The wild bunch
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THE precipitous side of Garbh Choireachain draws the eye on the drive north out of Ullapool and into the wild lands of Coigach.
It was last on our list of peaks on this magnificent day in a summer of rare sunshine. We’d cover seven summits in all and they looked an inviting bunch on the long drive round the single track road to Achiltibuie, passing under Cul Beag and Stac Pollaidh on the way.
Finally John and I exited the car, parked in a layby just off the high point in the road as it dips down to Culnacraig.
A welcome breeze kept the midges off and cooled us down on the climb up to our first target, Cairn Conmheall. A path wriggles its way up beside a burn, and, keeping a steady pace, it wasn’t long before we were on the top, gazing out west to the Summer Isles, set in a blue sea.
We joined a solitary walker who revealed he was staying at the nearby youth hostel. He had two broken fingers bandaged up, sustained mountain biking, so was unable to use either his bike or the open canoe he’d also brought with him. Still, this walk was no hardship on such a glorious day.
We commiserated and left him to the view as we headed off for our next top, Beinn nan Caorach, higher than the first at 649 metres. We dipped into the bealach beneath it and, after passing a lochan, began the fairly steep ascent, which gets easier as the summit nears. There’s a drop in height of only a metre to the next, unnamed top and we promised ourselves a break on the way with plenty more ups and downs to come.
A channel between two outcrops shielded us from the wind and we sat to eat, drink and enjoy the scenery.
I spotted a bird in the distance – clearly some size – flying in our direction, preceded by a couple of ravens. As the larger bird approached it banked over to reveal the markings under its wings, confirming what I’d hoped it was – a golden eagle. It wheeled away majestically on the air current across the face of Sgurr an Fhidhleir, our fourth target on this long round.
As we made for the unnamed top we were unsighted by a small herd of deer which passed ahead of us. Amusingly, all we could see were the tops of their antlers as they trotted along, rounding the slightly higher ground we were on.
Two finally spotted us as we got nearer to them and they were all off at a gallop.
Our view from the unnamed top was another stunner. Rocky Beinn an Eoin provided foreground detail, while further off were the unmistakeable shapes of Stac Pollaidh and Suilven. The escarpment from here round to Sgurr an Fhidhleir and beyond plunges straight down for 500 metres to a group of lochans, the biggest of them Lochan Tuath.
We faced another drop and reascent to "The Fiddler" and were glad to reach the summit at 703 metres. I went as close to the edge as I dared and stared down the near vertical drop to the glen.
It was difficult to know where to point the camera with such an incredible panorama, and this was turning out to be the best hill outing since my last Munro. It’s hard to believe, given their profile, that none of the neighbouring peaks here is a Munro.
Four down, three to go, we faced the hardest haul of the day to the outlier of our circuit, Speicin Coinnich.
It was slow going in blazing sunshine to the intervening eastern top of Ben Mor Coigach, with our legs beginning to tire. Speicin Coinnich is an interesting little summit but, along with our earlier unnamed top, can be bypassed for a shorter outing. We regained the Ben Mor Coigach ridge and took another break before tackling the last two hills on our list.
Ben Mor Coigach is the most popular target of this hill group and by now there were a few more people around enjoying the conditions. A minor bump with a small cairn is passed en route to the summit, the highest of our magnificent seven at 743 metres.
We seemed to have found a second wind, and needed it to tackle the exciting traverse of Garbh Choireachan.
Although its south face looks formidable, the ridge itself has a well-worn path along it. It’s not excessively narrow and any scrambling can be bypassed for those who want to avoid it. We followed the ridge line until it began to fall away south-west. From here, we descended north-west, zigzagging towards the moorland below. In the latter stages the ground becomes very loose so care is needed.
Before crossing the Allt nan Coisiche above a gorge, I couldn’t resist bathing my overheated feet in the cold, soothing water of the burn. Ahhh, bliss!
We contoured round the hillside to meet a path coming down the ridge from Sgurr an Fhidhleir, which leads to the road at Culnacraig. A short uphill walk landed us back at the car.
