[Trip Index] [Munro Index] [Home] 21st May 2005   Fionn Bheinn Map This was squeezed in between driving from Gairloch, where we'd spent the first week of our holiday, to Invergarry where we were staying for the second week. Trisha dumped me at Achnasheen and went off to Lochcarron where she actually happened to meet Martin and Joy Moran at their Hand-Weaving shop. Martin's the chap who wrote the very impressive account of his exertions in 'The Munros in Winter'. Anyway I set off from Achnasheen at 10.00 and followed the Allt Achadh na Sine steeply and directly up the grassy/heathery hillside to the watershed - a sort of peat-hag plain. Over on the right was the dip between Creagan nan Laogh and Fionn Bheinn: low, rounded, grassy mounds both. The route up from Achnasheen Fionn Bheinn from the watershed I followed the path by the stream for a while but it seemed to give up and was taking me the long way round anyway so I just marched directly for the mid point between the hills where a stream was running down the hillside. On reaching the stream I ascended the easy gradient and after a while angled away to the left to head directly for the summit. It started raining now - it had been patchy cloud with sunny breaks before - so I stopped to put my waterproofs on. Two blokes overtook me then and as I followed them on a party of about 5 also caught up and overtook me. I continued on up the hill which, because of the easy gradient seems to go on and on before you get anywhere. Eventually I came to the edge of the Northern corrie, Toll Mor, where a path led me the rest of the way to the summit (11.55). At the summit of Fionn Bheinn One of the party of 5 took my photo with Fisherfield in the background. Actually the Toll Mor corrie was pretty good but unfortunately the impression you get when approaching the hill from the other direction, as I did, is just of a grassy mole-hill. It was raining and cold at the top so I just turned round and returned the way I'd come. I got back to the start point at 1.00 making it just three hours for the round trip - must be my quickest ever Munro. (The record didn't stand for very long - see Meall Chuaich, 5th July 2005) The descent back to Achnasheen I stopped in the Achnasheen café by the railway station and had something to eat while waiting for Trisha - a decent vegetable soup and cheese and tomato panini, followed by a rather bland raspberry ice-cream from Orkney.