[Trip Index] [Munro Index] [Home] 28th July 2007   Sgurr a Mhaoraich Map A pretty uneventful couple of days at Loch Quoich - would probably disappear from my memory completely if I didn't jot something down about it straight away. Here goes… Yesterday I'd collected Andrew and we'd driven up to Spean Bridge where we lodged at Mrs C's B&B for a modest £20. As she was telling us about the breakfast times and so on she mentioned that she'd had three South African girls staying there the previous night. 'They were white South African,' she added, rather hesitantly. That evening we repaired to the Spean Bridge Hotel where we got macaroni & chips and a few beers. Saturday, the day of the climb, started out wet with a persistent light rain falling as we drove to Invergarry and then along to Loch Quoich (which is pronounced kewik according to Mrs C). On the way there we came upon a really striking rainbow lying unusually low, right in front of us, and glowing brightly like a a pulsating, golden-pink nuclear dump. Most bright and beautiful it was. Rainbow in Glen Garry When we got to the starting point there were another 3 cars parked there but we were to have no contact with their owners and just sat there in the Toyota waiting for the rain to stop - which rather obligingly it did 45 minutes later. Pretty much. So we booted up and set off at the crack of 11.20, following a fine, zigzag path up the hill's grassy slopes. This made for a nice, easy ascent and after cresting the main shoulder of the southern spur we just walked along the ridge for a short distance then climbed the slight incline to the top of the outlying peak, Sgurr Coire nan Eiricheallach. Cloud drifted past us at the same level from time to time, blotting out the views but it always cleared again quite quickly. Andrew on the zigzag path Looking east over Loch Quoich Near top of Sgurr Coire nan Eiricheallach The way forward now lay west along the main ridge, all fairly level, grass and stone, with some scrambly bits towards the end but nothing difficult. We reached the summit of Sgurr a Mhaoraich at 13.40. A very easy ascent. The ridge leading up to the top Andrew at the summit Rather than return the way we had come we decided to loop north over a further hill, An Bathaich, so we could descend along its fine eastern spur into the shadows below the South Shiel Ridge. Once down in the glen we would be able to get onto a private track beside the northern finger of Loch Quoich and return along it to the car. It didn't work out quite like that as cloud rolled in to hinder our progress to the intervening col and when we got there and saw the steep face of An Bathaich looming up before us we cravenly wimped out and, turning right, descended directly into the glen instead. It was easy enough although a touch boggy in parts and we passed a herd of 30+ red deer who were all happily munching their way through the herbiage. They cautiously edged up the mountainside as we approached but we passed them at a good distance and left them to it. The descent to the col Coming down the glen Further down we had to get across the river as best we could, there being no bridge available, and then squelch through some quite boggy terrain before gaining the private road. After that it was a simple walk back to the car (17.00). Apart from the deer the wildlife comprised a few frogs, some small blackish butterflies and a brown vole-like thing which disappeared under a rock before I could get a good look at it. And a few midges of course - not too bad though. . . . made for walking. That night we stayed in Invergarry at Marigold McLennan's B&B (£20). The bathroom had a low, slanting roof and the toilet was situated right in the corner so you had to stand with your head cricked to on one side whilst trying to hold up the seat (which of course wouldn't stay up) with one hand and using the other hand to direct traffic. A tad awkward. We had to go through the lounge to get in and out and as we left to sample the low drinking dens of Invergarry Marigold was sitting there watching TV with her granddaughter. The low drinking dens turned out to be the Invergarry Hotel where we got a tagliatelli for £8.95 before sampling some of the Isle of Skye brewery products they had on tap: Red Cuillin, the 'Garry' (a beer brewed specially for the hotel), and some fearsome stuff called 'the Beast' (7%). I kept to the first two but tried a sip of the Beast when Andrew had a pint. It was OK but not something you could swig an awful lot of - or remember if you did.