Mam Sodhail, Carn Eighe, Beinn Fhionnlaidh
Glen Affric
| Start Point: |
Car
park at the end of the public road |
| Grid Reference: |
OS
sheet 25 - starting point Grid ref 201233 |
| Time: |
Allow
8 - 11 hours to complete the walk |
| View Location: |
Click
for multiMap |
| Buy OS Map: |
Buy
Map at Mapsworldwide |
Introduction
The
photos just don't do Glen Affric justice - it really is something
special. To quote an Italian I met by the shore of Loch Beinn
a' Mheadhoin "This is the most beautiful place in the world",
and I don't think he's far off the mark.
As
for the hillwalking, Glen Affric provided 3 hills that made
up a serious expedition.... don't expect much change out of
9 hours. Mam Sodhail and Carn Eighe are the highest hills in
the glen and the scenery enroute is awesome, from the waterfalls
to the huge corries. This offers a real taste of the wilderness.
Beinn Fhionnlaidh needs to be included in this walk, as otherwise
it leaves a mammoth return journey to pick off this peak. We
took on this walk at the end of April and enjoyed some rapid
descents courtesy of lingering spring snow.....superb. |
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| For
the budding munro bagger Glen Affric offers plenty of scope for
return visits to complete the peaks ..... this is no bad thing.
Good luck to those of you who take on Tom a'Chionich and Toll
Creagach (as suggested in Cameron McNeish's "The Munros"), you
must have had an extra bowl of cereal. |
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Route
-
-
The
starting point is at the car park at the end of the public
road (Click on the Scalable
multiMap).
-
From
the carpark follow the path west to Affric Lodge. continue
west following the path alongside Loch Affric.
- The
path eventually heads NW up Coire Leachavie, which was holding
a lot of snow at the time of our trip.
- Once
well up the corrie pick a good line north on to the ridge,
and once on the ridge head west to the summit of Mam Sodhail
(1181m, GR 120253). On top of this Munro the huge summit cairn
was the first triangulation point used by the OS in Scotland
in the 1840's.
- From
Mam Sodhail it is a relatively easy stroll north to the summit
of the second munro Carn Eighe (1183m, GR 123262).
- From
the summit of Carn Eighe it's over 2km north to the summit
of the final munro Beinn Fhionnlaidh (1005m, GR 115282).
- Unfortunately
to make your way back you need to retrace your steps and this
means recovering all the height that you have just lost to
return to the summit of Mam Sodhail.
- From
the summit of Mam Sodhail there are 2 options. You can either
retrace your original steps back, or alternatively you can
follow the ridge, then drop down the heather slopes at the
end on to the original path. We headed about half way along
the ridge then indulged ourselves in a spot of surfing down
the remaining snow fields.
- Believe
me the walk back to the car feels 10 times as long as it originally
did...... enough to drain any one of their sense of humour.
One
massive days walking in what are genuinely remote
hills, with fantastic scenery. Views of Torridon and
Skye reminded me of why I drag my body up and down
hills. It has to be done.
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