Ardgour: Loch Eil.

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Section 10a Beinn Odhar Bheag Rois-Bheinn Sgurr na Ba Glaise An Stac Beinn Mhic Cedidh Sgurr Dhomhnuill Garbh Bheinn Sgurr Ghiubhsachain Beinn Resipol Carn na Nathrach Sgorr Craobh a'Chaorainn Stob Coire a'Chearcaill Druim Tarsuinn Beinn na h-Uamha Creach Bheinn Fuar Bheinn Section 17 Section 3 Section 4 Section 10b Return to Corbett index Return Home.

Stob Coire a'Chearchaill from Gleann Sron a Chreaggain. Stob Coire a'Chearcaill  771m 2525'  Coire a'Chearchaill, Circular corrie Map

Stob Coire a'Chearcaill 771m

 

The summit ridge from the south..

 

Fort William has its very own Corbett, and hardly anyone notices it. Filling the angle between Loch Eil and Loch Linnhe , while all eyes are looking at the Ben and Mamores is the non too imposing Stob Coire a' Chearcaill. Rarely visited, yet often seen by Great Glen travellers, this hill provides an unexpected and unusual hill walk from the centre of Fort William.

Throughout the day a passenger ferry links the town centre with Camusnagaul and the crofting township of Trislaig, in another world. Ardgour is often described as being like an island, here the contrast is at its most striking. In a short crossing you pass from bustling urban Fort Bill of the Backpacks , back to the Technicolor world of a 1960's Scots Magazine plate. You really do expect a split windscreen charabanc to splutter around the next corner of the single track road.

If you do not wish to brave the ferry, it's a long way round the head of Loch Eil, but you will possibly be spared the pleasant road walk to the foot of the hill, as the best ways up are a couple of miles from the pier.

Despite its obscurity and lack of obvious charms, I have always felt this to be one of the highlights of a Scottish hill career. Don't know why, but this hill is a big favourite of mine. Probably the existence of Gleann Sron a Chreagain has something to do with it. This glen with its falls and pines has to be the way up. Blast the secret is out. There is also the feeling of superiority , looking down on Fort Festersport from so near and having the town's nearest hill to myself.

Other ways up will appeal to the 'Marilyn' baggers as the Braigh Bhaich ridge ends in the sadly bemasted Meall an-t-Slamain, an extra tick. Then there is the tongue and groove work of the south face, from the Cona Glen, with hidden corners holding the old woods. A very pedestrian ascent can be made from Duisky on Loch Eil, save that one for a descent. In Climbing the Corbetts , Hamish Brown suggests the going up Sron a Chreagain and over the west top of Sgurr an Iubhair before a descent into the Cona Glen. I think he has got that one just right, sadly I dropped to Duisky.

Once the choppy crossing was achieved and the clock put back a decade or two, the road walk to Stronechreggan had to dealt with. This was charming, apart from the noise from across the loch. The raised beach here is parcelled into small fields with bungalows standing next to the old black houses that they replaced. Being early March and a coast road, Spring was arriving, with daffodils and greening up grassland. Soon the moorland track up the glen gave out and the going turned very rough. I soon realised that this glen was a bit special. The snowy crags of the upper corrie formed a fine backdrop to the old pine forests along the burn. Every now and then the burn would leap into a small gorge. This would be a rewarding summer walk, with good swimming holes, and shady picnic spots(for the midges?), but the pine woods are the big draw here.

The pines of Gleann Sron a'Chreagain.

I decided on a left hand exit from the glen and a ridge walk northwards to the summit. It was hard work, but the task was put into perspective by the Ben looming above, twice the height of this hill. My companions were over there too, sampling the delights of the newly opened Aonach Mor ski area, (this being in my pre skiing days). They had a good day too, with just one broken thumb to show for it. We should have gone climbing(Rock climbing probably, it was a warm day).An off beat climbing day could be had here as the summit crag is quite spectacular, with some interesting gullies. The short routes would probably not repay the effort in getting to them.

Ben Nevis from Gleann Sron a Chreagain.

 

 

By now the westward view was available, as H M Brown said, "unsullied by Munros", and very knobbly. I could not enjoy the view for long, as Gleann Sron a'Chreagain had taken its toll of the available time and I had a ferry to catch. I chose the quick way off to Duisky and hoped for a lift to Camusnagaul. The descent is easy, first over gravels and later the usual West Highland grasslands. It gives a good view over Fassfern to Meall a' Phubuill. Westward to Glen Finnan is a more exciting direction for the eyes however. Hitching the singletrack was easy and I had plenty of time left in which to listen to the robin song and to wait for the ferry, back to Inverness-shire, back to 1991.

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Ferry Info.

 

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