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Seana Bhraigh, Beinn Dearg and the Inverlael Munros
South-east of Ullapool, the vast areas of Inverlael, Freevater and StrathVaich Forests lie waiting to be explored.
There are several peaks here, some visible from the main roads, some hidden well from view.
Main route summary
The hills and mountains in Inverlael and Strathvaich all have very different characters.
At the northern end Seana Bhraigh is glacially carved with a beautiful northern corrie with some scrambling required to reach its eastern top Creag an Duine.
Am Faochagach near Loch Glascarnoch is a flat-topped hill, but complex in the many shoulders that extend from its centre.
Beinn Dearg is vast mountain at the centre of the group with a deep corrie on its eastern side and a 'famine wall' on its western shoulder built by destitute people for food in the 1840's.
Beinn Dearg also has several satellite peaks including the Munros of Eididh na Clach Geala, Meall nan Ceapraichean and Cona' Mheall and the Corbett Beinn Enaiglair.
Slightly further afield are the broad grassy summits of Carn Ban and Beinn a'Chaisteil, which could be included on a backpacking trip or a long hill-running day.
| Munros |
Seana Bhraigh (926m, Munro 262)
Eididh na Clach Geala (927m, Munro 257)
Meall nan Ceapraichean (977m, Munro 177)
Beinn Dearg (1084m, Munro 57)
Cona' Mheall (978m, Munro 176)
Am Faochagach (953m, Munro 210)
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| Corbetts |
Beinn Enaiglair* (889m)
Beinn a'Chaisteil* (787m)
Carn Ban* (845m)
*See 'Alternative Routes' below
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| Ascent |
2600m (8,500ft)
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| Distance |
35km (22m)
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| Time |
walk : 13hr*, run : 7hr
*Naismith's rule : 4km/h distance + 600m/h ascent
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| Start |
Inverlael
(grid ref : NH182852)
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| Finish |
Weather Station, by Loch Glascarnoch
(grid ref : NH276744)
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Profile
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Maps
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Which map to choose ?
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Downloads
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| Terrain | | easy |
 | difficult |
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| Navigation | | easy |
 | testing |
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| Effort | | stroll |
 | long day |
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| Scenery | | ok |
| stunning |
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| Meanings |
Seana Bhraigh : 'old height'
Eididh nan Clach Geala : 'web of the white stones'
Meall nan Ceapraichean : 'hill of the stubby hillocks'
Beinn Dearg : 'red hill'
Cona'Mheall : 'adjoining hill'
Am Faochagach : 'the heathery place'
Carn Ban : 'white cairn'
Beinn a'Chaisteil : 'hill of the castle'
Beinn Enaiglair : 'hill of the timid birds'
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Route detail & map »
Getting there
- Inverlael lies around 10km south of Ullapool on the A835, where a hill-walker's car-park holds many cars, note however that there is a height barrier preventing access to campervans and other high vehicles.
- The route starts and finishes some 16 km apart, therefore a bike (or two cars) is ideally required.
Leave your bike (or other car) at the western end of Loch Glascarnoch, by the weather station.
Seana Bhraigh
- The start of this route heads into the forest from the new car-park by the phone-box at Inverlael.
Recent timber-felling has cleared many hectares on the lower slopes, which can appear quite unsightly.
- Head up the track, at the first junction, keep right and continue to another junction - keep left this time, down to a bridge.
- Cross the bridge and the track goes up to the edge of an old wall with a sign pointing to Beinn Dearg.
- Just after this, there is another split in the track - keep left.
- Just after this split, a bulldozed track heads uphill - take this.
- This track gives way to the old stalker's path and carries onto to a gate and leaves the forestry land behind.
Continue on this path, uphill, then down to cross the Allt Glean a'Mhadaidh.
- The path, now quite wet, follows the northern bank of this burn for 1km, then starts to veer slightly left, goes over the north-west arm of Eididh nan Clach Geala, then drops slightly into Coire an Lochain Sgeirich.
Sticking to the path, cross the Allt na Creige Duibhe and continue around the southern base of Meall Glas an Ruighe and head up to a cairn just south of the small loch on the plateau.
If in mist, from here you'll need to concentrate on your navigation !
- Head north-east from the small loch and start to drop to wet ground.
Past a couple of little lochans, aim east, the ground starts to level and a faint path is picked up.
- Follow this path across the bealach at the head of Cadha Dearg and turn in the direction of Seana Bhraigh.
- Very wet ground next uphill, go around the south-western side of Seana Bhraighs top marked 906 on the OS map and reach the peaty bealach before Seana Bhraigh.
- From here, it's a simple trudge to the summit with its small cairn. Fantastic views from this spot.
- Seana Bhraigh is on the top of a spectacular circular coire with sharp drops to the north-east.
At the eastern end of the coire is the craggy summit Creag an Duine, which requires a bit of scrambling over loose ground to reach.
Eididh nan Clach Geala
- Return to the bealach at the head of Cadha Dearg.
No paths next and this combined with fairly featurless ground will test your navigation skills.
- Aim south-west, gradually attaining height.
- After around 1 km, rockier ground is met and the gradient starts to level as you approach the plateau just over 850m.
The ground travels west-north-west and can confuse in mist.
In clearer conditions, Eididh nan Clach Geala's summit can be seen west ahead - aim directly for it.
It will require a slight drop over wet ground, but grass covered ground covers the easy climb ahead.
- There are two cairns on the summit, with a rocky gap between - the summit is the eastern cairn.
Meall nan Ceapraichean
- Leave Eididh nan Clach Geala's summit and head south-east downhill on a faint path.
- The path disappears into grass and sodden ground, but keep on south-east down to the wet bealach and the burn below.
- Cross a good path, then turn south and start climbing up wet ground.
Although pathless, there is a natural line up Ceann Garbh, which becomes steeper further up.
- Once up this plateau, just aim directly for the cairn on the bouldery top of Meall nan Ceapraichean.
Beinn Dearg
- From Meall nan Ceapraichean, head south-east on a path through the bouldery ground and drop to the grassy ground and lochans of the bealach below.
The lochans make for a good point to navigate to in mist.
- From the lochans aim south and pick up the destitution wall.
This wall is followed directly uphill to just over c1000m where the wall turns sharply.
- There's a gap in the wall, turn south and, on a faint path, aim for the summit of Beinn Dearg.
There's a huge cairn on the summit and the views are good, however the bulk of the flat summit means you'll have to head just off the summit for the best views.
Cona Mheall
- Return to the bealach, following the wall down.
- At the bealach, cross over the wall to the grassy south side and look for a obvious path.
- The path contours below the bump marked 886m on the OS map and will lead you to the bealach before Cona'Mheall, from where a faint path aims south-east uphill.
This path picks a route over grassy ground between the boulderfields, but eventually some boulderfields have to be crossed.
- The long narrow summit of Cona'Mheall is just beyond, its small cairn perched above some precipitious drops.
Am Faochagach
- North-east downhill next on slippy, grassy, pathless ground.
The first few metres of descent require a bit of care as the ground is not only slippy, but quite loose.
In mist, the route down will require some navigation as the lines of rock tend to pull you away from your intended bearing.
- As height is dropped, grass gives way to heather and a faint path is picked up to follow down to the south end of Loch Prille.
- Cross the outlet, taking some extra care as rocks are slippy and a waterfall thunders just below.
- Start climbing up through deep tussock grass and gradually head south-south-east, from where it's an unrelenting, but haul up to Meallan Ban, where there is a well constructed symetrical cairn around two metres high.
- Am Faochagach is just under 1km away with only 80metres of ascent up a gentle gradient on fairly flat ground.
Fine views from the cairn.
Down to Glascarnoch Weather Station
- Leave Am Faochagach's summit and head south-west over one rise, then turn south-south-west to drop to the top of the southern shoulder.
- Now aim directly for Loch a'Gharbhrain, dropping down over ever-thickening heather.
- Further down, following the Allt na h-Uidhe, you'll find a faint path, which becomes more definite as the loch is approached.
Heading around the south of the loch limits the number of river crossings to just one, however the ground is soaking for the last 1km to the road.
There is another wet path around the northern side of Loch a'Gharbhrain, however this route is longer and you'll be drawn to follow the path which aims to the road a fair bit west of the weather station.
- Ideally you'll have left a bike for the mainly downhill cycle back to Inverlael.
Photos of route »
Looking up Glen a'Mhadaidh to Eididh nan Clach Geala
Approaching Seana Bhraigh with Cona Mheall and Beinn Dearg behind
On the way to Seana Bhraigh with Inverpolly beyond
From Seana Bhraigh to Ben Mor Coigaich
On Eididh nan Clach Geala
Eididh nan Clach Geala from Meall nan Ceapraichean
Approaching Meall nan Ceapraichean's bouldery summit from the north
Meall nan Ceapraichean from Beinn Dearg
Cona Mheall from the south
Descending Cona Mheall's east ridge at speed
Beinn Dearg and Cona Mheall from Am Faochagach
Ben Wyvis from Cona Mheall
Beinn Dearg and Cona Mheall from Loch Glascarnoch
The long trudge to Carn Ban from the south
Creag an Duine and Seana Bhraig from Strath Mulzie
The Inverlael Munros from the Fannaichs
More photos are on Flickr !
Alternative routes »
Seana Bhraigh from Oykel Bridge up Strathmulzie
Heading in from the north-east, this route gives a superb view of Seana Bhraigh's corrie for most of the route in. A rugged car is needed for the track in, or you'll have to cycle more of the way !
Am Faochagach from Strathvaich
A fine private road heads north from the main A835, from where stalker's paths ease progress.
Seana Braigh and Am Faochagach with the Corbetts Can Ban and Beinn a'Chaisteil
Over a very long day, a real sense of remoteness is obtained while trying to detour to the wild Corbetts of Carn Ban and Beinn a'Chaisteil. Requires top-notch navigation skills !
| Ascent |
2415m (7,925ft)
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| Distance |
54km (34m)
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| Time |
walk : 17:30hr
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| Terrain | | easy |
 | difficult |
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| Nav | | easy |
| testing |
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| Effort | | stroll |
| long day |
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| Scenery | | ok |
 | stunning |
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From Black Bridge, head up Am Faochagach as described earlier.
Down over cairned Meallan Ban and Meallan nan Sac to the burn and wet ground east of Loch Prille.
- Up over the eastern arm of Cnap Coire Loch Tuath and down again to some interesting waterfalls.
- A haul up to the top marked 906 on the OS map, is followed by a brief ascent to Seana Bhraigh's summit.
- Take in the scramble up Creag an Duine, return to the bealach, then aim south for 0.5km, before turning east-south-east to aim for Carn Ban's south top marked 823, some 4km away.
- The ground is sodden and a bit of a pain, however once onto this top, the ground is much drier for the 2km to Carn Ban.
- Return to the top marked 823 and a faint cairned path will take you downhill past a picturesque waterfall to the hydro-works and the track.
- Follow the track to the foot of Beinn Chaisteil, passing near Deanich Lodge on the way which looks so lonely, lost amongst the hills.
To reach Beinn a'Chaisteil, it's just a trudge up heather clad slopes.
- Head south from this Corbett, then start turning south-west and drop down to the track by Loch Vaich.
- Follow back to near the dam and cycle back to Black Bridge.
Interactive OS map
Beinn Dearg and satellites from Inverlael
This is probably the most popular route into Inverlael Forest and takes in four Munros.
| Ascent |
1650m (5,400ft)
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| Distance |
24km (15m)
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| Time |
walk : 8:45hr
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| Terrain | | easy |
| difficult |
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| Nav | | easy |
| testing |
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| Effort | | stroll |
| long day |
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| Scenery | | ok |
| stunning |
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Start as described in the 'Main route' and cycle up Gleann na Sguaib.
- Continue past the old wall, this time keep right and reach the edge of the forest, where the track ends and bikes should be left.
- A good path continues from here, up the glen for 5km to the lochans at the bealach north of Beinn Dearg.
- Head up Beinn Dearg, following the wall and continue to Cona'Mheall as described in the main route on the left.
- From Cona'Mheall return west, go over the rise, pass the lochans and climb up Meall nan Ceapraichean on the faint path.
- From Meall nan Ceapraichean, head north-east, down to the bealach between this Munro and then next, Eididh nan Clach Geala.
- Continue up to the two cairns on Eididh nan Clach Geala.
- From the northern cairn, head west down loose and steep ground, to pick up a path to follow along this Munro's western shoulder.
- Eventually you'll be presented with a descent down heather covered ground that drops to the path that was used on the way in.
- Return back to your bike and free-wheel most of the way back to Inverlael.
Interactive OS map
Beinn Dearg with Beinn Enaiglair
A fine afternoon walk on decent paths taking the most direct route up Beinn Dearg.
Other hill routes nearby »
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Inverpolly
In the north-west of Scotland are some of Scotland's most dramatic peaks including Cul Mor, Cul Beag and weird Stac Pollaidh.
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Ben More Assynt, Conival and Breabag
Bouldery peaks with fine views over Coigach and Inverpolly. A visit to the nearby Bone Caves is also recommended.
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An Teallach and Fisherfield
Dramatic An Teallach leads into a remote area with some wonderful peaks including the famed Fisherfield 'Big 6'
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Carn Chuinneag
A fine road and excellent stalker's tracks lead to this twin-topped Corbett with its excellent views (coming soon)
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Ben Wyvis and Little Wyvis
Improved paths have tackled the errosion on Inverness's 'Ben'. Don't underestimate this mountain in winter !
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Ben More Coigach
A dramatic long ridge with superb views out to the Hebrides (coming soon)
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The Fannichs
A long chain of 9 Munros. Once up on the ridge, the going is fairly easy walking over grass and following faint paths
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Accommodation & food »
Hotels &
Guest Houses |
Suilven B&B, Rhue
Alltguish Inn and Bunkhouse
Ladysmith Guesthouse, Ullapool
Summer Isles Hotel, Achiltibue
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| Food |
West Coast Deli, Ullapool
The Arch Inn, Ullapool
The Ceilidh Place, Ullapool
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Campsites,
Self Catering
& Hostels |
Forest Way Hostel, Inverlael
SYHA Hostel, Ullapool
Sail Mhor Croft Hostel, Loch Broom
Ardmair Point campsite
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Forecasts & other useful info »
Guided days on these mountains »
Our next guided event on the peaks in Inverlael and Strathvaich will be over the weekend of
in Summer 2018.
More information on the event is
here.
Alternatively, if you would like a bespoke day or two hiking over these peaks, we would be delighted to organise something for you and your group.
Check out our
Bespoke Guiding page for more information.
Previous guided events on our blog :
