www. stevenfallon .co.uk
peaks










ascent
distance
time

start
finish
maps
The Saddle (1010m, Munro 121)
Sgurr na Sgine (946m, Munro 223)
Sgurr a'Bhac Chaolais (885m, Corbett )
Creag nam Damh (918m, Munro 274)
Sgurr an Lochain (1004m, Munro 131)
Sgurr an Doire Leathain (1010m, Munro 122)
Maol Chinn-dearg (981m, Munro 168)
Aonach air Chrith (1021m, Munro 109)
Druim Shionnach (987m, Munro 160)
Creag a'Mhaim (947m, Munro 218)

2750m (9,000ft)
42km (26m)
running : 6:15hr, walking : 12hr

1km se of Achnagart Farm (NG968143)
Just east of Cluanie Inn (NH078117)
OS landranger 33
main route summary
The South Glen Shiel Ridge is a classic range of peaks in one long continuous chain. However, they do somehow blend together, perhaps as they are not distinctively different from each other. By taking in the Saddle and Sgurr na Sgine however, this will transform the route into something much more memorable. The route will now combine fast easy ridge-running with some stiff scrambling and exhilarating views.


main route outline

Getting there
Cluanie Inn lies some 35km west of Invergarry on the A87. If doing a complete traverse of the ridge, you'll need to think of transport between the start and end points - I tend to start at the west, pick up a bike at Cluanie, then, for the most part, free-wheel downhill back west. That said, I've had occasions when I've had to pedal hard against a westerly wind funnelling up the glen !

The Saddle
From the lay-by, walk east along the road for 500m to a gate and the start of the path. Head up the path, which twists and turns as it climbs. As it turns north-west, leave the path and head directly up the steep, grassy slopes of Meallan Odhar. The ground levels out, and the path is re-joined to reach the base of the Forcan Ridge. To take the easy, quick route, follow the wall off left. After around 400m the wall turns south, leave it here and head west uphill. Another wall is met, follow this one to it's end, then continue up a steep loose path to the The Saddle's summit plateau and its trig ponit. Fantastic views are to be had to Knoydart, Skye, Kintail and further to Torridon.

Sgurr na Sgine
Return back to the top of the wall and look for a faint path heading slightly off right (south-east) towards Bealach Coire Mhalagain. Follow this path over wet grassy ground to meet up with a line of fence-posts going south-east down to a small lochan at the bealach. From there, head up on a faint path, veering off right, away from the fence-posts and attain the crest and the fence-posts again. Follow the fence-posts up to Sgurr na Sgine's flat top and the cairn at the south end. Excellent views, particularly over to Knoydart.

Sgurr a'Bhac Chaolais
Unless you want a tricky rock-climb, a de-tour is needed to continue to the South Glen Shiel Ridge. From Sgurr na Sgine's cairn, turn south-west for around 300m, then turn south and drop down on grassy ground to another wall. Follow this wall east towards Bealach an Toiteil, then, slightly south of the crest, aim up Sgurr a'Bhac Chaolais. Keeping south will avoid some fairly tricky loose ground. Re-join the line of fence-posts further up and follow them to the summit cairn.

Creag nan Damh
Leaving the corbett, simply follow the fence-posts and wall eastwards. You'll come to a junction in the wall - keep left and continue down to Bealach Duibh Leac. At the bealach, an obvious path comes up from Glen Shiel. Continue following the path and posts eastwards up the grassy undulating ground to the Creag nan Damh's summit cairn.

Sgurr an Lochain
Take the very obvious path that zig-zags south-east down from Creag nan Damh down to Bealach Fraoch Choire. Start climbing up Sgurr Beag and a metal post is reached, this marks the start of a by-pass path contouring around Sgurr Beag - weird how just because a peak is not a munro, people don't go up it ! Follow this path, there's a spring to top up water-bottles on the way, and reach Bealach a'Choire Reidhe. Sgurr an Lochain is less than 500m away, up an obvious path.

Sgurr an Doire Leathain
Leave Sgurr an Lochain, heading south-east on the obvious path and drop to Bealach Sgurr an Lochain at just below 900m. The path and posts continue toward Sgurr an Doire Leathain, however, upon reaching the summit crest, you'll need to turn left (north-east) and de-tour 200m to reach Sgurr an Doire Leathain's summit cairn above Coire a'Chuill Droma Mor.

Maol Chinn-dearg
Return that 200m, then head south-east, again on the path down to Bealach Caol na Droma Moire. Sgurr Coire na Feinne is not a munro, so, like Sgurr Beag earlier, there is a by-pass around it to reach Bealach Caol na Droma Bige. Maol Chinn-dearg is only a few minutes further on.

Aonach air Chrith
The views south over Sgurr a'Mhaoraich and Loch Quioch to Knoydart now just start to open up. Still on the obvious path, aim south-east from Maol Chinn-dearg. Over the bumps on the way, Aonach air Chrith seems to require more effort to get up than any other peak since Sgurr na Sgine.

Druim Shionnach
Down south-east, reach a flat grassy area, then turn east and briefly climb to a flat area. Navigation skills may be required in mist to continue to Druim Shionnach as the path becomes faint in bits. Unless someone has demolished it, the first cairn you meet on the way is not the top, but it indicates you're nearly there ! At last the summit of Druim Shionnach is reached, above Coire nan Leac where the deer rutt loudly below in August and September.

Creag a'Mhaim
A narrow ridge continues east from Druim Shionnach, and a bit of care is needed as the path crosses from the south side of the ridge onto the north side and back again. The ridge widens out, the bealach is reached, from where it is just a short climb up the obvious path to the cairn on Creag a'Mhaim. Superb views in all directions from this last peak, but the most interesting is looking down to Loch Loyne, where, if the loch level is low, the old road and the often submerged bridge are exposed.

Return
Re-trace your steps for a few metres, then head north on a faint path that drops sharply into Coirean an Eich Bhric. The path continues down, getting wetter and heathier and reaches a deer-fence. Cross this, hopefully at the easiest point, then jog down to the old bridge and reach Cluanie Inn via the old road.

Zoomable OS 1:50000 and 1:25000 maps are here

routes nearby
Just north
North east
South west

alternatives

The Saddle and Sgurr na Sgine
The Saddle and Sgurr na Sgine can be combined as a short horseshoe, giving time to enjoy the scramble up the Forcan Ridge.

Start from the lay-by on the A87 as in the main route and reach the base of the Forcan Ridge. Aim directly up the ridge - a fairly sustained, but easy scramble is all that's needed to reach the top of Sgurr na Forcan. Now you're presented with the 'bad step'. There's an easy by-pass path off to the left (south), which drops below the ridge. However, with a bit of effort (and a good head for heights) the direct route is fairly straightforward. Both routes join up and then climb to the top just east of the Saddle's summit. The main summit is 150m further on.

Follow the main route down to Bealach Coire Mhalagain and up to Sgurr na Sgine's summit cairn. To return, retrace your steps back following the fence-posts along the crest. Follow the path along to Faochag, then aim downhill on a good, but steep path north-east-east. Further down, reach the Allt Mhalagain and follow the west bank to the road and back to the lay-by.

Ascent : 1400m, distance : 11km


South Glen Shiel Ridge access points
There are several routes heading up to the South Glen Shiel Ridge, making various options available for chopping up the main route into smaller chunks.

To get up to Creag nan Damh, you could start from a Right-of-way sign, 500m south-east of the start of the main route. From this sign, aim up on the path and follow it up to Bealach Duibh Leac, from where aim east to reach the munro's summit. Alternatively, start from the bridge by the Battlefield site, from where on the south side of the River Shiel, a path picks its way around the forest and up to the base of the steep north-east arm of Creag nan Damh.

To get to the middle of the ridge, there is a path that starts from the highest point on the A87, 3km west of Cluanie Inn. The path reaches the River Cluanie, cross it, and follow the stalkers path up Druim Coire nan Eirecheanach to reach Maol Chinn-dearg's summit. From the River Cluanie, there is an alternative stalker's path on the other side of Coire a'Chuil Droma Bhig, aiming up Druim Thollaidh. This reaches Sgurr Coire na Feinne, the minor peak north-west of Maol Chinn-dearg.

The eastern end of the ridge is reached from the old road that starts just east of Cluanie Inn and heads south over the River Cluanie. 3km up this road, the bridge over the Allt Giubhais is reached and a faint path aims directly up Creag a'Mhaim as described in reverse in the main route. However, a more pleasant, but longer route up Creag a'Mhaim can be enjoyed by continuing up the track for another 3km beyond the bridge over the Allt Giubhais. A stalker's track winds a route all the way up the Creag a'Mhaim's south-east shoulder to the summit cairn.
saddle, sgine and south glenshiel