Glen Galmadale Horseshoe

Glengalmadale

From most directions, you'll probably want to take the small ferry over Corran Narrows (see Corran Ferry on Highland Council's website). Once on the Ardgour peninsula, drive south-west on the A861 for 10km and on approaching Glen Tarbert, a signpost pointing south to Kingairloch on the B8043 will be seen on the left.

Take this single-track road, and drive down the western side of Loch Linnhe. After passing the Abernethy Outdoor Centre, the road hugs the shore of Loch Linnhe and becomes very narrow to the point of being unsuitable for motorhomes. The road turns westwards and into Glen Galmadale.

Just before reaching the bridge over Glengalmadale River, there is a gravel area with room to park a few vehicles by a couple of houses.

Approaching from the west, perhaps if heading over from Mull or down from Strontian, the B8043 heads eastwards from the A884 towards Kingairloch. This road is also single track, though perhaps not quite as narrow as the tight section above the shoreline on the other road.

Approaching Beinn na Cille

From the houses of Glengalmadale, head across the bridge over Glengalmadale River and towards the edge of some forestry .

On the right side of a burn (dried up on my last visit) is a path of sorts heading directly uphill. Tracing this path uphill, cross the bed of the burn to its left side, then continue by the edge of the forest (much storm damaged). Beware of the wild rose thorns !

Upon reaching the upper edge of the forest, aim westwards and gradually gain more height on steep grass-covered slopes, staying under a few rocky outcrops.

Having passed under the rocky outcrops , gradually turn in a more northwards direction. It was here on my last visit an eagle took off close by, soaring upwards on a thermal above us.

Fuar Bheinn from Beinn na Cille's summit

Fuar Bheinn from Beinn na Cille's summit

Feral goats on the climb up Fuar Bheinn

Standing by Beinn na Cille's cairn, the view northwards is dominated by Fuar Bheinn, and in clear conditions the route ahead appears quite obvious.

Leaving Beinn na Cille, continue northwards over grass covered ground passing a few small lochans and begin to loose some height. The descent steepens a little, a few bouldery patches are crossed, followed by a drop down a grassy slope to reach Bealach Coire Mhic Gugain where, with a little detour, water bottles can be topped up.

Head northwards up a gently rising slope ahead and gain Meall Coire Mhic Gugain, from where some level ground is crossed and a pleasant grass covered hillside is climbed. On some of the rocky terrain you might be lucky to see some of the feral goats that inhabit this area.

On the summit of Fuar Bheinn with Creach Bheinn ahead

On the summit of Fuar Bheinn with Creach Bheinn ahead

Inversion pulling in below Creach Bheinn

Creach Bheinn sits north-east of Fuar Bheinn, however a direct line cannot be made to there due to the rough, rocky and steep terrain of Coire a' Chuil Mhaim.

From Fuar Bheinn's summit cairn, initially head north-westwards following the crest of the hillside for around 500m. Having lost around 100m of height, the slopes around Coire a' Chuil Mhaim ease, and a change in direction to north-east is made to drop down grassy hillsides to the flat ground of Cul Mham .

Over the best part of 2km, a pleasant stroll up a gentle gradient on mainly grass covered ground, passing a few minor little lochans, leads to Creach Bheinn's summit . Sheltered by a circular wall of stones and boulders, the rusty metal core is all that remains of Creach Bheinn's summit trig point from where stunning views in all directions can be taken in.

The remains of the trig point on Creach Bheinn

The remains of the trig point on Creach Bheinn

Looking from Creach Bheinn to Maol Odhar

To continue around the Glen Galmadale Horseshoe, head north-east from Creach Bheinn's summit, passing the camp remains and over a small bouldery rise. A faint path briefly forms and this is followed eastwards along a ridge to drop to narrow Bealach Coire an Dubh-alltan.

The path disappears at the col, but simply continue eastwards up a gentle and wide slope towards Maol Odhar's summit , where a small cairn stands. There is some plane wreckage amongst the cairn's boulders along with a small plaque to remember the pilot who crashed there in 1964 (see Peak District Air Accident Research for more details).

Heading south-east from Maol Odhar on a wide and delightful grass-covered slope, a faint path begins to form becoming more distinct with progress.

Having lost the best part of 300m after leaving Maol Odhar, the slope forms into a wide ridge above the eastern side of Glen Galmadale and the route continues over the minor bump of Meall nan Each .

Cairn and wreckage on Maol Odhar

Cairn and wreckage on Maol Odhar

Sun setting on Creach Bheinn from Glen Galmadale

The first time I ventured on the Glen Galmadale Horseshoe was in early January and with winter conditions and having reached Maol Odhar , I was beginning to run out of daylight. Instead of continuing along the ridge over Meall nan Each and Druim na Maodalaich, I opted for a direct descent into Glen Galmadale.

From Maol Odhar, aim due south and as progress is made down the slope, the hillside forms into a crest. This crest is traced down into the upper reaches of Glen Galmadale where a couple of burns are crossed. A vague path is then traced over sodden ground for 2km to meet a track by the head of the dammed loch in the glen, which is then followed back to the buildings of Glengalmadale.