This is my second time on this Corbett and, again, I enjoyed the 12km walk with a total elevation of around 870m in great weather. On this occasion, in early summer, I walked with my friend Sophie. Sail Mhòr is the final rise of a long ridge that extends from the famous mountain ridge of An Teallach.
Waterfalls and fabulous views
The route to the summit of Sail Mhòr, at 767m elevation, is rarely challenging. It starts from a layby on the side of the A832. There is a short section along the verge of the road before you pick up a fairly obvious path that meanders uphill alongside a river and gorge. There are several stunning waterfalls and Sophie and I took our time to admire the cascades.
We also spotted a small herd of feral goats. Wild goats are quite common in this area and you can oftne see the on the roadsides.
The path, although muddy and soggy in places, heads generally south and makes route finding quite easy to start with. After about 1km, there is a steeper incline, before the route tramps over rougher moorland vegetation.
We stuck beside the burn, Allt Airdeasaidh, as we progressed further along a glen and around the eastern base of the mountain. The rounded hump of Sail Mhòr rose up to our right.
First though, our aim was a lesser summit, Ruigh Mheallain, which we decided would ease the gradient of the climb to Sail Mhòr. We also needed to cross the river and it took us a while to find a place with enough obvious rocks sticking out above the water for a dry crossing.
Some 4km from the road and at an elevation of about 400m, we struck off north-westerly towards Ruigh Mheallain.
We actually missed a path and, instead, headed straight upwards on rough vegetation for a while. The first rise became steeper on the last 100m to the first top of 580m. We dropped a little after this, before ascending again.
At some point on the southern flank of Sail Mhòr, we came across a well-trodden path and joined this. The path skirts the upper edge of a crags and rocks that drop away to the west and down to Loch Broom. There are no worries about exposure here, though, because the path keeps walkers away from the edge.
The higher we walked, the more amazing the views became. In every direction, mountains and the coast, including the Summer Isles far below, provided superb vistas, especially on the sunny day. We enjoyed looking back across to An Teallach’s fiesty ridge outline, too.
There are two cairns on the summit of Sail Mhor. The first cairn looked to be at the highest point, while the second takes the form of a shelter cairn. The views from here are fabulous. being perhaps the highest but the second being larger and giving the best views. West and north, the land drops away and this only served to offer up even more expansive views, including Little Loch Broom and over to the Summer Isles and Coigach.
Sophie and I sat for a while, eating our lunch and enjoying the vast vistas.
Our return route was more directly south and then south easterly to regain Allt Airdeasaidh in the glen. We crossed the river again and, after this, the route was the same as the outward walk.
Sail Mhòr route details
Distance: 12km
Elevation total: 860m