Beinn Liath Mhor

Wednesday 28th May 2014

After my disappointments of the day before, I was now really hoping for a better day, and that is what I got. The weather was not great at the start, but it gradually improved throughout the course of the day to end in fabulous weather in a great location. When I left Inverness it was dull and overcast with low cloud; it looked like I would have another miserable day, but the forecast gave me hope and so it proved. I caught a train from Inverness to the remote station of Achnashellach in Glen Carron, which was not what I’d planned for this day. Originally I’d planned to catch a bus to Glen Strathfarrar the day before and to spend the rest of the week going up to the top of the mountains at the western end of Loch Monar. A missed bus ruined that plan so I decided to spend the night in Inverness before travelling to Achnashellach, which is the nearest station to the West Monar Forest. When I bought the train ticket I was still thinking about going to West Monar, but the hills to the north of Achnashellach proved too strong a draw.

In 2009 I had walked through the Coulin Forest from Torridon to Achnashellach visiting the top of Beinn Liath Mhor on the way, and there I found an area of excellent mountains and good footpaths. Ever since I have been keen on returning to the area and since I felt that I needed a good satisfying walk I decided to go north from the railway station into the Achnashellach Forest. After passing through rhododendron infested woods I climbed the excellent path that winds its way up into the fabulous Coire Lair. It was already beginning to get quite warm a this point and I was soon very hot due to the exertion of climbing the steep path, so my cagoule came off for the first time this holiday and undeterred by a few drops of rain I continued to climb the excellent path that led me into the fabulous hanging valley of Coire Lair. Clouds resolutely clung to the tops of the mountains, but I refused to be disappointed while trying to decide where to go on this walk.

Since I’d climbed Beinn Liath Mhor five years ago it seemed to make sense to now climb Sgorr Ruadh on the other side of the valley, but eventually I decided to retrace my steps over Beinn Liath Mhor. Ralph Storer (in the indispensable guide ‘100 Best Routes on Scottish Mountains’) recommended climbing Beinn Liath Mhor first, and I actually thought I could do both mountains on this walk before descending east to the tiny bothy of Easan Dorcha, however I soon realised that wasn’t going to happen as I began my ascent of Beinn Liath Mhor. An excellent path meanders up steep heather slopes from Drochaid Coire Lair, but it was once the gradient eased that I found things more difficult. I had been feeling tired all week and really struggled with the long climb up to the eastern top while carrying a heavy rucksack.

When I plunged into the low clouds it was so cold and windy I decided to stop, have my lunch and put my cagoule on as well as a fleece before slowly climbing the stony slopes that seemed to go on forever. Eventually I reached the rather grand cairn that adorns the summit of the eastern top of Beinn Liath Mhor and soon after that the ridge narrows dramatically to provide me with a thrilling walk along the ridge that got even better when the clouds suddenly cleared to reveal a fabulous stony col between the eastern and central tops of Beinn Liath Mhor. As I passed over the central top the clouds lifted from the top of the surrounding mountains to reveal stunning views that opened out all the way to the Torridon giants of Liathach and Beinn Eighe. I stood just after the top in awe of my surroundings basking in everything that I could see around me. When clouds suddenly lift from the top of a mountain it is breathtaking and the best thing you can do is to just stop and take in the views that are only now revealed to you.

It was still quite overcast overhead but I now had clear views all around me while under my feet the terrain was glorious with white rocks everywhere and steep sided mountains in every direction. The third and final top, the Munro, of Beinn Liath Mhor was gradually easing out of the last wisps of cloud as I slowly descended to the second col and by the time I reached the Munro the clouds had lifted from every top and blue sky was beginning to appear. In 2009 I had sat at the top of Beinn Liath Mhor in excellent weather, but now it was slowly improving and during the rest of the afternoon would get better and better. Eventually I made my way from the summit of Beinn Liath Mhor down steep terrain and around the pathless top of Sàil Gharbh to the bealach and the main path that runs through Coire Lair.

Continuing on my route of 2009 in reverse I descended into Coire Grannda where stunning views of the Torridon giants could be seen with the serrated ridge of Am Fasarinen, the pinnacles of Liathach, drawing my attention. While the sun shone under clear blue skies and the Torridon giants dominated my attention, all my disappointments from the day before were a distant memory and I joyfully sailed along the path over Bealach Bàn and turning aside from my 2009 route I descended into Coire Fionnaraich. I considered pitching my tent beside the picturesque Loch Coire Fionnaraich, but eventually I decided to continue further down the valley to a bothy that is set in a lovely idyllic location half way down. By the evening the weather was near perfect and I was in a bothy on my own miles away from civilisation in a tranquil location. The day before this walk I’d felt that everything was going against me, but I probably ended this walk in a much better location than if I’d stuck to my original plan. I had done a fabulous walk over a great mountain and was now staying in a wonderful bothy in beautiful surroundings.

Not Glen Strathfarrar

Tuesday 27th May 2014

My plan for this day was to catch a train from Pitlochry, where I had been staying over the Bank Holiday weekend, and change at Inverness for Muir of Ord where I would catch a bus to the fabulous valley of Glen Strathfarrar for the start of an epic walk through this unspoilt part of Scotland. I managed to reach Muir of Ord with no problems despite a short time between trains at Inverness, but the instant I stepped onto the platform at Muir of Ord I realised that I didn’t have my walking poles in my hands. For a second I turned around to get back onto the train and retrieve them until I realised that they weren’t on that train, they were on the train that I had gotten off in Inverness. This was a disaster but I didn’t worry about it then as there was little I could do about it and I had a bus to catch, however that wasn’t for another hour and a half so I walked down the road to the Glen Ord Whisky Distillery.

I didn’t have time to take the full tour of the distillery so I just had a look around the visitor centre and had a taste of the Singleton of Glen Ord that is only sold in the Far East. With plenty of time to catch the bus I left the distillery and walked back into Muir of Ord while pondering my options for retrieving my walking poles. Do I travel to Inverness on Saturday, after walking through Glen Strathfarrar, to ask in lost property at the station about my poles, or do I abandon my walk through Glen Strathfarrar and go back to Inverness now as I’m a lot closer now than I will be on Saturday? The latter would totally ruin my plans for the week so I waited at the bus stop for the bus to Struy. A bus to Inverness arrived and left without me as I accepted that I wouldn’t have any walking poles for going through Glen Strathfarrar, and at just that moment the bus to Struy drove straight past me without stopping.

I was shocked. The bus driver had decided to ruin my plans for the week since I couldn’t decide. This bus is run by a small independent company using minibuses with the destination in small writing on a piece of paper in the window, and it wasn’t until the bus was alongside that I realised it was the bus I wanted. At the beginning of this day I had been looking forward to walking along Glen Strathfarrar, but now I had no idea what to do next. It wasn’t as if I could wait for the next bus to Struy as the buses were only once a week, the next bus was next Tuesday! My holiday was ruined. I had lost my poles and missed the only bus all week to where I wanted to go. Utterly gutted and dejected I headed back to the railway station and caught the next train to Inverness. At least, I thought, I could get my poles back, but lost property at Inverness didn’t have them.

By now I was so upset about everything that had happened I felt like crying, but I’m a man and we don’t do that kind of thing, so instead I formulated a new plan for the rest of the day and the rest of the week. I booked a bed for myself at the Inverness Youth Hostel and then did a walk around the lovely city of Inverness. If any city can lift depressed spirits then Inverness is surely the place to do it. I remember really enjoying being in Inverness ten years ago, but aside from passing through a couple of times I hadn’t spent much time there since, consequently this was going to be the first time I’d stayed in the city in the last nine years and I was keen on making the most of where fate had left me. My first destination was St Andrew’s Cathedral, a place that I’d seen across the river several times before but never actually gone in, however when I stepped inside it seemed so small I came straight back out again.

Near the Cathedral I saw a notice showing the walks around Inverness and one caught my eye as it passes through a nature reserve that I’d seen on the train. It lies between the River Ness and the Caledonian Canal at the northern end of the city overlooking the Moray Firth. To reach the nature reserve I walked beside the River Ness past works to build flood defences until I reached Carnarc Point, a narrow spit of land that juts out into the Moray Firth. The path was lined by broom and gorse (very similar in appearance from a distance, but very different close up), while at the end of the spit is a small lighthouse, while dominating the view is the Kessock Bridge sweeping across the Moray Firth from Inverness to the Black Isle.

Returning to the road I walked around the shore, past the old ferry port and into the Merkinch Local Nature Reserve, which was a fabulous place swarming with birds who all burst up into the air as soon as I approached. In the reserve, to my left were lagoons and to my right were mud flats on the edges of the Moray Firth. This path along the sea wall led me to the railway and the Caledonian Canal, which was as far as I was going to walk so I turned around and after crossing the nature reserve I passed through the Merkinch council estate following the railway line back into Inverness. This was a nice, little walk in warm sunshine, but it could only begin to compensate for what had been a bitterly disappointing day. I bought a cheap pair of walking poles to replace the ones I’d lost and continued to make plans for the rest of the week. I couldn’t help but be frustrated by what had happened on this day, but I was determined to make the most of what had happened and not let the rest of the week be marred by my regrets.