Stob Coir' an Albannaich and Meall nan Eun from Coileitir

On the A82 that travels from Tyndrum to Fort William, east of Glencoe and just west of the access for the Kingshouse Hotel, there is a junction signposted "Glen Etive". From this junction a narrow, single track road heads southwards down the glen.

The River Etive through glen is a favourite with canoists, so can be busy when wet ! The glen is now famed for Skyfall location and sadly infamous for 'dirty camping'.

Head down the narrow road through the glen for 16km to where there is a small hut that looks like a bus-stop shelter and a track heading down off left, barred by a chain. There is some roadside parking here, though rather limited.

From the roadside, head down the track towards the River Etive and into some woodland. Cross a bridge onto the south bank of the river. Just beyond the bridge, a junction in the track is met. Turn left (east), head out of woodland and follow the track for just over 1km.

The track comes to the Allt Ceitlein with a bridge over it. Cross the bridge and turn right on the track heading east.

The track becomes rougher at it climbs into a walled area, then breaks down into more of a path as it exits onto open hillside. This path now better underfoot, drops down to the Allt Ceitlein then follows it upstream for around 2km, passing some old shielings on the way.

The path meets with a line of old iron fence-posts, then climbs uphill on soggy, grassy ground for another 2km to the slabs at Lairig Dhochard.

Before reaching the wall that crosses Lairig Dhochard, the path now faint, turns southwards then twists and turns as it climbs up the northern shoulder of Meall nan Eun - route finding up this steep slope may be a bit of a trail and error, trying to avoid rocky outcrops on the way !

Higher up, the steep slope subsides and a wide flat plateau is reached. The path, now more obvious, heads south-east and crosses the plateau for another 1km or so as it makes its way to the small cairn on Meall nan Eun's summit .

Meall nan Eun may be a rather uninspiring lump, but the views from its summit are surprisingly rather fine !

About-turn on Meall nan Eun's summit and re-trace your steps for a short distance, before turning westwards and descending a delightful grass-covered hillside down towards the bealach between Meall nan Eun and Meall Tarsuinn.

A faint path forms as the bealach is approached and this is then followed from the col initially up some rocky ground, then easier terrain for an ascent of around 100m up Meall Tarsuinn . A small cairn rests on Meall Tarsuinn's summit.

Continuing on the faint path over generally grass-covered terrain, follow it as it turns more south-west and descends to some small lochans at the bealach below Stob Coir' an Albannaich.

Standing at the bealach and looking due south, a steep grassy gully can be seen making a way up the otherwise rocky north face of Stob Coir' an Albannaich. This is the route onto Stob Coir' an Albannaich and although there's not much in the way of a path up, outwith winter conditions, it's pretty straightforward. There are some damp sections, where easier progress can be made by keeping just to the left (east) of the gully.

Topping out by a cairn on the crest of on Stob Coir' an Albannaich's eastern shoulder , turn west and follow an obvious path uphill. The crest narrows somewhat into a grassy ridge, loose in a few bits, but easy going all the way to Stob Coir' an Albannaich's summit .

There's a cairn perched on a small rocky terrace on the top of Stob Coir' an Albannaich, from where superb views in all directions can be taken in on clear days .

There are two options for a return to Glen Etive, either following Stob Coir' an Albannaich's north-western shoulder, or descending south-west to the Learg Mheuran and following the Allt Mheuran downstream.


Following Stob Coir' an Albannaich's north-west shoulder (solid line) :

From Stob Coir' an Albannaich's summit, follow its crest travelling north-west above Coire Leacach for 300m or so. Leave the crest, and on grassy ground, head westwards for around 1km.

Cross a burn that drains into Coire Leacach and turn northwards over Beinn Chaorach . After passing some small lochans, drop a few metres on rocky ground to a grassy area where turn north-west.

As a burn develops, keep to its northern bank and trace it downhill on grassy slopes all the way to the birch woodland above Coileitir. Drop down the final 100m or so in the woodland, where terrain can be a bit rough, to meet with the track to Coileitir below and return to the roadside.


Following the Allt Mheuran (dashed line) :

From Stob Coir' an Albannaich's summit, descend pathless and grass-covered slopes south-west to reach the top of the hillside above the bealach above the Learg Mheuran. A path is picked up which descends, zig-zagging to the bealach , where a couple of cairns stand by a path crossing the col.

Turn north-west and follow the rough path downhill keeping to the northern bank of the Allt Mheuran. There are several small burns that cross the path on the way, all just needing a simple step or jump.

After around 3km on from the bealach between Glas Bheinn Mhor and Stob Coir' an Albannaich the path is crossed by more significant burns, with one of these having suffered a fair bit of a rock and landslide.

The path reaches woodland, a fence is crossed and you may come across a memorial stone by the lower falls of the Allt Mheuran. The path now on very soggy ground, travels back to the buildings at Coileir.