Start: Altnafeidh parking at start of Glencoe.Or just a little south before that on the right if space is available.
Ascent:586m/just under 2,000 feet Time taken: 4 hours (+40 mins break at top.)
Distance: 7km return
Rating: 5 star walk
The first time Chris and I climbed this beautiful mountain at the head of Glencoe, it was under snow.
Quite soft snow so we managed fine with our boots without having to put spikes or crampons on, albeit we had them with us.Plus ice axes.
On route, we met a few photographers who’d camped overnight part way up the hill and had been shooting since dawn.It’s that kind of mountain – the views to Buachaille Etive Mor and down the glen, offer perhaps the most beautiful view of Glencoe and the surrounding hills and moorland.There is just something about the angle and being not quite so high as the other peaks but still high enough.On that snowy February, Ben Nevis had been very clear and plastered heavily with snow.
Yet Beinn a Chrulaiste is an unremarkable mountain in itself which can’t compare with its dramatic – looking neighbours.
I was determined to revisit it when the terrain wasn’t under snow, just to enjoy the different light and colours. Plus it’s not too long an ascent and repays the effort ten -fold. Never one to pass up on an ‘easier’ day with a nice high start (one of the joys of a Glencoe hill walk!)when a fine Friday in April came around, the Rocky Hill – as it translates from the Gaelic – it was.
Got parked near Altnafeidh at 9.45am, having stopped for a bacon roll (for Chris) and fresh fruit granola for me at the Duck Bay Marina beside Loch Lomond. It has such a lovely terrace and outlook over the loch, I can rarely resist a stop even though it’s only 45 mins from home. Once parked, we walked along the West Highland Way for a few minutes (in the direction of the Kingshouse hotel) through a gate, then picked up a quite obvious rough track which meandered up the hillside beside a fence.Even from where we parked the car, the views were terrific.
April is often a dry month in Scotland so the often boggy path was pleasant to walk on…
After walking uphill for 20 mins or so, the ground flattened slightly and I knew we now had to make our way up a steeper bit to our right.Neither of us could quite remember the best route but it’s a pretty open hillside and there are myriad options and half paths so that wasn’t a huge problem.(For future reference, we should have gone up the steep little section opposite an old wooden pole near the fence.) This short bit was iced over on our February visit and I’d veered off to the left to try to reduce the angle and find softer snow. Chris just went straight up!
It didn’t matter very much today and it was all surprisingly dry too.The views were improving all the time.
The views were opening up to the north also though there was more cloud in the Mamores and the Ben Nevis area.
Buachaille Etive Mor ( translating as The Great Herdsman of Etive ) reared directly opposite and was looking more splendid with every step.
Towards Sgurr Eilde Mor and Binnein Beag, moody grey skies dominated.Zoom to Bidean nam Bian, the highest peak in Glencoe.
Oh it was great to be up here again!
There wasn’t another soul about this time – I suppose the bigger stuff was the greater draw but there was nowhere else I would rather have been than this Glencoe Corbett(a hill over 2,500ft but under 3,000.) The path – or the one we now followed, as I said, there seemed to be a few – flattened out a bit before another mild steepening.
At the top of this, I looked back at the glen itself and it just looked sublime.The light was improving all the time, bringing out the moorland colours, still dun- coloured after winter. It would be into June before the grasses greened up.
I found it difficult to take my eyes off the Great Herdsman, directly opposite and reminding me very much of a smaller version of the north face of Ben Nevis in some ways.It felt close enough to touch.
A very large herd of wild goats made an appearance, quite wary of us and keeping their eye on the two interlopers who’d suddenly invaded their territory. Quite a few young ones too, bolder, a bit like cheeky wee children, hopping about the boulders, having a great time under the watchful eyes of the adults.
A final shallow hillock and 1hr 30 after starting out, we were striding across to the summit cairn where a fresh breeze cooled us down after the huff and puff of the ascent.Cold enough for me to put my duvet jacket on (Chris as ever not feeling the cold at all) and plenty time now to just admire the scene.
The long Blackwater Reservoir stretched out into the distance to the north…
The empty expanse of Rannoch Moor with Schiehallion’s pyramid visible on the far left of the photo.
Away to the south we could make out the distinctive shapes of Ben More and Stob Binnein near Loch Lomond.
No view of Ben Nevis today, the UK’s highest mountain was keeping its cloud.
I very reluctantly descend mountains , wanting to hold onto the views for as long as possible. But after 40 minutes or so,the northerly wind was cooling us down a lot and Chris finally resorted to putting a fleece on over his shirt.I always know it’s really chilly when he does that! Once dropping down out of the wind, we soon built up a bit of heat on the descent, simply because we were on the move again.
Quite a few folk were now coming up (aways nice to be going down with the hard work over! ) and everyone, as they always seem to be on a hill, was very cheery – a lot of remarks exchanged about what a cracking day it was.Pretty much followed the same path down and spotted the pole by the fence for our next visit when the plan is to take the tent for an overnight wild camp.I really would love to watch sunset and sunrise from that mountain.We might not be alone however…it’s a popular one for photographers.
Very soon, we were on the final section above the road where the traffic had increased substantially and the noise was a bit of an assault on the senses.What a terrific mountain, barely glanced at by most people most of the time , but giving a lovely half day out. Overall, with a good stop at the top , we were about 4 hours all in.Felt we deserved a bar lunch at the Kingshouse Hotel after that effort so Venison Stew with Pesto Mash for me and Venison Burger for Chris -and very good it all was too.
Beinn a Chrulaiste overlooks the hotel and from the panoramic windows and it does look unremarkable amidst the grandeur. But looks are deceptive and it really hits the spot for fantastic vistas of this most famous of glens.We’ll be back!
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