Four Munros from Dalwhinnie (by tent)

West of Loch Ericht, there is a group of six of the more remote Munros (mountains over 3000 feet/914 m) in the Scottish Highlands. The group is dominated by Ben Alder, which I had climbed in 2013, along with its companion Beinn Bheoil, starting from the train station at Corrour. Four more hills remained for me to climb in this group and this time, encouraged once again by a forecast of some stunning weather, I decided to take the train to Dalwhinnie and walk in from the north-east.

Costs. Return train fare £43.90. Rations (sandwiches, breakfast + chocolate bars) £5.80. Total cost of trip £56.

Books. The Munros: SMC Hillwalkers Guide, Vol. 1 (Scottish Mountaineering Trust, 3rd revised edition).

Maps. OS Landranger: Sheet 42, 1:50,000. (In actual fact, I printed an A4-sized OS map of my walk off the web.)

See also. Ben Alder from Corrour.

Day 1: Train to Dalwhinnie; walk to Culra Bothy; camp. I left work at 12.55 pm on Thursday lunchtime, took the Subway to Glasgow Queen Street station, and caught the 1.41 pm train to Dalwhinnie, arriving at 4 pm. I then walked along the shore of Loch Ericht, up the track towards Loch Pattack, and finally along the footpath towards the popular camping area around Culra Bothy, arriving 7 pm (so 3 h walking). I did this walk at a brisk pace as I wanted to see how long it would take me to do the reverse walk on the following day. Note that Culra Bothy is closed at present (asbestos, apparently) and likely to remain so for the foreseeable future; camping is the only option. I pitched my tent near the footbridge, ate my sandwiches, and went to bed at about 8 pm.

Day 2: Walk over Carn Dearg, Geal Charn, Aonach Beag and Beinn Eibhinn; walk out to Dalwhinnie. I stuck my head out of the tent at 4 am to witness a scene of extraordinary peacefulness: a crescent moon hung in the sky and deer were grazing quietly all around me. Leaving my tent and sleeping bag, I started walking at 4.30 am. I summited Carn Dearg at 6.15 am, Geal Charn at 8 am, Aonach Beag at 8.30 am, and Beinn Eibhinn at 9.15 am. I had not encountered another soul on the hills. The descent to the excellent path between Ben Alder Cottage and Culra was rather rough in its later stages but once on the main path I could make good progress again – uphill at first, over the bealach between Loch Ossian and Culra! I started to encounter other walkers. I reached my tent at 12.20 pm (so 7 h 50 min walking for the “round”) and packed everything into my rucksack. I started walking again at 12.40 pm towards Dalwhinnie, reaching the station at 3.35 pm (so 2 h 55 min for the walk out). I then caught the 3.49 pm train back to Glasgow, got the Subway out to my workplace, and drove home, arriving there about 7 pm.

Kit notes. I took my 1.5-kg, one-person tent, plus my best (“3-season”) sleeping bag and a lightweight foam mat. These I carried in or on my usual 35+8 litres “day-hike” rucksack – a little bit of a tight squeeze. I took a windproof softshell jacket and a fleece top (these two items formed my pillow at night) but no waterproof. Apart from my walking clothes, I had a T-shirt and sports shorts to sleep in. I took a large plastic dustbin liner with me and put my boots and rucksack in it at night as there was no space for these inside my very small tent. Apart from the sandwiches for Thursday evening, my only food was the breakfast and chocolate bars (2000 kcal). Please note that I could only travel this light because I was 100% sure that the weather would be warm and dry; there are only a few days each year when one can be this confident in the Scottish Highlands.

Wildlife seen. Red Deer, Ptarmigan, Four-spotted Chaser, Large Red Damselfly, Common Lizard, Common Frog.

Other useful links. ScotRail trains

Reflections. This trip achieved its objective: the conquest of the four Munros. The weather was glorious, which enhanced the already stunning scenery. The wild camping at Culra was an unusually pleasant experience and being able to leave the tent there while I did the “round” was a bonus – the material was even bone dry by time I got back and had to pack it away. I did the walk far too fast and got badly blistered feet on the long trek out along the unmetalled Loch Ericht road; I wanted to make the 3.49 pm train as the next southbound one was at 7.57 pm. In retrospect, I should have settled for this later train. Or I should cycled into and out from Culra, although this would have involved booking my bicycle on the train (and ScotRail have such limited space) or driving to Dalwhinnie (and I generally prefer not to drive on solo expeditions).

© 2015 The Untravelled World

Basics

place  Culra, Ben Alder Estate, Scotland

DATEs  11-12 June 2015

Train from  Glasgow Queen Street

Train to  Dalwhinnie