Loch Lochy Hills Wild Camp; and Ben Tee

Loch Lochy Hills Wild Camp

The Loch Lochy hills are easily reached using the 919 bus alighting at Laggan Locks, thus presenting the option of combining the club walk on the Sunday with a few nights out camping. In particular I wished to explore the Loch á Choire Ghlais before it disappears for good under the upper reservoir of the Corie Glas pumped storage scheme with its 92m high, 700m wide dam.

I arrived Saturday afternoon and pitched my tent by Lochan Diota. The plan was to nip down to join the other members of the club for the two Loch Lochy munros on the Sunday. However that evening I discovered there was no-one to join so I re-planned.

Instead on Sunday morning I moved the tent to Loch á Choire Ghlais. This may today be pathless terrain, but it is soon to become the main permanent access route to the dam. From here the obvious thing to do was to climb Sron a’ Choire Ghairbh as a horseshoe route. I began by traversing up the north side of the valley to tackle the east ridge of Meall a’ Choire Ghlais. Not to be recommended unless you enjoy hanging off steep heather and scrambling up slimy brittle rock. The final section was just too steep really but I was committed and with relief the gradient eased for the final exposed arrete. From here it was obvious that the northern ridge above Bealach Easain would have been the preferable and more sane option!

Once on the top of Meall a’ Choire Ghlais it was a pleasant grassy stroll through the mist to the munro summit of Sron a’ Choire Ghairbh where I met the only other people for the next few days. Continuing the horseshoe I avoided any further steep ground by descending north after Sean Mheall and traversing the valley side back to my tent.

The evening was full of the sounds of the Choire, rutting stags, croaking ptarmigan, and a mysterious shriek that might perhaps have been a wildcat as they do frequent the valley.

On Monday I began a walk around Sron a’ Choire Ghairbh via Bealach Easain descending into Glengarry Forest. “Scottish Hill Tracks” records this as possibly an old corpse route but I wouldn’t want to struggle up this steep boggy pass with a coffin! Once in the forest I joined the old drove road to Mile Dorcha. The actual track is now engulfed under the mature plantation but an alternative soggy route is marked by old lichen covered ScotWays marker posts winding through the fire breaks.

My route to a proposed camp at the ruin at Fedden (as suggested by Steve) encountered new deer fences, but all thankfully with convenient gates. The deer have been excluded from the wide open moorland of blanket bog which is being allowed to recover. There are also some new plantings of downy birch sapplings on the valley sides, which should transform this side of Sron a’Choire Ghairbh for the better, just as the other side is being destroyed.

Tuesday I walked out over the Bhealach Cam and encountered the first solid path for three days! The second Loch Lochy munro of Meall na Teanga looked like a tedious steep slog into the clag so I passed on by, heading down to catch my bus back to Inverness at Laggan Loch. Unfortunately the Eagle pub on a barge was shut.

Taking part, words and photos: Marcus