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Glen Strathfarrar. |
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Section
12 879 Sgumain
Coinntich Section
11 |
 View up Glen Strathfarrar and Strathmore from the summit of Sgurr na Diollaid.
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This small hill is quite a notable landmark, with its distinctive summit tors. There could be said to be a touch of The Cobbler about it, but there are no great crags, and only patchy scrambles to be found here. Even so the final few feet to the summits can provide a fair bit of excitement.
Sgurr na Diollaid, is the Gaelic Saddle, note that the Glen Sheil Saddle is not a translation of An Diollaid, but had another name. I expect the gap between the summit nobbles gave it its name.
Being set to the east of most of the big Affric-Strathfarrar hills, and well placed to look up Glen Strathfarrar towards Strathmore and Loch Monar this is yet another fine viewpoint. It would provide a fine warm up to those contemplating the increasingly popular round of Loch Mullardoch, the size of the undertaking being only too obvious from here. To the north the view is blocked by the Sgurr a'Choire Ghlas group, ample compensation is provided however, by the fine view down into Glen Strathfarrar and its lochs and pine woods.
Vehicle access is restricted in Glen Strathfarrar, and only a limited number of cars are allowed up every day from the locked gate at Struy. The opening times vary but at present(1998) the glen is open during the summer from 0900 - 1700 except Tuesdays. This arrangement could change / or have changed and I will post up to date information here as soon as possible. In winter arrangements have to be made individually. If planning to stay overnight in the glen, be discrete and you will have to walk or cycle in. It's a great place for a long trip. (see Bac an Eich and An Sidhean). Because of this the hills to the south of the glen tend to be done from Glen Cannich, and only the Munro collectors set on the four hills between Strathfarrar and Orrin tend to worry about getting through the gate. For this reason, and the fact that the heather is not nearly so vicious on the southern slopes most folk go up from the south.
The view up Glen Cannich from the lower slopes of Sgurr na Diollaid. The big hills are Toll Creageach, Tom a'Choinnich, Carn Eige and Beinn Fionnlaidh.
Needing a short day after an Easter ski tour in the Cairngorms and before a Cannich based Corbett spree I chose to take the easy road up Sgurr na Diollaid from the south, parking in Glen Cannich. Although a poor third behind Affric and Strathfarrar , Glen Cannich is still a very fine glen. Sadly Loch Mullardoch is dammed by a more utilitarian structure than Monar, but below the dam the glen is beautifully forested. South of the dam itself there is a fine area of Caledonian pine wood below Toll Creagach. I picked a direct route up from the Muchrachd drive end. After a steep bracken covered start the going varied between bog and heather. There is little bulk to this hill and I was soon up amongst the summit tors, looking for a scramble. I was soon joined by a father and son team with a terrier who found the rock towers very much to his liking. Being a fine spring day the view was very good. No snow on Diollaid, but the big boys were well covered, especially the northern slopes. Directly below down very heathery slopes were the lochs and meadows of Strathfarrar. Directly below was Loch a Mhuillidh with its wooded island. This was a hiding place of Simon Fraser, Lord Lovat, on the run back in home territory after the '45. Eventually he was caught hiding on an island on Loch Monar , was paraded down to the Tower of London and became the victim of the last public beheading in April 1747. Around this loch was once a village, inhabited up to the 20th century, Depopulation during and after the Great War did for most habitations in these glens and no trace remains, save a few stones and traces of lazy beds. Further down the glen the larger Loch Beannacharan provides fine trout fishing. The lochs are set in a significant share of the remaining scots pine forest.
To pad out the day I headed east down to Loch Meall a Mhadaidh, meeting another father and son team. This was getting to be a busy hill. They were struggling under huge frame packs with pots and pans hanging off them and were hoping to do a full circuit of Glen Cannich. I wonder how they got on, I don't fancy pushing one of those things up Sgurr na Lapaich.
Loch Meall a Mhadhaidh, looking north towards Sgurr na Ruaidhe
There was nothing moving in the loch, and it was getting cold so I headed back through the heather and bog towards Glen Cannich, finishing with a steep descent through the forestry to the track east of Muchrachd, and easily across the river back to the road.
This is the Kessock Bridge hill. Sgurr na Lapaich may be much higher, but it's proximity to the Beauly Firth means that the isolated Beinn a'Bha'ach Ard catches the hill goer's eye when heading north. Like Ben Vrackie and Ben Ledi, it is often anxiously scanned, is there snow? Please let there be snow.
All alone on sheet 26 of the 1:50000 maps, and seemingly forgotten the shapely wee peak of Beinn a'Bha'ach Ard. really does catch the eye from the Black Isle and Inverness. The peak may be wee but the hill covers a vast expanse of heather between Strathglass and Glen Orrin. This is probably an area little visited for non sporting reasons, other than for the ascent of this hill, and I am sure very few climb Beinn a Bha'ach Ard from the north.
For reasons of distance over hard heather almost everybody goes up from Strathfarrar, and as the hill is at the lower end of the glen there are no problems with the gate. You only need walk through. Older maps show more paths than there are on the ground and the current 1:50000 shows a path from Loch na Beiste to the northeastern top , Sgurr a Phollan. This path although obviously once a wide and clear route, has now disappeared into the heather and only becomes obvious again once the hill steepens above 500m. It then gives fast going. Lower down, don't waste time trying to follow it, this moor is perfect for the growth of heather, and the path is long buried. Enjoy the calling of the grouse, persevere, and don't 'go back, go back'.
Below the grouse moors and especially up the glen of the Neaty Burn there are fine open woodlands of birch and pine. The small amount of road walking required to get to the west of the hill is enjoyable with fields on one side, and the river, a relatively accessible fishery forming fine scenery on the other.
After a week on hills as diverse as Sgurr a' Mhuillin , Beinn a'Bhuird and Mam Sodhail, I was looking for an easy day to finish off. Easter had passed and after a damp mild week a northerly blast had brought the frost back. Even at the gate house it was a pretty bleak scene and I was grateful for the opportunity to have an easy day. The approach to the attractive Loch na Beiste was easy through fields and a later a good path through the heather. After the lochan the going became laborious and I was glad to connect with the obvious zig-zags of the reborn path as the ground steepened. Up here the hill is still well vegetated, but the wind and cold temperatures keep the plantlife down and out of your boots. Beinn a Bha'ach Ard , the high byre, is renowned for its fertility and fine grazing.
Sadly there was no view from the first top, but while crossing the tundra to the summit the clouds begrudgingly lifted to reveal a scene unusual on a high Scottish hill. To the north and west all was as usual, hills and miles of b**&*r all, but to the east and south were fields farms and forests, living communities and the sea. This hill stands out from the Inverness area, now the Inverness area was standing out from the hill. Up here the going is easy, instead of the damp soft snow of Mam Sodhail on the previous day, the snow was iron hard, and where there was no snow the ground was finely vegetated tundra, with extensive snow patches, no doubt harbouring Ptarmigan. The rolling slopes to the north, although only leading to empty Glen Orrin looked very inviting for a ski tour.(More snow would be required to cover all that heather).
I was glad of my axe leaving the summit, although I was soon on grass and heather dropping steeply down to the Neaty burn. At about this time someone was having an epic on Beinn a'Choin (942m) in Glen Falloch. He was caught out by the sudden freeze and lacking crampons became cragfast when the soft snow changed character.
Once safely down to the burn and happy to be out of the biting wind on the tops, I was soon able to reach a track leading all the way to the glen through a knolly landscape of birch and pine woods. Down here spring was stirring a sharp, contrast to the bleak midwinter only a few hundred metres above. Here was a land of greenery and singing chaffinches, and occasionally in between snow showers, sunshine. Near the Strathfarrar road I passed the entrance to a powerstation , sited underground. Soon I was on the road walking back to the gate with an open view of the hill behind Culligran House.
If you fancy staying in Glen Strathfarrar , past the gate, self catering accommodation can be found at:
Mr Spencer-Nairn, F
Culligran Cottages
Stury, nr Beauly, Inverness-shire
IV4 7JX
01463 761285 or 761285
1 cottage, 4 chalets
