As last year we journeyed across the Grampian hills from Braemar in Royal Deeside to Dalwhinnie, this year (1999) we will start at Dalwinnie on Friday 18th June at 10:00hrs then continue through to Fort William, using the old thieves road.
This year we will cover the 43 miles (69km) at a more leisurely pace and expect to take some 25 hours.
|
Leg |
Km |
Hrs |
|
Dalwhinnie station to Ben Alder lodge - forestry track |
8.5 |
2.42 |
|
Lodge to Boathouse shed - rough track |
3.3 |
1.36 |
|
Shed to Culra Bothy - path via Loch Pattacle beach |
4.5 |
1.62 |
|
Bothy to Corrour shooting lodge - path |
13.25 |
4.74 |
|
Lodge to YH - track on south side of Loch Ossian |
5.3 |
1.77 |
|
YH to Corrour Halt station - track |
1.5 |
0.50 |
|
Station to Creaguaineach lodge - track alongside railway |
6.25 |
2.08 |
|
Lodge to Luibeilt - path |
5 |
1.75 |
|
Luibeilt to Steall ruin - path |
8 |
2.79 |
|
Steall to Polldubh - path then road |
5 |
1.67 |
|
Polldubh to |
8.5 |
4.25 |
|
Total |
69.16 |
24.95 |
We will travel on part of the Thieves' Road. This was used by the Lochaber men heading east to plunder the
fertile lands of Moray. This is a long
distance route across the breadth of
This route contains the most remote country in the Central
Highlands. From Dalwhinnie at the north end of
Loch Erich the hill tracks are followed westwards for some 69km and not a road
is crossed until you finally reach
Starting at Dalwhinnie the route along Loch Ericht is a quite and peaceful 8km Land-Rover track to Ben Alder Lodge and the Boathouse. When it formed part of the Thieves' Road it saw many a skirmish whith the most famous being a running battle between the MacPhersons and the Camerons who were beaten back along the lochside.
This is an area to savour, where you can disappear for a week or two and barely discover its remote mountains, vast plateaux, sharp ridges and rock faces, its beautiful rivers and hidden lochans.
Past the great plateau summits of the magnificent Ben Alder and Geal Charn. A Land-Rover track goes from Loch Pattack to Culra Lodge, although it is undulating and rather bumpy. Beyond the bothy the path continues up the narrowing and increasing steep-sided glen. Although the glen of Uisge Labhair is the shortest route, it is very boggy.
At the north-west end of Loch Ossian lies Corrour Lodge. The lodge was built in the early twentieth centuary. Taking the right (West) track avoids the grounds
of the Lodge and its cottages, through blooming rhododendrons and golden
sycamores in autumn. On to the Corrour
Station but we will take the useful short cut following down the glen of
the Allt a' Chamabhreac and
the rough track that decends to Loch Treig. The track undulates around the shoreline to meet the
wide Abhainn Rath at the
south-west corner of the
A bridge leads to the still-used Creaguaineach Lodge. Here we see the Stob
Coire Esain and Stob a' Choire Mhheadhoin, and to the west the start of the Grey Corries,
together with the Mamore, Aonach
and
We will take the most magnificent of the two routes
to
The rough path does not improve until it leaves the river and decends, squeezed by the stunning Mamores and the
spectacular Grey Corries. On
towards Steall and the big 110m waterfall in the shadow of
Then you enter the Nevis Gorge, an astounding gorge through which the river
races over enormous boulders. The path requires care until you get to the
Fantastic - well that is the plan, now here is David's account of what really happened - next year we will be even better prepared for the wet and the midge - going to join us?
Glencoe Mountains
Coire Gabhail, or the Hidden Valley
MacDonalds of Glencoe
Clan
MacDonald History
History of Clan Cameron
Clan MacPherson
Start of the road to
the Isles
The West Highland Line
West Highland Way
Rannoch
Area
Author: Colin Auld
Remember - leave nothing but footprints and take nothing but photographs.
