I remember the last time I biked and hiked to the Munros Lurg Mhòr and Bidein a’ Choire Sheasgaich. It ws the summer of 2020 and Hubby g and I had enjoyed a sunny week in north-west Scotland. That week, we had bagged my final summits on the Cuillin Ridge on the isle of Skye, so I was quite tired as we set off from Attadale for Lurg Mhòr and Bidein a’ Choire Sheasgaich (affectionately known as Lurgy and Cheesecake).
However fit you are, the bike ride to the remote Munros is long, hilly and tiring. The walk itself is not too daunting but then you still need to ride back to the start and that involves a long ascent after the hike, before a glorious downhill cycle.
Back in 2020, having reached the summit of Cheesecake and then Lurg Mhòr, Hibby G suggested we also add the Munro top, along the ridge from Lurg Mhòr. We started the walk, but then I decided I couldn’t be bothered.
I think I may have said: “I will never walk the Munro Tops so let’s not bother…”
Just over four years later and I was back – and this time I was keen to reach the Munro Top.
Take two: Lurg Mhòr, Bidein a’ Choire Sheasgaich and a Munro Top
For my friends Cath and Geraldine, it was their first time on these Munros. We met at Attadale, parking at the small car park just inside the estate gates.
We set off on mountain bikes for the bike ride. At first, it’s a flat Landrover track but the first hill, which is steep, soon arrives. I was annoyed to realise that my bike was not in good order. Two of my three easiest gears slipped when I tried to engage them and this limited my choice for hill climbs. Later in the trip, my seat post refused to stay up (the dropper mechanism had failed) and I needed to ride the bike with the seat at its lowest point. I also discovered, when I took the bike to a repair shop, that the brakes were part-seized. So all in all, I found the bike ride tougher than I had hoped it would be.
Thankfully, the weather was good and the views were great, so I focused on these positives and kept pedalling as best I could.
We ended up riding for 14.5km before leaving our bikes by the trail side to continue on foot. While the last few kilometres were on a rough, uphill path, we knew that it would be a joy later on to be able to descend further on two wheels.
Lurg Mhòr and the Munro Top
We decided to walk to Lurg Mhòr first. The route heads up to a col between Lurg Mhòr, to the east, and Cheesecake to the left, so it doesn’t really matter which way you go.
There is nothing daunting about the hike and while it is steep and rugged in places, there are plenty of trods, too, and route finding was fairly straightforward because it was good visibility.
Arriving at Lurg Mhòr at 987m elevation, we could see the Munro Top along the ridge further east. There was a little swirling cloud – and the joys of a brocken spectre – but we could still see that the ridge looked narrow and rocky in places. However, I was determined that I would bag the MT this time.
Since finishing my first round of Munros and embarking on my Corbetts list, I am also keen to reach Munro Tops whenever possible.
As it turned out, the ridge was not easy. especially if you are like me and do not relish drop-offs. The northern side was a steep drop, while the southern side was only a little less steep. There were several rocky turrets that needed to be negotiated and we either skirted around them lower down the southern slope or dared to scramble over them.
We took our time, encouraging each other and finally reached the 974m top, Meal Mhor. Then we needed to turn around and do the ridge again!
I confess it was with some relief that we made it back to Lurg Mhòr, to continue our walk to Cheesecake. We returned to the col, then hiked uphill in a north-westerly direction. My legs were feeling the kilometres of biking and walking but it wasn’t long before we were on top of the Munro at 945m.
We headed back downhill to reclaim our bikes having walked some 11km and ascended around 1000m in total.
The ride back to Attadale
The sun was starting to set as we regained our bikes and rode downhill. At first, the cycle felt fantastic because it was easy to freewheel. We then began a very long ride back uphill. Each time I thought we were about to reach the top, another bump would emerge ahead. Our ascent total was about 200m, compared to 572m on the ride out, but with tired legs it was tough.
On one of the small declines, I decided to drop my seat post for better dynamics. That’s when I discovered that the dropper mechanism was broken and the seat refused to stay up.
I had to cylce the rest of the way with a seat as low as a BMX bike, which was very frustrating. I only have myself to blame for not having my bike regularly serviced. By the time. got back to my van, the back tyre had also deflated.
Cath, Geraldine and I rode the last few kilometres in very low light (we did have head torches with us). It was a January outing, so if you plan to ride and hike these Munros, you might want to wait until the longer days or spring and summer