able to walk up some of the great mountains that are in this area.

Beinn Alligin

Wednesday 29th May 2019

Before heading out into the mountains at the start of the week of this walk, I checked the weather forecast and it was not looking good for Wednesday with rain likely, although to be fair to M.W.I.S. it also said “detail uncertain”. Expecting rain I was surprised to wake at the start of this day to clear blue skies and warmth that I had not experienced at any time previously during my holiday in Scotland. Packing up my tent after two nights camped between two of the giants of Torridon, Liathach and Beinn Eighe, in Coire Dubh Mór, I set off up the path away from the road retracing my steps of the day before toward the Triple Buttress in Coire Mhic Fhearchair. At a large cairn I ignored the path that branches right to the Triple Buttress and kept straight on along a surprisingly good path that slowly passes below the northern slopes of Liathach. These slopes are rarely seen though as with most mountains in Scotland they are the most complex and dramatic with many crag-filled corries that bear witness to the creative effects of glaciation.

To my right as I slowly made my way along the path, the steep slopes of Beinn Dearg looked impenetrable although I reflected that a clear path would have been forged up if only it had the extra metre that would have granted it Munro status. However, my eye was not on Beinn Dearg but its neighbour, Beinn Alligin, which does attain Munro status, and is usually grouped with the two giants of Torridon mentioned earlier even though its length is only half that of the other two. I climbed this mountain in 2009 in deteriorating weather so now that I had surprisingly good weather I thought I would do it again, but in the opposite direction, which I had thought after my walk in 2009 could be more satisfying, so this was my opportunity to find out. I was not the only person taking advantage of the good weather as I could see many people climbing it as I approached the junction of the Abhainn Coire Mhic Nòbuil, which I had been following, with the Allt a’ Bhealaich. Near this point I stopped and after moving a distance away from the path I set up my tent hastily throwing any unwanted items into it before setting off up the path now with a considerably lighter rucksack.

There were two large groups ahead of me also just starting the climb at this time, and as with every large group, they moved only as fast as their slowest person so it didn’t take me long to overtake the first such group. Where the terrain steepens dramatically a cunning path weaves a good scrambling route up the sheer, craggy hillside, and it was a sheer joy to climb even though I was delayed by the slow-moving second group ahead of me. Eventually I managed to pass them and when the terrain eased I enjoyed the walk up the rocky ground to the summit of the first of the Horns of Alligin, the three pinnacles that are a distinctive feature of this mountain. The climb to the first, and smallest, horn had been gentle, but now a steep scramble down was required before I could continue and I found this particularly tricky and nerve-wracking. Although I had enjoyed the scramble up the mountain I did not like the scramble off the first horn, but with hindsight I think it would have helped if I had dismantled my walking poles first as these got in the way. In 2009, despite poor weather, I traversed all three horns without difficulty, so maybe I shouldn’t have been so fearful this time, but I chickened out instead and followed a narrow bypassing path that clings to the steep southern slopes of the horns.

I didn’t think there was a bypassing path in 2009 so I must not have seen it in the poor weather, but now I found it to be quite a thrilling route along a faint, narrow path with a sheer drop to my left, and although I may have erred on the side of caution, I experienced an interesting path instead. On reaching the col beyond the horns I suddenly had stunning views to the north towards the Corbett of Baosbheinn and beyond to the coast at Gairloch. Climbing steeply I made my way to the top of Sgùrr Mhòr, the Munro that is the highest point on Beinn Alligin with views that were everywhere stunning, especially where I had come across the Horns of Alligin with Beinn Dearg immediately behind while Beinn Eighe and Liathach lurked in the distance. It is days like this on mountains that keep drawing me back to Scotland even though weather as good as this is rare in the Highlands. After eating my lunch I descended the steep slopes around the terrifying cleft of Eag Dhubh that has gouged the most distinctive feature out of the side of Beinn Alligin. Keeping to the path that minimises the undulation along the ridge I made my way around the top of Tom a’Mhadaibh Mòr and began climbing up to the top of Tom na Griagaich, the second Munro on Beinn Alligin.

When the terrain eased I veered right into a saddle and totally missed the summit, so when I realised I had to turn around and head up to the trig point that adorns the top of the Munro where I simply awestruck at the stunning view all around me. Coming back down to the col I ignored the southern top of Meall an Laoigh and immediately headed down into Coir’ nan Laogh on a good path that was a pleasure to follow despite hurting my knees at times. The great path continues out of the corrie and across craggy terrain descending all the way until eventually I reached the road at the bridge over the Abhainn Coire Mhic Nòbuil, but unfortunately I needed to head back up the path on the other side of the river in order to get back to my tent. I could have spent the night at that spot, but since it was still quite early I decided to pack up and head back down the path to the road and then walk the several miles into the village of Torridon. I decided, since I was in the area, that I would enquire at the youth hostel to see if they had a spare bed, and when I learnt that they didn’t I was able to pitch my tent in the adjacent camp site. I had not expected to get such good weather on this walk and I was very happy to be able to take advantage of it by climbing a fabulous mountain. You don’t get days like this very often in Scotland so I felt fortunate to enjoy this one.

Most guidebooks recommend doing this walk in the opposite direction, as I did in 2009, and having now done the walk in both directions I would probably side with the majority. Although I usually prefer slow descents and steep ascents, which would favour the direction of this walk, ultimately the traverse of the Horns of Alligin is better done in the other direction. The hardest scramble on the traverse is up to the easternmost horn so this is best done in ascent. It was tackling this that put me off completing the traverse, but if you have no problem with steep scrambles in either direction maybe this one was not a bad idea.

Beinn Eighe

Tuesday 28th May 2019

Beinn Eighe is a mountain that I have been trying to climb for the last ten years, ever since I first came to Torridon. On that occasion I had been unable to climb it both because of worsening weather and because the mountain is a long way from the youth hostel in Torridon where I had been staying. I decided that in order to do Beinn Eighe I would need a car, so a year after I came back only to be defeated when bad weather forced me to make a hasty retreat once I had reached the top of the ridge. I returned with my car again in 2016 spending several days in Torridon, but once again the weather was not nice to me. This year I tried a different approach by bringing a tent and camping in Coire Dubh Mór between Beinn Eighe and Liathach, and in the evening before the walk I had brilliant weather, which was rather annoying as it was the wrong time of day. I hoped the good weather would stay so when I looked out of my tent the following morning and saw blue skies I rejoiced, but when I looked north I saw dark rain clouds. The rain didn’t last very long and as I set off down the path towards the bottom of the valley I hoped that would be all I would get. However, before I reached the bottom, rain enveloped me again and this time it was very heavy with hail that prompted me to turn around and return to my tent.

I was really frustrated that once again the weather had not been nice to me and it had prevented me from climbing Beinn Eighe. I was very depressed with the weather that I had suffered on this holiday, and seemingly on every holiday I had taken in the West Highlands of Scotland. I have one holiday in Scotland a year, booked months in advance, so I can only hope that the weather is going to be good on those dates, and I don’t seem to have any luck. You can go up a mountain in poor weather but it is so much better if the weather is good while the least I could ask for is no rain and hopefully a view from the top. It was really getting me down that I seemed to hardly ever get good weather when I was in the West Highlands. As I dejectedly climbed back up the path in the rain I reflected that long distance walking might work better in Scotland because trails generally keep to the valleys and usually have a clear path so you don’t need good weather, and if the weather does improve then I could nip up a mountain on the way. I had already been losing interest in climbing Munros, big mountains in Scotland, because of the lack of good weather and this holiday had been almost a last chance for Munros to redeem themselves.

When I reached my tent I started to put my stuff away to break camp, but then the sun came out again, which is just typical of Scotland. This did not help my mood and in fact made me even more annoyed, but I suppose I have been very stupid to think I can rely on the weather in Scotland. Eventually I left my tent and set off back down the path determined now to do Beinn Eighe whatever the weather threw at me during the rest of the day. I passed many people coming up the path who must have thought it was time to start their walk, although I’m not sure where they were heading as I hardly saw any of them later. When I reached the road I walked along it for a while until at a small car park I turned onto a well-constructed path that climbs steeply up the hillside towards Beinn Eighe. The sunshine had been short-lived so by this point, and largely for the rest of the day, the skies were overcast, but I was not going to think about the weather and at least the cloud cover prevented me from getting too hot as I climbed the steep slopes. Before I reached the top, while in the depths of Coire an Laoigh, I stopped for a rest from the strenuous climb and ate my lunch. Another steep climb up a tricky dirt slope brought me to the ridge that leads to Stuc Coire an Laoigh.

I had an awe-inspiring view ahead of me of Liathach, while hazy views to the south over the Coulin Forest also contributed to making that steep climb up Coire an Laoigh worth the effort. Turning right I headed up the scree to reach the trig point on the main ridge of Beinn Eighe that was the furthest point I reached in 2010 only to find winds so strong I had to turn back. Now there was hardly any wind, however it was bitterly cold with snow or frost in places on the ridge that leads to the summit of the Munro. Gingerly I made my way along the narrow, rocky ridge trembling at the exposure, until eventually I reached the top of Spidean Coire nan Clach, but I didn’t go any further along the ridge. Sgurr Ban lies ahead and beyond that Sgurr nan Fhur Duibhe with the fearsome Black Carls beside it. I have never been great with heights and I seem to be getting less keen on exposed ridges as time goes by, so I turned my back on the eastern section of Beinn Eighe and carefully set off from the Munro back along the narrow ridge to the trig point where the terrain eases and I could begin to relax. Slowly, I made my way along the rocky ridge and up to the grassy dome of Cóinneach Mhór, but I didn’t reach the summit and instead turned right at a cairn steeply descending to a saddle and from there up the relatively gentle slopes to the summit of Ruadh-stac Mór, the highest point on Beinn Eighe.

Across Coire Mhic Fhearchair the infamous Triple Buttress stood in imposing splendour below the top of Cóinneach Mhór with Liathach peaking behind. I could have returned to Cóinneach Mhór and descended the Ceum Grannda (meaning ‘Ugly Step’), but I was not in the mood for exposed scrambling so when I returned to the bottom of the saddle I turned right down a stone shoot straight into the corrie. By keeping to the far right of the scree I somehow managed to ease the descent and minimise the difficulty though it still led to the top of a boulder field that had to be negotiated before I could reach the floor of the corrie. Now that I was released from the tension of exposure on the steep, narrow ridges I could finally enjoy myself as I made my way down the complex, craggy terrain into the corrie. There is a path that generally follows the stream down, but I was enjoying myself too much to rigidly follow it as I bounced across the rocks below the Triple Buttress until eventually I reached Loch Coire Mhic Fhearchair at the mouth of the corrie. Looking back, the cliff-faces didn’t look as impressive as I’d expected, though the grey, overcast skies that accompanied me for most of the walk over Beinn Eighe had not helped the view.

There is a very good path that leads up to Loch Coire Mhic Fheachair for people wanting to take in the view of this impressive corrie and the Triple Buttress, which must have been where the people I saw at the beginning of the day were headed. I appreciated the well-made path as it effortlessly took me around the broad slopes of Sáil Mhór with views north across broad, boggy valleys punctuated with sheer sided peaks that reminded me of the Sutherland area of Scotland. Considering I had wanted to do this walk for ten years it is a shame I didn’t enjoy it more. The weather wasn’t brilliant, but the main problem was that the mountains of Torridon have very steep slopes that make me rather nervous because of the height. Even though the Triple Buttress failed to impress me, I did enjoy walking through Coire Mhic Fheachair, but ultimately this was a great walk that was almost ruined by my frustration with the Scottish weather.

Coire Làir

Monday 27th May 2019

To start my second week in the Scottish Highlands I caught a train from the city of Inverness to the tiny, remote station of Achnashellach where I was happy to find sunshine after enduring a weekend in Inverness that was filled with rain. I was hopeful for some good weather as I set off north into Coire Làir heading towards Torridon and initially passed dense rhododendron groves in the Achnashellach Forest before taking a path that follows the River Làir up fabulously craggy terrain high above Glen Carron. The good weather tempted me to come off the path and cross the river to climb the steep slopes of the Corbett, Fuar Tholl, which I had not visited previously, however the river was fast flowing so crossing it would not have been easy. Prudently, I stayed on the path and continued to climb, and soon it started to rain, which prompted me to put my waterproof cover over my rucksack, but as I was doing that I was attacked by a squadron of midges, the first I had encountered on this holiday. Hastily, I put my waterproofs on and set off up the path soon leaving the midges behind as I climbed the steep path only for the rain to end before too long. This was no help as I was already the sweating in my waterproofs with no wind and nothing to cool me down.

This is a stunning path through fabulous scenery, but I was very hot from the exertion and humid conditions that were distracting me from what should have been a tremendous walk. Finally the terrain eased and a slight breeze appeared that cooled me down so I could enjoy the awesome surroundings before me of Coire Làir. I have been through this valley several times in the past, though the only time it was in ascent was in 2014 when I diverted off the main path to climb Beinn Liath Mhòr to the north of the valley. On the southern side is the higher Munro of Sgòrr Ruadh, but the former is the more appealing having also taken that route in 2009, and it was very tempting for me to be lured that way again as there is fabulous walking along a thrilling two kilometre ridge leading up to Beinn Liath Mhòr. Sunlight was gleaming on the white quartzite stones of the ridge, while in contrast, the red sandstone on the steep buttresses of Sgòrr Ruadh looked dark and unappealing. Beyond the top of the pass between these mountains I could see blue skies that promised good weather to come while Coire Làir sat under dark clouds that kept the temperature down as I made my way through the valley.

In the past I had always gone over one of the two Munros and so I had never before taken the path in the middle of the valley, therefore I ignored the paths that branch off to either side of Coire Làir and headed straight towards the top of the pass. Gradually, as I climbed, the sun reclaimed the valley while beyond Glen Carron I could see that rain was falling on the area where I had been walking during the first week of my holiday, which seems typical of the Scottish Highlands where the weather is often highly localised. Slowly I made my way up a heavily eroded path to the top of the pass before descending steeply into Coire Grannda where my knees complained painfully all the way down. Once the terrain mercifully eased I was able to enjoy the stunning views ahead of me towards the Torridon giants, most notably Liathach, which was looking very dark and ominous as low cloud covered the summit of the Munros. During the first week of my holiday I had followed the route of the Cape Wrath Trail as far as Strathcarron and now on this walk I was continuing that trail north, so on the edge of Coire Grannda I came off the excellent path that turns east to head over Bealach Bàn and headed north.

Initially there was no path across the stony slopes although occasionally I came across small cairns that I assumed marked the route of the Cape Wrath Trail, until eventually I found a clear path that slowly descends into Glen Torridon while ahead of me were excellent views towards Beinn Eighe. While Liathach remained shadowy, Beinn Eighe shone in the sun with its cap of quartzite, similar to Beinn Liath Mhòr, making a striking sight that drew me irresistibly on. The increasingly well-made path was a joy to walk upon as it passed lovely streams where small waterfalls in tranquil settings provided delightful spots for me to stop and enjoy the surroundings. Eventually I came down to the bottom of the valley, passing the private Ling Hut and over the road onto the path that climbs into Coire Dubh Mór, between Liathach and Beinn Eighe. Despite a cold northerly wind, the weather was improving all the while with almost clear blue skies overhead by early evening, but by then it was too late to start to climb either mountain. It was frustrating to come so far and then have to wait before climbing Beinn Eighe, but until then I could bask in the awesome mountain scenery and enjoy the surroundings while camped between the amazing mountains of Torridon.