Day Six.  May 24th Beinn Alligin.  Jewelled Hill

Beinn Alligin.  Sgurr Mhor (Jewelled Hill) 986m/3234', 160, Tom na Gruagaich (Hill of the Maiden) 922m/3511', 262

My bedroom.

There's just enough room to the right of that camping box to lay out the airbed and sleeping bag.  The sleeping bag is too much though in this blistering heat.  Even so, it is a portable bedroom that it's possible to park as near to the base of any mountain you want to climb as you can get.

And I was woken by the car being buffeted by very strong winds.  This made me concerned about what it would be like on the tops of today's two Munros, Tom na Gruagaich and Sgurr Mhor, the summits of Beinn Alligin, right above my choice of bedroom for the night.  It had the added advantage of being accessible straight from the road and the return heading right back so no walk/cycle to the start/finish required.  For some reason, this is always a bit of a priority for me.

Beinn Alligin across Loch Torridon

The SMC's Munro book tells you the ground is rough and boggy so I took gaiters but dumped them very quickly (hidden behind a marked stone to collect on my return) as the ground was extremely dry and the path must have recently been created or renovated as it was very good.  It is possible on a clear day to do this entire route without recourse to checking the map, it's so obvious.  The path leads up the Coire nan Laogh to the slopes of the route's first Munro, Tom na Gruagaich.  I'd taken the precaution of setting off early to avoid the worst of the heat but the wind that had buffeted me awake in the morning was non existent on the tops.  I'd assumed it was coming from the north and so the bulk of the mountain was sheltering me but it clearly had blown itself out.

First summit of the day.

Sgurr Mhor from Tommy.

Having set off so early, I had the summit to myself and took in the breathtaking views of the scenery from this fantastic position.  The only downside was that the heat had created a haze making the distant views flat and featureless smudges whereas in reality, they were wondrous vistas of complex and dramatic topography.  As weather in Scotland goes though, where 300 days of the year are of cloud/rain/sleet/snow, I could hardly complain!  The nearer views were uninterrupted so that range to the left of the summit is of a fabulous Corbett, a very shapely Baosbheinn, in a wonderful setting above a stunning loch with a beach at one end!

Having the mountain to myself, I plugged in my i-pod as there was no one else to speak to, and listened to an album of various friends/fans of Van Morrison doing versions of his songs.  It was fitting for this scenery, especially the Liam Neeson one.  Listening to this, I dropped down off the first peak and wandered up the ridge you see in the photo above to the second summit of the day, Sgurr Mhor.  It was a fairly easy walk which took about twenty minutes. 

There were no difficulties at all on this route making the heat and the water situation the only potential problems.  Again, having summit two entirely to myself and having no rush to get anywhere, I spent a long time up there absorbing the wonderful views and the changing light on the peak behind me, Tom na Gruagaich.

Second Munro of the day, and eighth of the week, Sgurr Mhor

The shapely Baosbheinn with a beach!

Looking back to the changing light on Tommy

The Horns of Alligin

One benefit of the warmth is that it was very comfortable on the summit.  There was no cold, wind or rain to escape and despite the distant views being hazy, it was a beautiful place to linger.  It became a real fight to tear myself away from the tops as it was a real pleasure to be amongst such stunning scenery.  If the work put in is commensurate with the satisfaction of the viewpoint, this is a real gem.  I've had harder climbs and tougher days for less satisfactory views than this so the position that a moderate amount of work on this mountain gets you to is out of all proportion to the work required.  I'd recommend it to everyone!

Once I'd dragged myself on the downhill, I had another suffer-fest on the water front.  There's no point rationing water out.  You drink what you've got and then get on with it.  Again, this was easily the most uncomfortable aspect of the whole day.  As enjoyable as it is to talk to fellow enthusiasts met on these routes, the call of the water waiting for me in my car, as warm as it was going to be, became a real priority so I hope I didn't come across as being rude to people wanting to stop and chat as a quick 'hello, nice day' was as much time as I had to spare.