Hills: Beinn Gaire and Croit Bheinn
Date: Friday 3rd July 2015
Company: Myself and Kevin
Distance: 21km, Ascent: 1260m
Time: 7Hrs 45Mins
I left home at 04:50 on Friday morning to meet-up with Kevin, at Ardmorlich in Moidart, for an ascent of Beinn Gaire and Croit Bheinn. A short distance beyond Roshven, I stopped to take a photo of the Isle of Eigg. It was already a beautiful morning with good weather set to continue throughout the day.
Eigg from Roshven:
On reaching Ardmorlich, we both drove to the road end, beyond Brunery Wood, where we parked up.
Once booted, we walked a short distance back along the road to pick up the start of the Glen Moidart track leading to Glenforslan.
Looking towards Beinn Gaire from Glen Moidart:
Glen Moidart is a lovely glen. Loch nan lochan had numerous wildfowl and a small covering of water lilies.
Loch nan lochan and Glenmoidart House:
As we walked along the excellent Glen Moidart track, we could see the South-West ridge of Beinn Gaire ahead.
Heading along Glen Moidart towards the South-West ridge of Beinn Gaire:
Circa 0.5km before Glenforslan, we left the main track and took the subsidiary track leading up to a small dam. We walked across the narrow dam taking care not to fall in.
Crossing the Glenforslan dam:
On the other side of the dam we climbed over a barbed-wire fence to gain access to the Sron Dubh an Eilich ridge.
Looking back to Glen Moidart from Sron Dubh an Eilich:
During the ascent, and subsequent descent, we found seven dead sheep within a
few hundred metres of each other. Unusual to find so many within such a small area. Ignoring
all the sheep corpses, the view back towards Glen Moidart was really nice.
Looking back to Glen Moidart from Sron Dubh an Eilich:
Looking towards Cruach nan Caorach:
Before long we passed the 470m top from which we continued on in the general direction of Beinn Gaire.
Beinn Gaire:
We reached the summit of Beinn Gaire approximately 2Hrs 10Mins after setting off.
At the summit of Beinn Gaire:
From the summit of Beinn Gaire, Croit Bheinn looked a long way off.
Looking towards Croit Bheinn from Beinn Gaire:
The traverse from Beinn Gaire to Croit Bheinn was straight-forward; mostly gentle grass slopes.
Heading for Croit Bheinn:
As we progressed towards Croit Bheinn, Kevin spotted a red deer just ahead.
It was standing staring at us. It remained there long enough to take a few photos.
A Red Deer hind:
On eventually reaching the col between Beinn Gaire and Croit Bheinn, we stopped for lunch.
Croit Bheinn:
During the ascent I stopped briefly to photograph a small colourful butterfly.
Small Heath Butterfly:
The ascent of Croit Bheinn could be undertaken on rock or grass. I ascended via lots of rock and later on made my way back down via grass.
Ascending the rocky summit of Croit Bheinn:
Looking down towards Loch Shiel from Croit Bheinn:
We spent a fair bit of time at the summit soaking in the views and taking photos. There is a small pool just 10m from the summit full of large tadpoles.
Looking across to Drium Fiaclach from the summit of Croit Bheinn:
Beinn Mhic Cedidh, Beinn Odhar Mhor and Beinn Odhar Bheag:
Loch Shiel:
We now had to decide how to return to the car. The easiest option would have been to descend into Glen Gluitanen, however, I had read tales on the internet of this being a
bit of a bogfest. Instead, we opted to return over the top of Beinn Gaire. This had the advantage of being able to keep a lookout for Kevin's hat which had been dropped on the way in.
Looking back to Beinn Gaire from the summit of Croit Bheinn:
Ben Nevis (zoom):
Heading back to Beinn Gaire:
A Four-spotted Chaser:
The return to Beinn Gaire was fairly hard work given the heat. It was 26C down in Glen Moidart.
Back at the summit of Beinn Gaire:
Rum (zoom) from the summit of Beinn Gaire:
During the descent, we found Kevin's hat so it was well-worth the effort of returning the same way and avoiding the wet Glen Gluitanen.
Descent back to Glen Moidart:
These Fionas are well-worth the effort. Croit Bheinn feels fairly remote
and is a great viewpoint for numerous surrounding Corbetts.