Over The Hill

Google "Fraochaidh" and you are presented with a multitude of websites all offering the same 20km straight "out & back" route from Ballachulish and a handful of websites offering an "out & back" from Glen Duror. I failed to find one "circular" route on any website. If you are a regular visitor to this site, you may well know that Alan does not do "out & back", much to boring; so, here we were, setting off from the forestry car park just to the east of Duror village, and Alan "had a plan" - and I had my head torch, extra food and the kitchen sink, could be a long day!

We took the lower of the two tracks leaving the car park and set off along a good forest track heading into Glen Duror and the thick plantations of the Appin forest. Two kilometres later we left the main forest track and crossed the river via a narrow footbridge (which is marked on the 1:50,000 OS but, for some unknown reason, not on the 1:25,000 OS) and onto a very narrow path which steadily climbs up through the forest and over a small stream before you exit into an area of felled trees. Conveniently, our route was now generally south directly uphill through the felled trees towards the fenceline at the forest boundary and on into open hillside. As we reached the open hillside, the view opened up, and despite the low cloud base, we were presented with a westwards panorama of Loch Linnhe and the hills beyond.

Across the fenceline we maintained our southerly heading, aiming for an obvious high point directly ahead, and the two lochans from which we would start our approach to gain the broad ridge en route to the summit. On gaining the high point, around 485m, we found that the smaller, westerly lochan was reduced to a large peat mud patch, having been drained completely dry. However, the larger lochan presents quite a picture as it nestles below a small craggy outcrop on the eastern edge of the 485m top.

We departed the lochan and headed SSE ascending a hillside that consisted of a series of grassy "humps and bumps" over which it was just a matter of ascending, contouring as best so as not to loose height, and then ascending again to the next "hump". To the northeast of us across Glen Duror, the massif of Beinn a'Bheithir was shrouded in an ominously black mass of cloud, although, ahead of us we could see our objective, the distant summit of Fraochaidh, clear of cloud, at least for the moment.

As you approach the 700m height, above the impressive Coire na Cupuill, the ground becomes a little rockier, and as you pass between two craggy outcrops an old fenceline appears, and the iron posts can be seen stretching directly uphill towards the summit, which, from this point, is just a fairly gently climb. So, summit gained, phase one completed - no problems there, as expected, after all this was the Glen Duror "out & back" route, only we were not planning on going back, at least not the way we had arrived.

Phase two would now involve us using a section of the Ballachulish route, as we departed the summit and descended over the short flat plateau to the northeast edge and the 860m top above the narrow ridge and the steep descent to the the Bealach Dearg, a height loss of some 220m. As if on cue for this awkward descent, the wind picked up once again, and by the time we had reached the bealach, we also had some fairly heavy rain to contend with, which lasted for our traverse of the ridgeline as we first climbed out of the bealach to the minor top at 671m, descended slightly, and then made our final short, but fairly steep ascent to the 718m top.

An easy descent north northeast down the heather and rock clad slopes took us directly to the small lochan at the 600m height, and as we arrived, thankfully so did the calm, as the wind and rain abated almost as quickly as it had started, Phase two successfully completed - and now into the unknown - phase three. Could we find a route through the forest to gain one of the many forest tracks within the plantation?

The "plan" was simple enough - descend from the lochan and aim to arrive at the forest boundary at the point where one of the many stream entered the forest and look for a way down alongside the stream. Both the 1:50,000 and 1:25,000 OS maps show a Unitary boundary along the course of a stream, which entered the forest, and 500m into the forest intersected a good forest track, that's the spot we selected as our potential entry point, and so, off we set down the grassy slopes towards the forest boundary.

Its was interesting, the forest was thick with very low tree branches, so we stuck as best we could to what bank there was above the stream, and if necessary moved a few metres inside the forest at points where the bank was not passable. We even came across a high deer fence which I reckon was there long before the forest, for it was completely enclosed in the trees - although we were extremely lucky and walked right into a gap in the fencing without which it may have been quite an obstacle to get over. Anyway, twenty-five minutes or so of ducking and weaving our way through the trees we emerged out of the forest and onto a good wide forest track; not the easiest of routes, but a route through the forest nevertheless.

All that remained now was for an easy and leisurely stroll back along this forest "highway" to the car park - job done, our "circular" route was established. I think we all felt quite pleased with this one.

Great day as usual - Thanks Alan

(Memo to Self - "Must purchase machete before Alan's next walk")