| Route description: An Teallach, Dundonnell (there-and-back route) Munros included on this walk: Bidein a'Ghlas Thuill and Sgurr Fiona Time taken: 6 hours Distance: 16km Ascent: 1558m |
From the minute I started taking hill walking a wee bit more seriously there was one image that I instantly became desperate to recreate one day. I had stumbled across it whilst browsing through various Munro books I had acquired. It's a view that many of you, as I now have, will have seen proudly displayed on the various social media platforms thousands of times. However, back then the jagged peaks of these majestic mountains away in the far NW of Scotland may as well have been on the surface of the moon given the distance and alienness of the terrain in comparison to the grassy humps of the Ochils I had been trampling over. However, as my fitness, experience and confidence grew I never forgot about 'that view' and my desire to find myself pictured in it, in a somewhat futile attempt at preserving the feelings of joy of finally witnessing it with my own eyes. I can only ever recall one other famous (that should probably read infamous) image that I fantasised as much about being in. This comprised of me replacing a certain member of Motley Crue on a boat trip with a very famous Baywatch 'actress' ! ehh...perhaps the less said about though that the better !!
About 10 years later I finally made it. What a sight.....and a much more pleasant image than one of me and our Pamela !
The trip would entail a 350 mile round trip and probably around 7 hours of driving, so in order to take it on I had to be pretty confident that the weather would be on my side. Luckily the stars aligned and the forecast was suggesting that the recent high pressure was going to hang around long enough to coincide with the few days off I had at the end of the week. Given the length of journey I decided to drive up the night before, kip in the motor and head up early the next morning. The start point for the walk is a decent sized layby next to the Dundonnell Mountain Rescue building just off the A382. I was pretty confident of getting a decent nights sleep, even though I had the dog with me, given the sparsely populated and tranquil location.....oh, how wrong could I be !!
Sleeping in the car wasn't a new experience for me but this was the first time I'd attempted it with my current motor. Turns out it was not as roomy as my previous model, that coupled with having the dog with me meant I was crammed in the back tighter than a tin of particularly well packed sardines. Thanks to the dog farting most of the night it smelt just as bad as well ! We'd arrived at the layby just before 23:00 so I after a quick pee (for the dog and me) we were soon getting the head down in the back of the motor.
Sleeping in the car wasn't a new experience for me but this was the first time I'd attempted it with my current motor. Turns out it was not as roomy as my previous model, that coupled with having the dog with me meant I was crammed in the back tighter than a tin of particularly well packed sardines. Thanks to the dog farting most of the night it smelt just as bad as well ! We'd arrived at the layby just before 23:00 so I after a quick pee (for the dog and me) we were soon getting the head down in the back of the motor.
Dundonnell's hottest 'dogging' spot ??
The first few hours were fine, bar the dog's snoring it was pretty quiet and I managed to drop off fairly easily. However, come the very small hours of the morning I was awoken by the sound of another vehicle's engine running close by. After a few minutes I heard the engine noise increase as the other car very slowly drove past us and away down the road. I didn't give it much of a thought as I quickly went back to sleep, only to be awakened about half an hour later by the car being suddenly, and briefly illuminated. That certainly got my attention !
My first thought was that it was torchlight and maybe a local/the Police investigating an 'abandoned' car. I kept the head down, pretending to be asleep in the hope they would satisfy themselves and just move along. Just as I was starting to think we were alone again the car was again 'lit up' this time twice in quick succession. Darkness returned, and then again, another 2 bursts of light. The realisation that it was a car 'flashing me' in a very remote layby at half 2 in the morning was more than a tad disconcerting. What was more disconcerting was that the dog was oblivious and continued to snore her head off throughout the whole episode ! Miniature Schnauzers are renowned for being protective and extremely vocal, clearly 'ma dug' was broken !! I decided that being over 6 foot tall and reasonably well built the best course of action was to.....well....hide ! I hunkered down in the sleeping bag and pretended there was no-one home. A few minutes (felt like hours) passed and then I heard the engine start behind me. The car slowly pulled up quite close behind us and flashed the lights again. I continued to 'play dead', not half as well as the dog was managing, but hopefully well enough. I then became aware that that the car was moving again and as the light from it's headlamps eerily passed through the car I realised it was now parallel with us. It sat alongside for a bit before revving the engine angrily and speeding off down the road, never to be seen or heard from again. Well that was that. 3 o clock in the friggin' morning and I'm now wide awake, despite my best efforts I didn't manage another wink of sleep before dragging myself out the car to get the boots on just after 6am.
There was a lot more cloud hanging around the high tops than I'd have liked but there was also large patches of blue sky giving me confidence that the forecast would eventually prove to be spot on. I headed down the main road and was soon on the hillside. The initial path was pretty boggy and fairly steep, meaning I had soon gained a fair bit of height and the views back down over Little Loch Broom and the Summer Isles were fantastic.
My first thought was that it was torchlight and maybe a local/the Police investigating an 'abandoned' car. I kept the head down, pretending to be asleep in the hope they would satisfy themselves and just move along. Just as I was starting to think we were alone again the car was again 'lit up' this time twice in quick succession. Darkness returned, and then again, another 2 bursts of light. The realisation that it was a car 'flashing me' in a very remote layby at half 2 in the morning was more than a tad disconcerting. What was more disconcerting was that the dog was oblivious and continued to snore her head off throughout the whole episode ! Miniature Schnauzers are renowned for being protective and extremely vocal, clearly 'ma dug' was broken !! I decided that being over 6 foot tall and reasonably well built the best course of action was to.....well....hide ! I hunkered down in the sleeping bag and pretended there was no-one home. A few minutes (felt like hours) passed and then I heard the engine start behind me. The car slowly pulled up quite close behind us and flashed the lights again. I continued to 'play dead', not half as well as the dog was managing, but hopefully well enough. I then became aware that that the car was moving again and as the light from it's headlamps eerily passed through the car I realised it was now parallel with us. It sat alongside for a bit before revving the engine angrily and speeding off down the road, never to be seen or heard from again. Well that was that. 3 o clock in the friggin' morning and I'm now wide awake, despite my best efforts I didn't manage another wink of sleep before dragging myself out the car to get the boots on just after 6am.
There was a lot more cloud hanging around the high tops than I'd have liked but there was also large patches of blue sky giving me confidence that the forecast would eventually prove to be spot on. I headed down the main road and was soon on the hillside. The initial path was pretty boggy and fairly steep, meaning I had soon gained a fair bit of height and the views back down over Little Loch Broom and the Summer Isles were fantastic.
The view back down over the Donnell hotel
Little Loch Broom
As I gained height the route up became much more defined and the grassy slopes were much drier underfoot. Marching on I was making good progress, all the while though I kept thinking back to my night 'visitor' and their intentions. I wondered if perhaps that particular layby was known to be frequented by other 'thrill seekers' other than Munroists ? Come to think of it, I may have inadvertently 'advertised' my location and em...'availability' before I'd even left the house !! Prior to leaving I'd posted my proposed adventure on Social Media. Where I was about to drive to, the sleeping in the car and announcing for the first time that I was also going to "try the dog in" !!!
The grassy slopes on the climb towards Sron a Choire
Beyond Sron a Choire the it was a steep climb up the scree and bouldery ridge towards the days first summit of Bidein a'Ghlas Thuill. The dog was finding it tough going with some of the 'steps' on the route up being a bit too large for her wee legs. As always, she managed to find her own way up. It didn't seem long before we were approaching the summit trig point. Usually when I reached that point of a walk I would get a sudden burst of energy to take me over the final last steps to the summit as quickly as I could. Today though, I strangely slowed down. Looking back I think subconsciously I was holding back, somehow worried that the reality might not match the huge expectations I had for the view just a few metres ahead. Seems ridiculous now, the view with your own eyes always exceeds experiencing it from the pages of a book/website. With that in mind you should really skip looking through the rest of this drivel and just get yourself up there !!
At a smidgen over 1060m, Bidein a'Ghlas Thuill is the taller of An Teallach's two Munros and the views in all directions were worth every single metre of exertion in getting up there, hell they were even worth a potential layby violation ! However, there really only is 'one' view. SW is the vista of Sgurr Fiona and the Corrag Buidhe pinnacles which tower majestically above the dark waters of Coire Toll an Lochain far below. You can pick your own superlative but I promise you none of them will do the view justice.
Bidein a'Ghlas Thuill trig point, 1062m
"Behind you, ye daft mutt"
"There you go ". The jaw-dropping sight of Sgurr Fiona on the right and the pinnacles stretching out to the left.
Although there was another Munro to climb, I was in no hurry to leave this spot. We hadn't met another soul on the way up and had the glorious summit all to ourselves. There was only a slight breeze, if a little gusty at times, and it was reasonably warm. As I sat there marvelling at the views I became aware of a low 'grumbling' sound which was gradually getting louder. The initial thoughts of 'what the hell is that ?' were soon dispelled as a rescue helicopter appeared from the far end of the pinnacles. For any 80's kids among you, it was like a scene from 'Airwolf' as it almost appeared as if it had flown out from some secret cave inside of the mountain. As it hovered far below me it gave a superb sense of the scale and height of the mountains providing the stunning backdrop. At times it appeared as merely a white speck as it patrolled back and forth along the length of the mountain. Embarrassingly, standing, staring down at a 'tiny chopper' is not a new experience for me and is repeated many times a day, and come to think of it, much more often during the night than it used to be. God I'm getting old !
I never did find out if it had been a genuine search or just a training exercise. As amazing as it was to witness, I sincerely hope it was the latter.
I never did find out if it had been a genuine search or just a training exercise. As amazing as it was to witness, I sincerely hope it was the latter.
The chopper eventually headed off. Taking it's lead, so did we towards the second Munro of Sgurr Fiona. Heading off SW down the ridge, care needs to be taken as the underfoot terrain was quite loose and interspersed with some big boulders to be negotiated. I was glad that what wind there was was blowing me to the right as there was quite a drop on the left of the ridge. Put it this way, if you fell you wouldn't bounce many times before you hit the bottom ! As you approach the bealach it is difficult not to be intimidated by the climb that lies ahead of you. Fortunately I have been in that position many a time before and now realise that it is very rarely ever as bad as it looks from a distance. Having said that I still declined the option of heading up the 'scrambly' route that followed the edge of the corrie and instead took the path that traversed the Northern face of the hill before cutting back up the rocky NW ridge to the summit.
The imposing figure of Sgurr Fiona as you head down to the bealach.
It didn't seem to take much time, or effort, at all before we found ourselves on the second summit. The dog had to be helped up the last few metres of very mild scrambing to reach the small summit cairn but other than that once again the reality had proved to be much easier than the initial expectations. I felt quite odd taking in the views, on any other outing I'd have been waxing lyrical about the astounding panoramas that surrounded me, unfortunately for poor Fiona they could not recreate that WOW moment of topping out on the first summit. Don't get me wrong the views are still mightily impressive, not least its view West to arguably Scotland's finest couple of Corbetts, Beinn Dearg Mor and Bheag. Looking South along the Corrag Buidhe is equally impressive. Especially the infamous 'Lord Berkeley's Seat', a fearsome-looking pinnacle which I believe actually overhangs the Coire Toll an Lochain. Word is that the bold Lord Berkeley is supposed to have sat atop with his legs dangling over the edge whilst he smoked his beloved pipe in an astounding display of disregard for his own health and safety........SMOKING KILLS man !!
Sgurr Fiona summit cairn, 1060m
West to Beinn Dearg Mor over Loch na Sealga
South to the Corrag Buidhe pinnacles and Lord Berkeley's seat
The plan for the day had always been to turn back here and retrace our outward route back to the car. The more adventurous, or indeed those without a dog who is as good at scrambling as I am at.....err....packing a 'lunch box', can of course choose to tackle the pinnacled ridge ahead making a circular route. A slightly less scary option is to take the bypass path around the right side of the ridge, although I hear if it is also best avoided if you are not the best with a fair bit of exposure. I was content in the knowledge that I would just have to return another day to take on the pinnacles, assuming of course that I were to 'grow a pair' in the intervening years !
The up and down route took me just over 6 hours, so more time driving than on the hill but I don't begrudge one second of it. The Walkhighlands website begins its description of the route as 'This fabled mountain is perhaps the most impressive in Britain' , the only issue I take with that is the use of 'perhaps' ! If there is one finer then I for one cannot wait to discover it.
The Hills to the North/NE on the walk out.
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