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Corbett bagging: Ben Hee from West Merkland

Written by Fiona

June 28 2023

A three-day trip to northern Suthlerland included a walk of the Corbett ben Hee from West Merkland. The route is relatively easy to find, especially on a fine day, and is a mostly gentle outing.

My friend Ben and I had already walked a few other Corbetts in the area so we were looking for a gentler day. We enjoyed lovely sunshine, too.

Walk of Ben Hee

We parked in a large gavel area at West Merkland and then walked just over 1km to reach a track heading north. After around 1.5km on this flat and wide track, the route to Ben Hee heads up via a beautiful gorge. You’ll see a small cairn at the side of the track indicating the way.

From here, there is a narrow path that follows the bank of a burn up a gorgeous corrie. The stream is very pretty and there are several lovely waterfalls that cascade into pools. Looking over our shoulders, we could see the cleat outline of Ben Stack behind us.

Higher up, the route climbs on to open mountain slope and the trod comes and goes. There are a few small cairns that show the way but in poor weather, you would need to navigate by map and compass.

The general route is to head up and eastwards and towards a bealach east of the Drochaid Coire nam Mang ridge. This is the steepest section of the walk but even then it’s not arduous if you take your time.

The final walk to the summit at 873m is northwards on a gently ascending grassy slope. At higher altitude, the grass is strewn with large rocks and boulders.

There is a trig pillar and a wind shelter on the summit and the views are fantastic, taking in Ben Hope, the most northerly Munro, as well as the trio of Corbetts of the Quinag.

Ben and I sat for a while enjoying the sunshine and the views before returning on a similar route back to the van. We enjoyed a great view of Ben Stack for almost all of the return walk.

Ben Hee is an excellent half-day Corbett walk.

Ben Hee route details:

Distance: 13.5km

Total ascent: 804m

Route: Strava and OS Maps

Corbetts bagged: 121

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