Location: Meall a’ghlas-leothaid, Wester Ross

Grade: Easy hill walk

Distance: 4 miles/7km

Time: 2-3 hours

THIS delightful little hill lies between Loch Bad an Sgalaig and Am Feur-Loch about 10km south-east of Gairloch. A car park on the A832 gives access to a bridge over a river and a footpath that runs through the hills of the Flowerdale Forest to Loch na h-Oidhche and the Corbetts of Beinn an Eoin and Baosbheinn.

This walk doesn’t go that far but the path does climb up into a wonderful area where there has been a lot of replanting of Caledonian pines, the Bad na Sgalag pine wood. It’s a lovely tumbled area of low hills, lochans and pine trees with distant views of the bigger hills of Torridon.

We set off from the car park with the intention of enjoying a low-level walk around the hill, but notices at the bridge said a couple of bridges were down, washed away in recent storms, and that river crossings could be difficult after a very wet autumn. With those warnings in mind we decided to climb the hill rather than walk around it. It turned out to be a good decision.

From the footbridge the path heads off south-east, climbing over the various knolls and rises that gives this area such a tumbled look. There are three tops on Meall a’ Ghlas-Leothaid and I wanted to climb onto the ridge between the two southern tops. As it was, marker posts showed the way, and a reasonable footpath, a bit wet and boggy in places but this is the Western Highlands after all, took us almost all the way to the summit ridge.

After leaving the initial path we climbed some wet slopes but our attention was taken by the wonderful views that soon opened up around us. The young pines in the glen looked fresh and vibrant and in the distance a cloud-capped Slioch reminded us how close we were to the big hills of Torridon. Once we crested the broad knobbly ridge it was the multi-topped Baosbheinn that dominated the view, a stunning hill that I haven’t been on for a few years.

The path we had followed up the hill veered off northwards avoiding the hill’s middle peak, but we wanted to get as high as possible on such a fine day so we left the path and scrambled our way through some rocky outcrops onto the middle top. With the main summit, at a mere 342 metres, now ahead of us we enjoyed the wander along the grassy ridge with views over Loch Bad an Sgalaig at our feet extending west to Loch Gairloch and beyond to the Outer Isles. With the low winter sun turning the grasses into various shades of bronze that contrasted starkly with the blue of the sky and the lochs at our feet we didn’t care if this wee hill wasn’t a Munro or a Corbett or any kind of listed hill. It was just an absolute joy being there.

Much to our surprise there was a view indicator on the summit and we spent some time picking out some of the familiar shapes around us before breaking out the flask and enjoying a brew in the winter sun. Our reverie was disturbed slightly on the descent as much of the path was very wet and boggy but eventually we managed to pick our way through the young pines that skirt the hill and find ourselves back at the footpath we had left earlier. From there it was a short walk back to the main road and the car park.

Cameron McNeish

ROUTE PLANNER

Map: OS 1:50,000 Landranger sheet 19 (Gairloch & Ullapool); Harvey Mountain Map, Torridon & Fisherfield

Start/Finish: Car park just E of Loch Bad an Sgalaig on the A832 (GR: NG856721).

Distance: 4 miles/7km

Time: 2-3 hours

Information: Ullapool TIC, 01854 612486

Route: Leave car park, cross road with care, and cross footbridge to an information hut. Follow obvious path SE, climbing steadily over various rises with the slopes of Meall a’ Ghlas-Leothaid on your right. Pass a marker post showing a path climbing the hill through some young trees - that is your descent route. Continue to the next marker post and this time follow the muddy path that climbs the hill WSW. You could follow the path and marker posts all the way to the summit but for better views climb to the broad ridge and follow it N to the summit cairn and direction indicator. Continue past the summit and follow the footpath as it descends through the trees back to your original path. TL onto path and follow it back to the start.