Càrn Bàn & Beinn a' Chaisteil – bike & hike route

Gorge on River Carron

North of Inverness, the A9 heads over the Black Isle to the Dornoch Firth, at the head of which is Ardgay. A narrow road heads westwards from this village, at the end of which is a turning area by the entrances to Glencalvie Estate and Alladale Wilderness Reserve.

By the turning area there is limited parking for a few vehicles. If full, there are several roadside laybys on the road approach.

Bridge by Deanich Lodge

From the car-park, head west along the road into Alladale Estate. Around 500m after setting off, there is a small sign on the left indicating a short walking detour to view the Eas Charron. Around 2km further on you'll come to junction by an information board.

At the junction, turn left and head down to a bridge over the River Carron. Over the bridge, around a barrier, begin to head uphill. At a sharp corner, ignore the track heading straight on and instead continue uphill aiming south-east.

Through woodland the track turns south-west as it hugs Alladale's large deer-fence and begins to drop into Gleann Mòr. The track reaches some cow sheds (some friendly highland cows were here on my last visit), shortly after which the end of the deer-fence is passed and a delightful cycle then continues in more open aspect for the next 7km to a bridge over the Abhainn a' Ghlinne Mhòir.

Over the bridge, the restored Deanich Lodge is passed. The track now quite rough climbs to a junction , where turning left (south) leads to the track's highest point .

Hydro works below Beinn a' Chaisteil

Hydro works below Beinn a' Chaisteil

Beinn a' Chaisteil from the north

Above and ahead the hillside is completely clad in heather. A couple of lines breaking the heather look easier - alas these are the residue of recent landslides caused by rain where terrain is now very loose. Nope, to head uphill is simply a case of head down and trudging up through the heather !

Before long the hillside's gradient begins to ease and heather becomes more stunted. Gradually heather is replaced by grass as Beinn a' Chaisteil's wide plateau crest is reached.

Càrn Chuinneag from Beinn a' Chaisteil summit

Càrn Chuinneag from Beinn a' Chaisteil summit

Crags of Cail Mhòr below Càrn Ban

Return along Beinn a' Chaisteil's wide crest and descend down to the hydro-works to pick up your bike. On the track, cycle back to the high point and descend to the junction above Deanich Lodge.

Turn left at the junction and cycle for just over 1km to reach a bridge over the Abainn a' Ghlinne Mhòr. Over the bridge, turn right at the next junction and climb up to the end of the track below some hydro works and an impressive waterfall. Leave your bike here.

A tiny cairn by the track marks the start of an old stalkers path heading uphill. The path is soggy and overgrown, but is much easier to stick to this than the deep heather alternative !

The path is followed to around 700m where is ends by a small cairn . From here on navigation becomes tougher as grass, heather and peathags are crossed while aiming north-west.

The gentle slopes of Càrn Bàn's southern top are hiked and once the height of this is reached, a path begins to form. A delightful walk or run follows this path as it makes its way through grass and onto Càrn Bàn's summit .

Appoaching Càrn Bàn's summit from the south

Appoaching Càrn Bàn's summit from the south

Beinn a' Chaisteil from the top of Càrn Bàn's stalker's path

About turn and re-trace your steps down the stalkers track to the hydro works. Pick up your bike and cycle back through Gleann Mhor, hopefully with any wind on your back.

Private road through Strath Vaich

An alternative approach into the area can be made from the roadside by Black Bridge, just east of Aultguish Inn, where a tarred private road heads north through Strathvaich Estate.

This route is similar in length and ascent as through Gleann Mhòr with lovely scenery once past Loch Vaich dam. I suspect this is the more popular choice as it begins from a more accessible start point.

The downsides of using this approach are the amount of sheep and cow shit on the road around Lubriach and the track for 1km beyond this was pretty mucky. The cows didn't look as friendly as the ones in Gleann Mhòr !

Looking down Strath Vaich to Càrn Bàn

Looking down Strath Vaich to Càrn Bàn