Great Mountain Days in Scotland. Dan Bailey

      

      GREAT MOUNTAIN DAYS IN SCOTLAND

      50 Classic Hillwalking Challenges

      by

      Dan Bailey

      2 POLICE SQUARE, MILNTHORPE, CUMBRIA LA7 7PY

      www.cicerone.co.uk

      About the Author

      A Londoner by birth – if not inclination – Dan Bailey escaped the Metropolitan gravity field, travelling extensively, and orbiting through Yorkshire, the Lakes and Snowdonia. He has come to rest in Edinburgh, happily settled with a good woman. Half-heartedly bodging all manner of jobs from outdoor retail to industrial abseiling, Dan finally chose to write about travel and mountains, subjects that are close to his heart. It’s a meagre living, but the fun outweighs the poverty. His work has featured in Adventure Travel, The Sunday Times, Trail, High, The List, The Sunday Herald and Scotland on Sunday, among others, and he is the author of Scotland’s Mountain Ridges and The Ridges of England, Wales and Ireland, both published by Cicerone.

      Dan has climbed and walked in North and South America, North Africa, Asia and throughout Europe and the UK. He’s seen the rest, but still insists that Scotland is the best.

      © Dan Bailey 2012

      First edition 2012, reprinted 2015 (with updates)

      ISBN: 978 1 85284 612 1

      A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

      All photographs are by the author unless otherwise stated.

       This product includes mapping data from the Ordnance Survey® © Crown copyright and database right 2015. Cartography by Lovell Johns Ltd www.lovelljohns.com

      Thanks and Acknowledgements

      As ever the team at Cicerone deserve praise for all their hard work behind the scenes, without which there’d be no book. Thanks to Brasher, Harvey Maps, Ordnance Survey, Pacerpoles, POD, Rab, Suunto and Terra Nova for their support. And cheers to Wilderness Scotland for the loan of two sea kayaks. Thanks, too, to everyone I’ve shared great mountain days with during the long research period for this book, including Patrick Cadell, Jan Coggins, Steven Hanton, Alan Hudson, Ross Kinghorn, Fiona Lowrie, Lorraine McCall, Steve Perry, Tom Rimmington, Clare Wilkie, Joe Williams and others. And, of course, much love to Pegs and Daisy for their endless patience, and for making me always appreciate coming home.

      Warning

      Mountain walking can be a dangerous activity carrying a risk of personal injury or death. It should be undertaken only by those with a full understanding of the risks and with the training and experience to evaluate them. While every care and effort has been taken in the preparation of this guide, the user should be aware that conditions can be highly variable and can change quickly, materially affecting the seriousness of a mountain walk. Therefore, except for any liability which cannot be excluded by law, neither Cicerone nor the author accept liability for damage of any nature (including damage to property, personal injury or death) arising directly or indirectly from the information in this book.

      To call out the Mountain Rescue, ring 999 or the international emergency number 112 – this will connect you via any available network. Once connected to the emergency operator, ask for the police.

      Updates to this Guide

      While every effort is made by our authors to ensure the accuracy of guidebooks as they go to print, changes can occur during the lifetime of an edition. Any updates that we know of for this guide will be on the Cicerone website (www.cicerone.co.uk/612/updates), so please check before planning your trip. We also advise that you check information about such things as transport, accommodation and shops locally. Even rights of way can be altered over time. We are always grateful for information about any discrepancies between a guidebook and the facts on the ground, sent by email to [email protected] or by post to Cicerone, 2 Police Square, Milnthorpe LA7 7PY, United Kingdom.

      Front cover: An Sgurr from Sean Bhraigh’s summit (Walk 6)

      Back cover: Stob Coire Easain from Sgurr Choinnich Mor (Walk 26)

      CONTENTS

       Overview map

       Preface

       Introduction

       Getting around

       Camps, bivvies, bothies and howffs

       Maps and guidebooks

       Scrambles

       Seasonal variations

       Hazards

       Access – the legal situation

       The hill environment

       Using this guide

       Northwest Highlands

       1 Ben Hope and Ben Loyal

       2 Ben Klibreck

       3 Foinaven

       4 Ben More Assynt, Conival and Breabag

       5 Suilven and Canisp

       6 Seana Bhraigh and Càrn Bàn

       7 The Beinn Dearg four

       8 Traverse of the Fannaichs

       9 An Teallach and the Beinn Deargs

       10 Fisherfield Six

       11 Beinn Eighe

       12 Liathach and Beinn Alligin

       13 Coulin Forest

       14 Circuit of Loch Monar

       15 Loch Mullardoch hills