Location:
Coigach and The Fiddler,
Wester Ross
Grade: Serious mountain walk
Distance: 10 miles/16km
Time: 67 hours It was the ancient Norse who gave Ullapool its
name. Ulli’s Steading was then, as it is now, a gentle oasis amid a
harsh, mountainous landscape, but drive north from the town, over the spine of the Rhue peninsula, and
you enter another world.
Ardmair is a magnificent spot. From the campsite a spit of white shingle
curves gracefully out into the bay pointing towards the sanctuary of
Isle Martin. Beyond, protecting the bay from the Minch gales, the Summer
Isles float alluringly on their sea of green.
Flocks of dunlin and ringed plover feed on the salt flats, gulls wheel
overhead and brightly coloured fishing boats bob and dip on the water,
but for all these attractions of sea and shore it is a mountain which dominates the
scene.
An extensive wall of weathered Torridonian sandstone commands the
northern shore of the bay, an ancient relic of one of the oldest land
masses in the world. The long sandstone barrier runs from Garbh Choireachain to
Speicin Coinnich and is collectively known as Ben Mor Coigach. The
hill's protective cap of Cambrian quartzite has long since gone, but the bare
bones of this venerable relic still rise straight from the sea to
nearly 750 metres, a wall of seamed buttresses, gullies and cliffs.
While that seaward wall is impressive, it’s really only a front, hiding
an intricate, complex system of peaks, ridges, corries and lochans.
This area of Coigach is a gem. Unspoiled and challenging, it begins to
reveal itself more fully as you drive further north. Ben Mor Coigach,
at 743m, is the highest summit, but the other main peak of the area,
Sgurr an Fhidhleir, rises to a sharp and dramatic point. it’s a high
eyrie of a summit, the culmination of a huge blade of rock that rises
from the bare moorland close to the reflective waters of Lochan Tuath.
The traverse of these two hills brings together all the best
characteristics of a walk which blends sea and mountain in that
distinctive combination that you find only on Scotland’s westen seaboard. There's a peculiar quality
to the blend here in Coigach, as though the spaciousness of the vast
seascape emphasises the height of the hill, and you catch a notion you’re
mounting a staircase to the heavens. Indeed, it’s perhaps not too
fanciful to imagine the traverse of Ben Mor Coigach’s long south-west ridge beyond Ardmair
Bay as a high-level promenade to Tir nan Og, the fabled Land of the
Blest beyond the shimmering ocean of the Celtic twilight.
At Drumrunie junction on the A835 a minor road runs west towards
Achiltibuie. As everyone else heads off to climb Stac Pollaidh, or
fester on the pale yellow sands of Achnahaird Bay, park your vehicle and cross the
river just east of Loch Lurgainn. A faint path, rising steadily on the
right bank of the Allt Claonaidh, will take you as far as Lochan Tuath, which
mirrors the mighty north-west prow of Sgurr an Fhidhleir — the peak of
the fiddler.
Walkers don’t follow the prow: that’s the domain of rock climbers
who'll find a long and exposed climb of Very Severe standard. South
of the prow, a prominent heather-filled gully climbs steeply up to
the bealach between The Fiddler and Ben Mor Coigach and from there easy
slopes lead to the summit of Sgurr an Fhidhleir, a stunning place
with magnificent views over the Inverpolly peaks - Cul Mor, Cul Beag and
the
improbable outline of Stac Pollaidh. This hill has been described as a
“mountain straight out of a fairy tale”, with a ragged and spiky crest
looking for all the world like some primeval stegosaurus.
Retrace your steps to the broad bealach and climb the easy, grassy
slopes to Ben Mor Coigach. The long south-west ridge towards Garbh Choireachan is the highlight of this glorious walk. Enjoy the
succession of rocky towers and sandy paths which make this ridge such a
delight and take time to enjoy the views out over the Summer Isles and, on a good day,
across the Minch to Harris and Lewis.
Given reasonably clear weather, you’ll see the Cuillin of Skye, the
Torridons, An Teallach, the Beinn Dearg hills and ‘ the magnificent
spread of northern hills from Inverpollaidh to Assynt. Immediately
below your feet lies Isle Martin, which was recently gifted to the
locally based Isle Martin Trust by the RSPB in the spirit of “land
reform and devolution”. This little nature reserve is the first land
the RSPB has transferred to community ownership. It’s well worth while
scrambling out to the end
of the ridge before making your way back to the summit of Ben Mor
Coigach, and eventually over Beinn Tarsuinn and back to the start
at the end of a glorious walk. ROUTE PLANNER Map: OS 1:50,000 Landranger sheet 15
(Loch Assynt).
Distance: 10 miles / 16km
Time: 6-7 hours.
Start/finish: Minor road to Achiltibuie, at GR: NC140068.
Information: Ullapool TIC, 01854 612486. Route:
Cross the river with care and follow the right bank of the Allt
Clonaidh to Lochan Tuath.
Climb a heathery gully to the bealach between the Fiddler and Ben Mor
Coigach and walk up to the summit of Sgurr an Fhidleir.
Walk back to the bealach and continue to Ben Mor Coigach.
Follow the south—west ridge to Garbh Choireachan.
Walk back again to Ben Mor Coigach and on to the small bealach below
Speicin Coinnich, and then, on steepening slopes, down to the long ridge of Beinn Tarsuinn.
Make your way along the ridge, continue over the summit and down steep,
heathery slopes to the Allt Claonaidh and the boggy path back to the road.
