Buchaille Etive Beag (Small Herdsman of Etive) - Glencoe
Stob Coire Raineach
Stob Dubh
Map
I had left Ware at 5.00 pm the previous day and driven north until I got level with Moffat
(around 11.00 pm) then stopped in a layby and bedded down in the car. It wasn't too
uncomfortable - I'd bought a self-inflating mattress thingy which was pretty good and
had taken the rear seat out so I had a flat platform big enough to lie down on.
Even so it didn't tempt one to linger long in bed so I rose with the lark at 5.00 and
shoved on with the satisfying result that I was able to put boot on sod by the remarkably
early hour of 8.50.
It was dry but overcast with thin cloud swirling about the slopes and I wasn't going to
see much in the way of views that day.
The start of the path from the A82
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The path wended its way along the Lairig Eilde for a while, quickly making my trousers wet
with the dew from the long grass. I stopped and put my overtrousers on, then about a kilometre
along the path I found the expected turn-off to the left - a muddy trail leading up towards
the ridge. It was boggy, wet and steep and my heart was racing at over 156 beats per minute.
By the time I got to the col, at 10.00, I was soggy with sweat and cloud droplets; the weather
was holding up ok but not much to see because of the cloud.
Glencoe from the lower slopes of Buchaille Etive Beag
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At the col I turned left and made my way up the fairly steep, stony slope, some grass and
rocks, to the summit of Stob Coire Raineach, taking slightly longer than I expected. Got
there at 10.27. Not much to see because of the cloud but I walked along a bit to the next
cairn just to make sure I'd copped it.
Summit of Stob Coire Raineach
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This is looking down from the top to the col
- lost from sight in the cloud
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I then returned to the col and set off SW up the next slope, this one being slightly less
steep than Stob Coire Raineach. After an initial peak at 902 metres it levelled off to give
a good ridge walk about 20 ft wide in places with some fairly steep drops on either side.
Eventually I came to the last peak, Stob Dubh, which reared up at the end of the ridge, but
not by too much. No problems with the short ascent and I reached the top at 12.00. Once
again I walked on a bit to the next cairn, just because…
The way forward to Stob Dubh
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Summit of Stob Dubh
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I took a photo and had a very quick bite to eat but as there were lots of midges gathered
up there at the top I didn't stay long. Still no views anyway. After I set off back I soon
met the first people I'd seen all day. A lad in his 20s and a bloke about my age, probably
his dad. Then back at the col I met a Scot on his own and a couple sitting eating their
sandwiches. My right foot was hurting with a sort of comression pain - as if the bone had
no padding on it - which I attributed to the otherwise excellent Meindl boots being slightly too narrow for my fat English feet. Difficult
getting the perfect pair of boots, eh!
The return along the Buchaille Etive Beag ridge
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The cairn by the north side of the A82
marking the start of the route
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I carried on down, descending the way I'd come, and reached the car at 1.45 pm. All complete
in under 5 hours - pretty good going, I thought.
That night I stayed in a vegetarian B&B in Oinich - £20. For my evening meal I drove into
Fort William and tried the Everest Tandoori restaurant where I got a vegetable curry, pilau
rice, garlic nan and pint of lager for £15 including tip. It was OK but not much there.
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