22 August 2024
At Bridge of Orchy, the weather was just as bad for August as it had been further north. We had managed to book at the Bridge of Orchy Hotel. A constant stream of wet and bedraggled West Highland Way walkers passed the hotel, mainly heading north towards Fort William. A proportion broke their journey at the hotel.
The two Corbett summits I was heading for are both visible from the hotel, although it’s further to them than it looks!
My walk didn’t follow the West Highland Way at all, beginning by heading south towards the single track and quiet B8074. On the map, there is a clear track from the hotel along a track between the busy A82 and the River Orchy. The reality was that this track was very indistinct, absent in parts and overgrown so the first kilometre of my walk took almost an hour from leaving the hotel.
The River Orchy was flowing rapidly and when I eventually arrived at the B road, a group was unloading kayaks from a car. Minutes later as I walked quickly down the road to make up for lost time, the said kayaks sped past me on the turbulent river.
The whitewashed cottage of Invergaunan, where my route left the road, turned out to be disused as a home. However forestry workers had left their cars here and I saw them making their way up the track on quad bikes.
I was soon off the track and climbing up the pathless route on the north west side of Beinn Bhreac-liath. The presence of forestry workers became unsurprising – the area has been planted with many saplings. The ground was full of holes and small streams and this made for an arduous ascent. The expected rain started and I was soon dressed in full waterproofs.
Fortunately the slope eased and the ground became easier to walk over – less holes and not as much foliage. I enjoyed some views to Bridge of Orchy and also across to Beinn Udlaidh, particularly the characteristic quartzite dyke which would be next to my later route of descent.
However as I ascended, I had less shelter from the wind. The gusts were impossible for me to walk through and I was restricted to standing and waiting for these to pass and then walk forward until the wind became too strong again. I packed my waterproof rucksack cover – it was only acting to increase my wind resistance. There was a new fence with a gate – I could hardly manage to open the gate in the strong wind and had to be very carefully that I wasn’t crushed in it by the force of the wind.
Eventually I arrived at the summit. The wind was doing a good job of blowing the clouds so that there were intermittent views. Unfortunately when I arrived at the summit there was a lot of cloud too. It was too windy to wait and see if it would clear so I began my descent to the bealach – a gradual descent then a steeper part and I negotiated two grassy banks by shuffling on my bottom. There was another gate to negotiate but it was easy as it was out of the wind.
Once at the bealach, I realised that I would be too late for my booked dinner and sent a text to my husband to explain.
I began my ascent of Beinn Udlaidh, avoiding the crags. With the height gain I was once more out of any sheltered area and at the mercy of the strong wind. There are several piles of stones and I wasn’t sure which one marked the summit of the plateau.
I made my way further north and eventually found the quartz dyke which is so prominent in views of the mountain. This marked my route of descent. There is even a faint path in places.
Having reached a safe area where it wasn’t too windy, I checked my phone messages. My husband had managed to rebook dinner to a later time so I wouldn’t have to miss it. He was even offering to drive to where I would reach the road to save the long walk back to the hotel. I said “yes” and that I would send a text once I reached the road.
I continued my descent, initially on a faint path and steeply downhill but then along a muddy and boggy track, eventually reaching the road. My husband was already waiting for me as he said he could listen to the cricket on the radio there just as easily as at the hotel. Unfortunately my waterproof trousers were very muddy and so I deposited large amounts of mud on the car seat on the short journey.
I’d only walked just over 18km but most of it had been on pathless terrain in adverse weather. I had noted on this walk beforehand that it “should be ok even in poor summer weather” – I had considered rain but hadn’t expected to encounter gale force wind gusts!
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