© Lonely Planet Publications 384 lonelyplanet.com THE WESTERN HIGHLANDS 385 The Western Highlands 0 40 km The Western Highlands 0 20 miles The Western Highlands – Maps A T L A N T I C O C E A N The Western Highlands 1 The Five Sisters of Kintail p389 2 Beinn Alligin p392 3 Slioch p395 Cape Wrath Dounreay Butt of Durness Lewis Melvich The Western Highlands is the earthly equivalent of a walker’s heaven. It is a remote and To Thurso Port of Ness Bettyhill Kinlochbervie starkly beautiful area, sparsely populated, with beautiful glens and lochs and some of the Loch Tongue Eriboll finest mountains in Britain. In summer the clear air provides rich colours, and (sometimes) Handa Island A897 great views from the ridges and summits. The sheer number of peaks and their infinite Scourie variety attracts walkers from all over the country, year after year. In small and crowded M I N C H Point of Loch Britain, this is as close as it gets to real wilderness. All this is contained in the area between Stoer Glencoul A838 Kylesku Glen Moriston and Glen Shiel in the south and Ullapool in the north, and bounded in the A836 To Wick & John o'Groats east by a line running through Garve. Lochinver N O R T H To Stornoway Loch Helmsdale The wildness integral to this area’s charms can make logistics difficult for walkers on a Shin Knockan A9 short visit from abroad, especially if you are relying on public transport. If you have the Lairg Brora Golspie time, the effort will be well rewarded. At any time of year the walking can be difficult, so Little Loch this is no place to begin learning mountain techniques. But if you are fit, competent, well- Broom Ullapool Bonar Bridge equipped and, ideally, have plenty of time, the Western Highlands should be extremely Croick Dornoch Ardgay A832 Dundonnell Dornoch Firth rewarding, even addictive. An Teallach H I G H L A N D A835 Tain The routes we describe in this section are nontechnical (ie no ropes), are easily reached Poolewe THE GREAT Gairloch WILDERNESS Loch Nigg by car or public transport and there is a range of accommodation nearby. They are but a Maree 3 Invergordon T o r Loch Moray r i d Beinn Slioch Fannich Cromarty Firth taste of the fine opportunities available, with several other classic walks in each of the Glen o n Firth Cromarty Staffin Eighe Black 2 Kinlochewe Garve Beinn Dingwall Isle Shiel, Torridon and Great Wilderness areas. Fortrose Fort Rona Alligin Loch Inveralligin Achnasheen George A96 Luichart A9 Nairn Torridon Muir Annat of Ord THE WESTERN HIGHLANDS Beauly Portree Applecross Inverness Raasay Lochcarron Strathcarron Isle of A831 Skye Crowlin Loch Is Affric Cannich Grantown- Scalpay on-Spey Kyle of Lochalsh Drumnadrochit Sconser 1 G l e n A f f r i c Loch Ness Kyleakin Broadford Morvich iat h ad hl on s Shiel Bridge The M nt ai n Five Sisters o u Elgol G l e n S h i e l M Carn an Aviemore M o r i s t o n Fhreceadain A87 m G l e n (878m) or Fort g ns Armadale Knoydart rn ai Augustus i nt Invergarry Kingussie a u Ardvasar C o THE WESTERN HIGHLANDS Inverie Newtonmore M Loch Garry Mallaig Loch Quoich Cairngorms Drumgask National Loch Creag Park Lochy Meagaidh A9 Loch Morar Loch Arkaig Eigg A82 Loch Spean Laggan HIGHLIGHTS Glenfinnan Bridge A830 A86 S A I N Muck Loch N T Ericht U Traversing the Five Sisters’ ( p386 ) slender, scenic ridge above dramatic Glen Shiel M O Fort William Loch Treig Loch N Being knocked sideways by the views of Scotland’s west coast from atop the Horns of Alligin Ben Nevis Shiel I A ( p392 ) (1344m) P Tummel Inchree M Forest Park Kinlochleven A Pitlochry Scaling the heights of Slioch ( p393 ), the dramatic peak above Loch Maree, on the threshold R G Loch Tobermory Glencoe Loch Rannoch Tummel of the Great Wilderness Isle of A82 Mull Loch Linnhe Aberfeldy Tay 386 GLEN SHIEL •• The Five Sisters of Kintail lonelyplanet.com Booklonelyplanet.com accommodation online at lonelyplanet.com GLEN SHIEL •• The Five Sisters of Kintail 387 INFORMATION Inverness is also served by daily flights of the ridge, are Sgurr nan Saighead (Ar- The whole ridge is within the NTS’ Kintail When to Walk from Glasgow, Edinburgh, London, Belfast rows Peak, 929m) and Sgurr na Moraich Estate, so access is open at all times. The three walks in this chapter are best and Dublin. (Mighty Peak, 876m). And that isn’t all: done between mid-May and early October, before you even reach the southernmost Maps after any late-spring snow has gone and sister you have to climb over Sgurr nan The Harvey Superwalker 1:25,000 map before the chances of snowfalls increase GLEN SHIEL Spainteach (Peak of the Spaniards, 990m); Kintail: Glen Shiel covers the Five Sisters dramatically. see the boxed text, opposite , for the history and has some background information and Travelling west to the Isle of Skye you behind this unusual name. local contacts. The relevant Ordnance Sur- Maps pass through what appears to be the im- The ridge commands fine views, with vey (OS) Landranger 1:50,000 map is No 33 Two maps in the OS Travel – Road 1:250,000 penetrable Glen Shiel. The winding road the Torridon mountains punctuating the Loch Alsh, Glen Shiel & Loch Hourn. series cover the area: No 2 Northern Scot- snakes between steep-sided, rock-encrusted horizon to the northwest, the Isle of Skye land and No 3 Western Scotland. mountains, soaring skywards to the north, spreadeagled across the western skyline and Information Sources and rising almost as steeply and ruggedly to the islands of Canna, Eigg and Rum sailing At Morvich, about 1.5 miles from the Books the south. The long spiky ridge to the north between the rugged southwestern peaks – A87, the NTS (%01599-511231; [email protected]) Two publications by the Scottish Moun- of the glen is known as the Five Sisters of and much, much more. maintains a small, usually unstaffed tour- taineering Club (SMC), The Northwest Kintail. ist office featuring the Kintail Estate; the Highlands by DJ Bennett and T Strang, and PLANNING weather forecast is displayed daily. Country- The Munros by Rab Anderson and Donald THE FIVE SISTERS OF KINTAIL Far and away the best direction for this walk side rangers based here run guided walks Bennet, provide a good introduction to the is from southeast to northwest – walking during summer. area. Duration 6¾–8 hours towards the views, starting at a higher point Distance 7.5 miles (12km) than where you finish, and with a slightly NEAREST TOWNS Information Sources Difficulty demanding less steep and knee-jarring descent. If you’re Ault a’ chruinn & Shiel Bridge Gairloch tourist office (%0845 225 5121; gairloch Start Glen Shiel car park staying at Morvich or Shiel Bridge, add You can’t really call Ault a’ chruinn a vil- @visitscotland.com) is the main information Finish Ault a’ chruinn ( opposite ) about 1 mile. The distance isn’t unusually lage – it’s more a scattered collection of point for the Western Highlands. It is in- Transport private long but the ascent of 1530m is nearly 100m houses around the junction of the A87 and formative and well staffed, selling maps Summary One of the finest ridge walks in Scot- more than a romp up Ben Nevis. Keep in the minor road to Morvich. Shiel Bridge is and guidebooks and providing weather land – an arduous but immensely scenic walk mind that even when you’ve reached the a hamlet scattered along the A87, and is a forecasts for the area. The encompassing over rough ground, traversing some narrow highest point on the walk (Sgurr Fhuaran) popular refreshment stop on the way to the website for the whole of the Highlands is ridges along mostly clear, well-used paths. the climbing isn’t over – there are still two Isle of Skye. www.visithighlands.com. peaks to go. Morvich Caravan Club Site (%01599-511354; www.caravanclub.co.uk; Inverinate; sites for 2 £19) is GETTING AROUND This chain of elegant, precipitous summits, Alternatives about 1 mile north of Ault a’ chruinn. All three areas in this chapter are served by separated by slits of passes (or bealachs), Once you’re on the ridge, escape routes are Pitches at this secluded, sheltered site are THE WESTERN HIGHLANDS buses from Inverness: Scottish Citylink for falls away vertiginously to Glen Shiel on few. People do go down to Glen Shiel via flat and grassy. Glen Shiel; and Westerbus and Scotbus for one side and to the more remote and the spur from Sgurr Fhuaran, but this is Shielbridge Caravan & Camping Site (%01599- Torridon and Slioch. The Fort William– peaceful Gleann Lichd on the other. To seriously steep. Routes to and from Gleann 511211; Shiel Bridge; sites for 2 £5) is flat and open, Skye bus also services Glen Shiel. the northwest the ridge drops a little less Lichd, on the other side, are feasible and, with great views of the Five Sisters; facilities steeply to the shores of beautiful Loch indeed, have much to recommend them. are clean and well-maintained. GATEWAYS Duich. Three of the sisters are Munros There is a clear path up to the ridge at Kintail Lodge Hotel (%01599-511275; www Inverness and Fort William ( p362 ) serve as (peaks over 3000ft/914m) – Sgurr Fhuaran Bealach an Làpain from Glenlicht House, .kintaillodgehotel.co.uk; dm/s/d £13/50/58; breakfast £10, the main gateways to the area.