A week-day Corbett is always a pleasure and this one, Cul Mor, just north of Ullapool on Scotland’s west coast, was enjoyed with my visiting friend Elizabeth. Living near Inverness, it is still a surprise to check the route details to reach the west coast. It was just over an hour of driving to get to Ullapool and then a few more miles north to start the walk at a car park Knockan Crag visitor centre on the A835.
This is a relatively easy and straightforward Corbett and on a clear day the views take in iconic mountains of Assynt, including iconic Stac Pollaidh and Suilven.
Read: Packrafting, walking and summit camping on Suilven.
A cloudy start for a Corbett walk
The weather had looked promising, although we did start out in low cloud from the roadside.
As we climbed, the clouds shifted and swirled and we were treated to glimpses of fabulous views of the lochan-scattered landscape below. We were also fortunate to witness a small number of red deer peering at us over a heathery ridge.
Then, the best gift of all, was coming out above the clouds. The vista was breath-taking with bright sunshine reflecting off a sea of clouds and the tops of numerous mountains all around and far in the distance. A sunny day with blue sky is a great day, but I also love a temperature inversion.
We followed an out-and-back route to start with on a well-trodden path. As we climbed, we headed west on to a more rugged terrain where the path came and went. Our approach to the summit of Cul Mor was completed from the south.
Before heading back down in a north-easterly direction – we completed a circuit of the summit of Cul Mor – we decided to take a detour west. We were hoping for wider vistas of the landscape and coast although the cloud seemed keen to cling to lower slopes. Still, it was an atmospheric addition to a short-ish Corbett hike.
Time flies when walking with a friend that you have not seen for ages. We chatted, laughed and expressed our happiness at being able to access such an amazing location.
The route back to the car park was north-easterly, then south-easterly before rejoining the more obvious path form earlier in the walk.
The route was 13km with 863m of ascent. It is a relatively easy Corbett.
See Strava and OS Maps. Walk Highlands has a good route description.
Corbett: 65.