Outdoor Adventures with Ancient Brit
Munro 2007 - Day 33: 21st May
Monday 21st May
Conival 987 m NC 30357 19939 (Munro 52)
Ben More Assynt 998 m NC 31839 20147 (Munro 53) (Naked Munro 30)
S Top, Ben More Assynt 960 m (Munro Top 28)
Carn nan Conhairean 868 m
Distance: 23.7 km
Ascent: 1380m
Time: 8:15 hours
Parking: Car park on A837 by Hotel entrance at Inchnadamph. NC25090 21610
Weather: It clouded over overnight. The cloud was lifting off the mountain tops by the
time I set out just before 9am. It was mainly cloudy with sunny periods and sharp
showers. The main feature was a strong SW wind which inconvenienced walking in the
gusts. The forecast rain arrived in the evening.
Personal notes: I started with a 90 minute drive to Inchnadamph through a landscape
scoured by glaciers in the ice-ages with much bare rock and Roche Moutonnee. This area
has some of the oldest rocks in the world, with magnificent mountains, including Quinag,
but no Munros.
I was getting a buffeting on the ridge between Conival and Ben More Assynt which was
rather awkward on the boulderfield composed mainly of quartzite blocks. The south ridge
of Ben More Assynt required some easy but exposed scrambling, but fortunately the wind
wasn’t gusting quite as strong as on the ridge between Conival and Ben More Assynt.
It was a tough day due to the rough terrain and the buffeting from the wind.
This was the last day of the Test Match and there was no play due to rain so the
match that was dominated by England ended in a draw.
The route: Follow the track from Gleann Dubh. This deteriorates into a path and
eventually a badly eroded path, passing waterfalls and caves to the source of the River
Traligill. Continue up to the col to the north of Conival and over boulderfields to the
summit of Conival and onto Ben More Assynt. If you are just doing the Munros you will
want to return y the same route, but the South Top of Ben More Assynt lies along a
narrow, exposed ridge. From the South Top there isn’t a direct way back to
Inchnadamph. I continued south to Carn nan Conhairean and then further south before
it was safe to double back NW to Dubh Loch Mor. From here I did a rising traverse to
the col between Conival and Breabag before dropping down into Gleann Dubh, where I
regained my ascent route.
Nature notes: I thought I had seen a golden Eagle in Gleann Dubh, but on further study
it turned out to be a Buzzard. There were a lot of small birds in the glen including
swallow, House Martins, Wheatear and Grey Wagtail. There was also a cuckoo which I
could here calling across and later spotted flying across the glen.
Initially I was in a limestone terrain and there were many Rabbits taking advantage
of the dry conditions underfoot.
Historical note: Ardvreck Castle was built by Angus Mor III in the latter half of the 15th
Century and extended by Donald Ban IX a century later. The castles most famous
occupant was James Graham, Marquis of Montrose, who was imprisoned here in 1650
after his defeat at the Battle of Carbisdale. In 1672 a 14-day siege by the McKenzies of
Wester Ross marked the end of the MacLeod ownership of Assynt. The castle survived
the warfare of the era but was finally lagely destroyed when the castle was struck by
lightning in 1795.
Geological notes: John Horne and Ben Peach were two of the many geologists who came
to this area and stayed at the Inchnadamph Hotel in the 19th Century to study the
geological structure of the mountains and discuss how the mountains had been formed.
Once the structure of these mountains had been established, Assynt became a popular
destination for geologists from all over the world. There is a memorial to Horne and
Peach at Inchnadamph.
The underlying rock in the area is Cambrian Limestone, which at 500 million years
is the youngest in Assynt. This limestone has produced the best examples of limestone
pavements, caves and underground streams in Scotland.
Book: “Death is now my Neighbour” by Colin Dexter
Overnight: In a parking area a couple of mile south of Inchnadamph
Conival 987 m NC 30357 19939 (Munro 52)
Ben More Assynt 998 m NC 31839 20147 (Munro 53) (Naked Munro 30)
S Top, Ben More Assynt 960 m (Munro Top 28)
Carn nan Conhairean 868 m
Distance: 23.7 km
Ascent: 1380m
Time: 8:15 hours
Parking: Car park on A837 by Hotel entrance at Inchnadamph. NC25090 21610
Weather: It clouded over overnight. The cloud was lifting off the mountain tops by the
time I set out just before 9am. It was mainly cloudy with sunny periods and sharp
showers. The main feature was a strong SW wind which inconvenienced walking in the
gusts. The forecast rain arrived in the evening.
Personal notes: I started with a 90 minute drive to Inchnadamph through a landscape
scoured by glaciers in the ice-ages with much bare rock and Roche Moutonnee. This area
has some of the oldest rocks in the world, with magnificent mountains, including Quinag,
but no Munros.
I was getting a buffeting on the ridge between Conival and Ben More Assynt which was
rather awkward on the boulderfield composed mainly of quartzite blocks. The south ridge
of Ben More Assynt required some easy but exposed scrambling, but fortunately the wind
wasn’t gusting quite as strong as on the ridge between Conival and Ben More Assynt.
It was a tough day due to the rough terrain and the buffeting from the wind.
This was the last day of the Test Match and there was no play due to rain so the
match that was dominated by England ended in a draw.
The route: Follow the track from Gleann Dubh. This deteriorates into a path and
eventually a badly eroded path, passing waterfalls and caves to the source of the River
Traligill. Continue up to the col to the north of Conival and over boulderfields to the
summit of Conival and onto Ben More Assynt. If you are just doing the Munros you will
want to return y the same route, but the South Top of Ben More Assynt lies along a
narrow, exposed ridge. From the South Top there isn’t a direct way back to
Inchnadamph. I continued south to Carn nan Conhairean and then further south before
it was safe to double back NW to Dubh Loch Mor. From here I did a rising traverse to
the col between Conival and Breabag before dropping down into Gleann Dubh, where I
regained my ascent route.
Nature notes: I thought I had seen a golden Eagle in Gleann Dubh, but on further study
it turned out to be a Buzzard. There were a lot of small birds in the glen including
swallow, House Martins, Wheatear and Grey Wagtail. There was also a cuckoo which I
could here calling across and later spotted flying across the glen.
Initially I was in a limestone terrain and there were many Rabbits taking advantage
of the dry conditions underfoot.
Historical note: Ardvreck Castle was built by Angus Mor III in the latter half of the 15th
Century and extended by Donald Ban IX a century later. The castles most famous
occupant was James Graham, Marquis of Montrose, who was imprisoned here in 1650
after his defeat at the Battle of Carbisdale. In 1672 a 14-day siege by the McKenzies of
Wester Ross marked the end of the MacLeod ownership of Assynt. The castle survived
the warfare of the era but was finally lagely destroyed when the castle was struck by
lightning in 1795.
Geological notes: John Horne and Ben Peach were two of the many geologists who came
to this area and stayed at the Inchnadamph Hotel in the 19th Century to study the
geological structure of the mountains and discuss how the mountains had been formed.
Once the structure of these mountains had been established, Assynt became a popular
destination for geologists from all over the world. There is a memorial to Horne and
Peach at Inchnadamph.
The underlying rock in the area is Cambrian Limestone, which at 500 million years
is the youngest in Assynt. This limestone has produced the best examples of limestone
pavements, caves and underground streams in Scotland.
Book: “Death is now my Neighbour” by Colin Dexter
Overnight: In a parking area a couple of mile south of Inchnadamph
Ardvreck Castle
Quinag
Inchnadamph House
Cave entrance
River Traligill
Ben More Assynt
Summit, Ben More
Assynt
Assynt
S ridge, Ben More Assynt
Summit, Ben More
Assynt
Assynt
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