Introduction

It had been a long break from hillwalking of any sort, and it seemed like the longer I was away from the hills the less inclined I was to getting me and my gear back into them. The idea of roaming manfully up a steep slope still had great appeal, but that was more in my dreams than in my boots.

These 2 hills, just to the west of Creag Meagaidh, looked like easy pickings to get me back into the swing of things again. Or so I thought... I now am a firm believer that there is no such thing as an easy munro. I concede that there are some munros that are easier than others, but every hill puts out a physical challenge of some degree.

Anyway, the crux is that Beinn Teallach and Beinn a' Chaorain look much easier on paper than in reality. It's quite a long, steady plod up the grassy slopes to Beinn a' Chaorain but once this summit is attained that's most of the hard work done. We picked our way up throught the boggy area around Coire Clachaig, which with the wonders of hindsight was a bit of a school boy error, as the shoulder should provide easier walking, and maybe even a path.

Route

• Start up the forestry road from Roughburn and it will wind in a generally NW direction. When the road forks at GR372822 follow the road to the east. (You'll come back from Beinn Teallach along the other fork at the end of the day.)
  
  
• Follow the forestry road for a further 800m until you come to the obvious firebreak that provides access to the southerly slopes of Beinn a' Chaorain. The land owner has put in a welcome amount of effort into stiles to navigate the fences in the area.
  
  
• Once out of the woods head N following the Allt Clachaig until you can make your way to the shoulder of Beinn a' Chaorrain; it's then just a steady plod NE to the summit (GR386851, 1049m). The top is considered to be the middle of the 3 tops and therefore the munro, however the OS map indicates that the most southerly top is the highest.

• From the summit of Beinn a' Chaorain head NNW down the heathery slopes to the col at GR373870.
  
  
• From the col it's a much more gentle slope that leads 300 metres SW up to the summit of the second munro Beinn Teallach (GR362859, 915m).
  
  
• From the summit follow the gentle ridge southwards before dropping down to the W alongside the Allt a' Chaorainn to pick up the path that leads to the landrover track and then on to the original forestry track that you enjoyed all those hours earlier.