Glenfinnan Bunkhouse Weekend Meet

An optimistic reading of the weather forecast suggested that Storm Otto would moderate in the west by lunchtime Friday and the next bout of wind was not forecast until Sunday evening. So with fingers crossed, a group of eleven club members headed for the Glenfinnan Bunkhouse.

The forecast came good and on Friday afternoon Arthur, Robin, Karolina and Steve headed up Glen Beasdale past the old sheilings and lazy beds for Sithean Mor, one of the newly promoted Grahams.

Steve writes:

Despite my mild irritation of no longer being a Grahamist due to the recent revisions by Alan Dawson, my feeling on reaching the very fine summit of Sithean Mor was that it was a worthy addition to the list, and also serves to demonstrate the value and indeed the ruggedness of the lesser hills.  It will no doubt be an oft visited hill from now on!

Saturday saw a flurry of activity.  Steve headed off Marilyn bagging to Meall a’Bhainne. Peter and Marion followed in the footsteps of yesterday’s party and summited Sithean Mor. The attraction of the area’s Grahams continued for Arthur, Karolina, Marcus, Richard and Robin, who visited Glas-charn. Neil went Munro bagging round the Corryhully horseshoe - and was the only one of us who had real snow conditions.  The Ardgour étape participants - Michael and Ewen - were probably quite glad about that.

Upon taking a bearing and heading off downwards towards the ridge leading to Sgurr Thuilm, the cloud cover closed in and that was that for the rest of the day. The undulating ridge leading to the next summit, seemed to keep on going!! Every top I came to, I could see the line of Iron fence posts disappearing back to down the other side and so I persevered on, through the mist, periodically checking my compass, in case the estate march boundary posts were leading off in a wild goose chase! Finally, the summit of Sgurr Thuilm was reached, although I felt a little disappointed at not being able to fully appreciate the grand Coire face which I could sense, looming in the mist below the summit, but still chuffed to be on the top.

A steady and enjoyable descent lead me down out of the cloud and back down to the bike. As I passed a poor soul whom I had met on the hill earlier, doing the traverse of the two hills in an anticlockwise direction, walking out the road, it confirmed that taking the bike in that morning had been such a good decision!

Steve writes:

On Saturday I limited my endeavours to the equally fine Meall a’Bhainne and its lesser neighbour Meall na h-Airigh from Callop.  The latter commands the finest of views over Glenfinnan though sadly the cloud had descended by the time I reached the snow covered principal summit.  Despite being only 438m and 568m respectively, these hills are trackless, rough and craggy.   I was also rewarded by catching site of a Golden Eagle perched on a boulder as I descended.

Neil writes:

A clear morning with blue skies and a spattering of fresh snow around 500-600m, held the promise of a fine winter Saturday on the hill, and for at least half of the day, that's certainly what it delivered.  It was a fine ascent up on to Sgurr nan Riabhachan, with beautiful views in every direction, but some tricky conditions underfoot on the pull up the steep shoulder of the first top. Once on top of Sgurr nan Riabhachan, the traverse of the ridge over on to the summit of Sgurr nan Coireachan was fantastic. Upon reaching the summit, I was greeted with splendid views out the Western Isles. I was informed by the keeper (a jolly and welcoming soul) earlier that morning, that if I aligned the trig point on the summit with the Isle of Eigg, it would lead out to views of Mingulay. I did exactly this and I guess I saw Mingulay!!

Ewen writes:

Michael and Ewen decided to head out to Ardgour on the e-bikes, rather than go on the hill.  Stunning views of Ben Nevis from the quiet side of Loch Eil, and a very pleasant ride along past Corpach before turning south towards Ardgour village and encountering the cold wind blowing down the Great Glen.  A chilly ride before the wind took them to the Corran Narrows, where they were delighted to find a pop-up cafe at the ferry terminal serving coffee and hot rolls to warm them up.  A chat with the locals revealed the existence of a micro-brewery in the village, and even better, it was open for business!  A sample of the beer and a chat with the very friendly brewer dulled the pain of cycling back into the wind on the way home.  A round trip of about 40 miles, and highly recommended.

Sunday dawned wet and dreich, with low cloud which most people took as the cue to head home. Except for Peter and Marion and Marcus.

Peter writes:

On Sunday we walked up Glen Dubh Lighe to visit the rebuilt bothy - we stayed in the old one several times before it burnt down.  Marcus overtook us and we met at the bothy.  It hardly rained at all, and the walk was interesting for being close to the river most of the way, with a surprising amount of water and some very dramatic rapids, and probably also a useful loosening up after Saturday's exertions.

Marcus writes:

As I had to wait for a train and bus on Monday I pedalled off into the mizzle on Sunday to spend the night in the resurrected Glean Dubh Lighe bothy. It had been gutted by fire in 2011, but is now lovely and cosy. Marion and Peter also visited the bothy and we had lunch together in its welcome shelter. After their departure I explored the environs, but to be honest it was much preferable to stay in the bothy and get a fire going. I was later joined by a fellow train traveller, also waiting for the same train the next day! Monday was even wetter, the gorge below the bothy now disgorging phenomenal volumes. The train and bus were on time and the journey effortless, even with the bike.

Taking part: Steve, Robin, Michael, Ewen, Arthur, Marion, Peter, Neil, Karolina, Marcus and Richard

Words: Arthur, Steve, Neil, Ewen, Peter and Marcus

Photos: Arthur, Steve, Neil, Michael, Karolina and Marcus