Maoile Lunndaidh
MAOILE LUNNDAIDH.
12 JULY 2025
An hour's drive beyond Inverness, a small gravel track leads into the hills. It runs 8.5 km from the roadside to the remote shooting house of Glenuaig Lodge, with some significant uphill. We started at 08.20, the temperature already climbing. It tookt a good 2.5 hours before we even came in sight of the mountain.
Which just left the matter of getting up it. Maoile Lunndaidh is a great horseshoe, facing north, and split by the dramatic coire of Fuar-tholl Mor. Once off the shhoting lodge track, the terrain is uncompromising, no paths, no footbridges.
On a previous visit in 2008, we had gone to the Lodge at the end of the track. Today, the plan was to follow the Walkhighlands route 800m sooner, and “abandon the track and head east” . Confusing, because the stream junction Walkhighlands aims for, is actually south-east (ish). Across rising ground, swampy in parts, hummocky, with a series of false crests and no view of the stream. This sapped both strength and hope, as the heatwave day developed. Finally Steve Murray and I got onto the nose of the mountain's western arm, Carn nam Fiaclan.
This is very steep ground – approaching 40 degrees. We zig-zagged slowly from one boulder up 30 yards to the next on this Grade I mix of heather and stone slabs. Pausing to pant and wipe brows. No paths. No signs at all of human passage. No breeze.
Finally, the thing started to relent, and little by little we got ourselves onto the summit plateau. What delightful contrast !! The horseshoe plateau is almost level. And it is short springy grass...... like walking on a thick carpet. We reached the first cairn at 993 m after 6 hours' going (incl lunch) but “Onwards !” as there are twin high points at 1005 metres. Northwest, there spread the panorama of the Torridon mountains. Southwatds Strathfarrar and the Mullardoch group.
At the summit, we saw our only humans of the day. They had come up a different way, from Strathfarrar.
The descent route NNW from the summit, then following the stream down west from the bealach, was a lot less steep and gave no problems. There is a short stretch of more difficult ground where the stream turns north. But as we wearily did the same, it could be seen that the ground became level and not peat-hagged. We made our way fairly easily due north, and 800 metres east of Glenuaig Lodge the river on this day was only a few inches deep.
There remained only the long haul back to Craig. Heat and flies. A couple of rounds of “Wet T-Shirt”. Plenty of water to drink. We got back to the car at 8.20 pm, a day of exactly 12 hours.
Those who want to make the full round of the plateau, must of necessity go the way Steve and I went. (A descent of Carn nam Fiaclan could not be recommended.) But provided conditions allow you to cross the river, it would be a lot easier to follow our 2008 route directly to the northern summit, visit the southern summit, and return same route. We were told that the Strathfarrar route is beautiful in its lower stages, but of course the day is limited by Stathfarrar gate hours.
ANDREW