Participants - Neil and Ben
Where - Cruach Doir'an Raoigh, 292m/958', Sub-2k Marilyn, Map 40 NM 735826
Spring had finally arrived and it was time to head to hills further from home. The area west of Fort William offered almost unlimited choice for new Marilyns so I booked a few nights at Lochailort. It was a bit cloudy when I drove up the road but the visibility was excellent. Cruach Doir'an Raoigh is a small, rocky, hill situated at the north end of Ardnish which is bounded by Lochs Ailort and Nan Uamh. This is Bonny Prince Charlie country, he landed around here on his ill fated adventure that ended at Culloden a year later and he left Scotland for the last time from Loch nan Uamh on 20 September 1746.
I parked in the large lay-by at Polnish at the start of the path to Peanmeanach where all that remains of a settlement of some 80 souls is a single house has been restored by the MBA for use as a bothy.....
I got a good view of the hill fro very near the start.....
after a few hundred yards, we reached the railway line which was crossed by a bridge that had seen better days.....
we left the path very soon after crossing the railway and took to the hillside. The going was not too bad and the rocky sections were easily by-passed. This is looking up to the ridge from a wee lochan about half way up (Ben had a dip).....
The only problem was that the combination of the heat and the heavy cloud cover was making it very humid so although it was a small hill, it was quite an effort to get up! However, I was able to take a rest after a bit and admire the view of Rum that was gradually appearing.....
Then it was another wee steep bit and the cairn came into view.....
The Corbetts of the Rois-bheinn group dominated the view on the east side of the hill- the steep and rocky An Stac on the left, the top of Sgurr na Ba Glaise just peeping out behind it and the twin topped Rois-bheinn itself on the right. The latter is the only one of the three that I have climbed.....
The view to the north was down to the starting point. The hill behind is the Marilyn, Sidhean Mor, which is on my "to do" list sometime.....
The forecast for the following day was wall to wall sunshine.
1 comment:
Nice area and photographs Neil. Know what you mean about the humidity. We wait all year for decent summer weather and always seem to forget about the biting hordes of flying horrors, the sweaty heat and the sudden, intense downpours. Ah, summer in Scotland. Maybe that's why I change to the touring bike for July and August.
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