Stob a’ Choire Odhair, Knoydart

Tue 11 Aug 2015
After waiting nearly two weeks for a weather window (i.e. for the gales and torrential rain to stop) in Scotland to do this Munro Top, I finally got a decent forecast of two clear days on the Tuesday and Wednesday of the week. As I was wanting to car-camp near Arnisdale on the Glenelg Peninsula before catching the boat across to Barrisdale on the Knoydart Peninsula, it needed to be warm overnight so I couldn’t leave it much later this year. I had to go for it, I decided, and rang work to book an extension to my already-long holiday.

I’d had to miss this top out when doing Ladhar Bheinn from Inverie due to a gale but didn’t mind having to come in from the other side of Knoydart as I wanted to see Barrisdale and the mountain’s famed Coire Dorrchaill. To briefly fast-forward to the start of my actual walk, I headed along the stalker’s path across Barrisdale Bay and rounded the corner of Creag Bheithe where the full glory of the corrie suddenly burst into view… I recommend you have a good look and turn back here!

Loony Ben (Luinne Bheinn)

Tue 1 Oct 2013

Day 2 of my second Knoydart Munroing attempt and I was to attempt Luinne Bheinn (which sounds like, and is often called ‘Loony Ben’). It was again very windy – more so than the day before when I’d done Ladhar Bheinn. I was worried about the wind as the summit ridge looked very narrow and has crags down both sides but both the ridge orientation and the wind were south-east so I hoped all would be okay.

Ladhar Bheinn

Mon 30 Sep 2013

I’d returned to my nemesis of the month before – Knoydart… Last time, instead of doing the three Munros there in my two-day stay, the weather was so dire I only ended up battling up one and then giving up. As I’d hated my time on Knoydart I really didn’t want to go back but asked Richard if he wanted to accompany me to cheer things up a bit. He said he was busy… I asked him what he was doing and was met with the reply;

“I’ll think of something”

A hilarious answer but very illustrative of the fact that he really meant it when he said he’d never set foot on the remote and isolated peninsula again!

Knoydart’s Misty Meall Buidhe

Sun 1 September 2013

After leaving Skye on the Saturday after my successful completion of the Cuillin Munros, we took the Seabridge Ferry across to the Knoydart peninsula as I had the three Munros to do there. We’d only managed to get accommodation for three nights so I only had two walking days available. My plan was to combine Meall Buidhe with Luinne Bheinn (or Loony Ben as it is fondly called) one day and do Ladhar Bheinn on the other. Those were my plans… however, they didn’t coincide with those of the weather!

Munroing in the Rough Bounds of Knoydart

June 2009

The last set of Munros Richard and I needed to do in the Fort William area was the 3 Munros in the Rough Bounds of Knoydart at the end of Loch Arkaig; Sgurr nan Coireachan, the Garbh Ciochs (Mhor and Bheag) and Sgurr na Ciche. I’d spent all week reading up on them, studying the maps and looking at the piccies in the guide books but was feeling a little nervous as I thought the walk would be quite demanding on my nerves. The weather forecast for our last day at Fort William was good so I decided it was the day to go for it!

We got up pretty early (for us) as we knew it was a really long drive down Loch Arkaig on a not very fast road and that there was limited parking at the roadend. Despite setting off from Fort William at 0800, it was 0915 by the time we reached the parking at the end of the loch at Strathan.

Streap & Sgurr Thuilm from Strathan

Bothying in the Rough Bounds of Knoydart (Carn Mor)

Mon 31 Oct – Wed 2 Nov 2011

After meeting up with my friend Janet for a weekend at Glencoe Youth Hostel for the Clachaig Beer Festival, Alan (my Welsh friend and bothy expert) and I drove down to Strathan where we planned to do some bothying in the wild country at the start of Knoydart…