Scotland 7th TO 11th October 2024

On Monday the 7th of October Dolly and Dave M made a leisurely drive north to establish their first base camp at Glen Nevis Hostel. Tuesday was a pre-dawn start with overnight rain expected to clear shortly after sunrise at 7:30 and a brisk north easterly wind due to pick up as the day progressed. Two Munros, Sgurr Thuilm and Sgurr nan Coireachan were the aim, walking in from the Glenfinnan car park past the famous Harry Potter tourist trap viaduct and Corryhully bothy.

The rain cleared as expected although cloud remained on the top of the higher peaks. Autumn colours were noticeably advanced, as was the north easterly wind. It was stag culling season and all of our routes this week had been checked and cleared for estate activity. As we ascended our first Munro we could hear stags all around us, establishing their status.

The first summit of Sgurr Thuilm was reached in good time but remained shrouded in cloud. Navigation was relatively straight-forward, following a line of fence posts. A brief rest and on towards the next summit via the connecting ridge to Sgurr nan Coireachan. The wind was from behind for this section, helping push us up and over the four minor summits enroute to the second Munro. The cloud base was above most of the ridge but stubbornly refused to rise above the highest tops.

The descent had added interest due to the increasing and buffeting wind. The wind was now from our left as we made our way down the ridge to regain the main path just north of Corryhully bothy.

On our return to the Glenfinnan car park we were met by the car park attendant. In the dark and the rain in the morning we had mistakenly parked in the unlit and very basic 'community car park'. No problem, we paid the parking fee rather than move the car. However, we had unknowingly parked in the motorhome section of the car park and despite only two other vehicles being in the same section, we had allegedly deprived the car park of much needed business. A menacing attendant would not be satisfied until we had paid an additional fee. I recommend never to use this car park. The visitor centre car park (National Trust for Scotland) immediately next door on the eastern side has reciprocal arrangements with the National Trust and I don't doubt their attitude to customers would be more welcoming.

Our second night in Glen Nevis Hostel gave us chance to recover from a demanding route and the rather sad conclusion of the day at the car park. The weather forecast for the next day was for showers and strong wind. Perfectly acceptable for our drive across to Pitlochry, taking in the Munros at Beinn Ghlas and Ben Lawers on the way.

This was a shorter day on the hill with approximately eight miles to cover from the very convenient car park at an altitude above 400m. The wind was wild but eased after lunchtime. Our route took us directly into wind on the ascent but were sheltered by the ridge until arriving on top of Beinn Ghlas. Cloud was on both summits and most of the ridge in between but again the navigation was not difficult. Our descent was to the west side of the ridge and mostly sheltered from the wind.

The drive to Pitlochry Hostel did not take long which gave us a bit of time to take a look around town when we arrived. The hostel was relatively quiet which was a welcome contrast to Glen Nevis.

The walk to finish our week was long, about eighteen miles, however, the vast majority of the route was on well made estate tracks. Good weather too helped make this a very enjoyable day out. We planned a circular route to Beinn Dearg heading northwest from the car park at the Old Bridge of Tilt via Allt Scheicheachan and back south again to the eastern side and Allt Slanaidh.

Our route back to the car was very pleasant in the afternoon sun. Towards the end of the walk we eased down into Glen Tilt where we passed through colourful autumnal woodland with carpets of fallen leaves. All very pleasant. The walk took just over seven and a half hours. Quite a pace but we barely noticed the miles passing by.

We remained in Pitlochry for one more night to allow for a rest in case of bad weather. The extra night also allowed us to celebrate our successful week with a visit to the Indian restaurant which also gave me a welcome break from our shared vegetarian diet. The next morning, being right beside the A9, our drive home was off to a very good start, beating Friday traffic and then home by early afternoon.

Thanks again Dolly for a great week away in Scotland. You've not many more Munros to go but there's still plenty there to keep you busy once they are all in the bag.

Cheers!

Dave M