Meall Mòr from Glen Glass

The village of Evanton is situated just off the A9, on the northern side of the Cromarty Firth. Within the village, a bridge crosses the River Glass. From the north side of this bridge, a narrow road heads west into Glen Glass, winding through woodland and forestry.

The road continues for approximately 8km before reaching a turning circle near the gated entrance to Eileanach Lodge. While some vehicles were parked along the verge at this point during my visit, there are signs advising against parking there.

A better option is to park about 300m east of the turning circle, at the start of the route. There appears to be no issue parking just inside a double gate across a forestry track at this location.

From the roadside, head through the gates, onto the track and turn left, following it northwards while ignoring any side tracks. Pass the weir over the River Glass near the mouth of Loch Glass and continue a little further, with Meall Mòr coming into view ahead. The track eventually splits at a turning circle - take the right fork, where a rough, eroded track begins to climb uphill.

After an initial steep ascent, the gradient eases as the track rises above a forest plantation and passes beneath a line of wind turbines - the speed of their blades offering a good indication of the wind strength higher up.

Emerging from the forest , the track dips slightly before meeting another track rising from Loch Glass. It then turns and begins its final climb, twisting and turning as it gains height.

Higher up, just below the wind farm, leave the track and head directly for the broad col northwest of the turbines. The terrain here is a mix of grass, marsh, heather, and peat bog, making an entirely direct route impractical at first, though the ground remains fairly easy underfoot. As progress is made, a faint and inconsistent path begins to emerge, becoming more distinct as the peat hags are left behind.

This path soon joins some ATV tracks, which lead uphill to a minor summit marked by a large granite boulder . A slight dip follows, crossing more peat hags before reaching the eastern top of Meall Mor, where an old line of fence posts is encountered. Turn left and follow these posts all the way to Meall Mòr's main summit, passing a short section of raised dyke standing prominently just before reaching the hill's trig point .

The summit offers fine views, with Ben Wyvis dominating the scene to the west. To the north, the hills of Assynt and beyond lead towards Ben Klibreck.

For a return, rather than retracing steps, an alternative option is to descend directly south towards the shores of Loch Glass.

Initially, the terrain is a delight - springy grass and short heather make for easy progress - but as the slope steepens, the heather thickens. Lower down, a few small rocky outcrops need avoiding before reaching dense bracken near Loch Glass's shoreline. Upon reaching the loch's edge, a rough track is picked up and followed back towards the forest .

In the forest, the track is badly eroded and quite damp in places, but after around 2 km, it swings closer to the shoreline for a final 500m stretch leading back to the turning circle .

For variation, I opted to follow the track on the south side of the River Glass, leading back to the end of the public road . This was a very pleasant alternative, though the gate in the deer fence near the weir was locked - making for a slightly awkward climb over !