Walk Beinn Bhan in north-west Scotland

This article about a walk circuit to the Corbett of Beinn Bhan appeared in The Scots Magazine.

Corbett bagging: Beinn Bhan

The high mountain, Beinn Bhan, is an impressive sight from a much travelled tourist road in north-west Scotland.

Yet, as I discover during a rewarding walk, its summit appears surprisingly less visited.

The adventure with my friend Ben begins close to the base of the Bealach na Ba, an iconic road pass on the famous North Coast 500.

While traffic passes almost constantly on the singletrack road, we are very quickly immersed in a peaceful and wonderfully wild landscape.

At first, there is a well-trodden path along the western bank of the River Kishorn. It’s gentle incline also lulls us into a relaxed pace as we enjoy sunshine and increasingly spectacular views of high cliffs, buttresses and sandstone amphitheatres that form the eastern flanks of the mountain ridge.

Then, as we meet a junction and veer north-west, the slope steepens and the terrain becomes more rugged. The trail fades and returns, then fades again, until we decide to simply follow a compass bearing towards Coire na Fhamair, at the northern end of the ridge.

Arriving at a beautiful lochan at 1200ft elevation, we can see more clearly that the ascent of the corrie is going to be a muscle-punishing affair. At first, it’s “quite steep” then from around 1900ft elevation it’s “seriously steep”.

For the final 650ft, Ben and I set our own paces. There is a faint zig-zag sheep path on the grassy slope and this helps to ease the incline a little.

A final push uphill takes me over the ridge edge and on to a wide and much flater top. While I wait for Ben to catch up, I walk west and take in a magnificent view over the sea to numerous islands, including Skye, Raasay, Rum and the Outer Hebrides.

Ben and I on the summit of Beinn Bhan.

After a rest for a snack and to enjoy the vide vista, Ben and I continue south along the ridge and carefully peer down at another dramatic corrie, Coire na Poite and two lochans far below. Some people ascend this route but we’re happy we made an alternative choice.

We soon reach the summit at 2940ft – Beinn Bhan is categorised as a Corbett – where there is a stone shelter and trig point. We meet the only other people we see all day.

The couple have chosen to ascend from higher up the Bealach na Ba and they plan to return the same way, therefore missing what Ben and I believe to be the best part of the walk, the superb eastern corries.

As well as the sublime coastal views, we can see the many high peaks of the Torridon area to the east.

We’re keen to complete a circuit, so we continue south-easterly, descending on a rough and grassy slope.

To our right, we see Loch Coire nan Arr below and the imposing flanks of another Corbett, Sgùrr a’ Chaorachain and a climbing route known as Cìoch Nose. Vehicles look tiny on the Bealach na Ba.

The final section downhill to regain the vehicle is the roughest of the walk but it doesn’t last long and we are soon changing our walking boots for casual footwear and making our way to the nearest shop for ice creams.

Give it a try

There are several different routes for Beinn Bhan (Applecross). See www.walkhighlands.co.uk, as well as the Scottish Mountaineering Club book The Corbetts and Cicerone’s Walking the Corbetts: Volume 2: North of the Great Glen.