At the start of June there were several warm, dry settled days and the idea of a quick light weight foray into the eastern Knoydart hills of Sgurr a’ Choire-bheithe and Beinn an Aodainn (Ben Aden), both remote Corbetts, came to mind. After working the morning it was mid afternoon before I was driving along the shores of Loch Cuaich, as it is now spelled by the Ordnance Survey (formerly Quoich). The weather was warm with hazy sun and I wondered if the walk in along the loch would be uncomfortably hot. In the event, a fair breeze kept the temperature comfortable and there weren’t many midges or other biters about – perhaps in part due to the cold weather during May? There were a few cars and camper vans about on the wee road to Kinloch Hourn but it wasn’t exactly manic, despite it being a bank holiday and English half term week. Once I left the road, I didn’t see another walker from the moment I left to returning to it about 26 hours later, not even a distant figure.
The loch level was low and the north western end protruding towards Kinloch Hourn was largely dry. I trudged round and then over the promontory below Sron Lice na Fearna to get on to the north shore of the western arm of the loch, heading for Gleann Cosaidh and the ridge of Meall an Spardain at the east end of the long ridge of Druim Chosaidh that leads to the Corbett Sgurr a’ Choire-bheithe. There were grand views across the loch to Sgurr Mor and down towards the sublime peak of Sgurr na Ciche, a favourite of mine. I had no idea how the going would be along the loch but there is a small and persistent path above the eroded shoreline that really helped.
Interactive map of the route and photos; all the Munros and Corbetts of the Lochalsh and Knoydart areas, and the rest of my photos from this area.
Important note: Routes on this map are provided as an indication only in good faith. They are approximate and indicative and should not be relied on for navigation or as a guarantee that any specific person will be capable of completing them. Hill information adapted from The Database of British and Irish Hills (DoBIH) under CC BY 4.0
I stopped for a good drink and full top up of water at the Abhainn Chosaidh thinking that this would be the last readily available water until the next day, given that I planned to spend the evening traversing the Druim Chosaidh ridge and bivvy close to the summit of Sgurr a’ Choire-bheithe. Climbing up on to Meall an Spardain, outcrops of highly metamorphosed rock soon emerged and the terrain become increasingly rugged.
I’d like to think I’m no stranger to remote, rocky, rugged terrain, but by the time I reached the top of Sgurr Airigh na Beinne, four kilometres along the ridge, I was quite awe struck by the magnificent landscape and Druim Chosaidh ridge that was making me work hard for progress. The scene became ever more dramatic with the sun slowly descending beyond Sgurr a’ Choire-bheithe at the end of the ridge and the various twists, turns and undulations of the ridge emerging.
From Sgurr Airigh na Beinne there are a further four kilometres of incredibly rough terrain to reach the summit of Sgurr a’ Choire-bheithe. There are no big drops in elevation, but several smaller ones with reclimbs longer than the drops as height is gained. Towards Sgurr a’ Choire-bheithe there are two prominent subsidiary tops that look quite spectacular from a distance and offer the possibility of a little scrambling if taken direct. I’m afraid I didn’t on this occasion as time and energy were fading.
The timing of arrival on the summit of Sgurr a’ Choire-bheithe was good as the sun was sinking towards southern Skye and the Sound of Sleat with mighty Ladhar Bheinn, Barrisdale and Loch Hourn in the foreground. A cracking vista to compare with any and a privilege to witness.
Read on for the traverse of Beinn an Aodainn (Ben Aden) on day two.
There was a cool easterly breeze on the summit of Sgurr a’ Choire-bheithe so after taking in and shooting the lovely sunset, I ducked down a few metres on the west side and found a sheltered, flattish spot with an open vista over Barrisdale Bay and Barisdale (as the setllement seems to be spelled). A stunning spot for a bivvy. Fortunately it was a dry calm night as I’d forgotten my bivvy bag! I was up at about 04:30 to catch the sunrise for an hour or so then back off to sleep again for a bit.
After 8 am I set off down the west ridge with a plan to drop down to the Mam Unndalain pass, then descend towards the south east to the River Carnach and tackle the remote and enigmatic Corbett, Beinn an Aodainn (Ben Aden) by its north ridge. The southern slopes of Sgurr a’ Choire-bheithe above the Mam Unndalain are steep and craggy but judging by the contours on the OS 1:25,000 map it looked possible to negotiate a route through. Fortunately this was also true in reality, but the ground is steep and rough, and I felt a bit lucky to find a safe route without searching. The west north west ridge towards Barrisdale looks a pleasant and straight forward line and better than using the slopes above the Mam Unndalain if it suits your route.
A good path runs through the Mam Unndalain pass, from Barrisdale to the west, to the shores of Loch Cuaich (Quoich), and it provided a fine descent for a way. All too soon I dropped off down to the upper reaches of the River Carnach, to cross at its near 90 degree change in direction beneath the northern flank of Beinn an Aodainn, a beautiful and peaceful (if midgey) spot on this warm sunny day.
Above lay the hulking, slabby bulk of Beinn an Aodainn’s northern slopes. Taking it grassy slope, by rock slab, one by one, I soon made progress – though it was warm work. There is no real difficulty though some scrambling might be possible. I’ve looked at maps of this area and Beinn an Aodainn many times over the years and it was great to finally cover this ground and see it for real, having concentrated on the surrounding Munros in the past. Reaching the summit of Beinn an Aodainn felt like one of those moments that mean a bit more, is a bit more special, a little momentous in comparison to most others. This isn’t a roadside peak that you can nip up anytime in passing – it takes real effort to get to a place like this and it is not only a remote mountain – it is an especially rough and charismatic one in a fantastic location with wonderful views. If you make the effort to visit, I very much doubt you’ll be disappointed.
The descent to the east from the summit of Beinn an Aodainn is rough and complex. I headed for Bealach a’ Chairn Deirg by the east flank and on to Meall a’ Choire Dhuibh, but the east north east ridge looks to be an interesting route. Beware the OS 1:25k map in this area, there is a section east of the summit where contours are inexplicably missing giving the false impression of gentler gradients than will actually be encountered. The 1:50k does a better job here to my mind but is too small scale for the detail that should be on the 1:25k. Suffice to say, there is a relatively short section of steep ground to drop off the summit ridge towards Bealach a’ Chairn Deirg, before a gentler sloping section, then some steeper slabs just above the bealach. There are big drops off to the south of this area to be avoided.
Descent or ascent from Meall a’ Choire Dhuibh is a choice between the north east ridge or an easterly ridge that is approached by a stalkers path shown on the OS maps in Coire Dubh. I chose the easterly ridge which was rough and steep in places and needed care to find an easy route into Coire Dubh to the top of the path. From there it was easier going to the path in Coire nan Gall and north to the dams at the west end of Loch Cuaich.
A long but uneventful plod out led back to the road, the first section from the dams being along an old track, presumably used during the hydro construction work. This disappears into the loch near Gleann Cosaidh and from here there is just the small path along the shore of the loch back to near the road. The main and grim point of note about the walk out was the number of dead deer encountered by sight and or smell. Sadly, perhaps the cold spring weather in April and May 2021 was the final straw for a large number of these hardy hill dwellers?
See a single gallery of all Bivvy Above Barrisdale images.
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A Bivvy Above Barrisdale – Sgurr a’ Choire-bheithe and Beinn an Aodainn (Ben Aden)
A Single gallery of all Bivvy Above Barrisdale images
See & Read More About Lochalsh & Knoydart