I walked Run-hike Beinn Fhada in 2014 as part of my first Munro round. Hubby G and I combined it with a route to another Munro, A’ Ghlas-bheinn. This time, I was keen to pick up two Munro Tops and along with my friend David, we completed a full traverse of the Beinn Fhada (Ben Attow) ridge.
Run along the glen
We started at Morvich and joined the Affric Kintail Way. We passed quite a few people who were walking the full route east to west. David and I ran in an easterly direction and it was immediately obvious it would be a very hot day. The sun was bright and there was no cloud cover so there was no avoiding the full glare of heat.
It was a pretty good track and path for running and while hot we enjoyed the running and the views. This is a very beautiful glen with the Beinn Fhada ridge rising steeply to our left and the Five Sisters of Kintail ridge to our right.
I stopped a few times to take photos and drink from streams of fresh and fast-flowing water. After around 7km, we reached Glen Licht House, also called Hadden-Woodburn Memorial Hut. It’s a locked hut and owned by Edinburgh University Mountaineering club and the National Trust for Scotland. To find out more about staying here, see Glen Licht House.
David and I could see our path heading uphill past the hut and we ran on. The next part of the glen was undulating and generally uphill. We ran the easier sections and briskly walked the steeper parts. It was so warm that running became much harder work.
Stopping was not an option because we were attacked by midges if we did. The air was so still that the midges were out in force.
Our next target was Camban bothy, which we reached at around the 13km mark. This bothy is free to use but you can’t book it and so it depends on who is there when you arrive.
David and I took refuge for a break inside the thick walls. It felt cooler indoors, although we soon realised we were sweating profusely. This seemed to be the body’s reaction to coming out of the hot sun and after a fairly brisk run.
Pushing uphill and on to the ridge
There was no path to follow but we had already decided that our way to access the ridge would be behind the bothy. We planned to gain the ridge at about 750m elevation and then turn west to proceed along the full Fhada ridgeline.
What we did not know beforehand was that an area of this slope has been rewilded. While I am all for rewilding, it meant the vegetation was thick and the trees gave shade, which led to swarms of bugs. There were midges as well as horrid deer keds (Hippoboscidae). I am not sure if keds bite humans – they are parasites that do bite deer and other mammals – but these insects are extremely irritating.
They are flies that seem to have spider legs, too, and when they land on the skin, they seem to stick, which makes them difficult to brush off.
David and I spent most of the rest of the run-hike swatting and squishing keds on our arms, neck, hair and legs. We couldn’t avoid them and while they were at their worst in the rewilding woodland area, we were still pestered by keds almost constantly on the ridge.
We craved a breeze but the day was very still and the air was warm. Even at 900m elevation the keds – and midges – annoyed us.
The intense heat also became very draining and we were forced to slow our pace accordingly.
Finally climbing to around 700m, we headed west on an undulating landscape tht finlly took us to the first Munro Top, Sgurr a’ Dubh Doire at 962m height.
From the small cairn, we could see Beinn Fhada in the distance to our right. We ran and walked along the top of the wide ridge and up to 1032m elevation.
David was struggling more then me with the heat and he needed to sit down and eat. I couldn’t stand the keds and midges and ended up walking to and fro trying to find a bit of breeze, while aslo eating and drinking.
David reckons it’s the hottest he has been on a mountain in Scotland and I also found it warm, although I think a recent trip to Ardgour topped it for high temperatures.
We descended on to a wide, high plateau from Fhada summit, continuing west. We reach the second Munro Top, Meall an Fhuarain Mhoir at 955m before travelling towards the ridge proper.
The best part of the ridge of Beinn Fhada
David loves a ridge walk and while I wasn’t so keen – I’d read nervously about the “Bad Step” – I trusted I would be fine. The ridge stretched out ahead of us and it looked amazing. I could also see if would not prove to be too testing in terms of a feeling of exposure because of the width of the ridge.
There was a little bit of scrambling, especially at the Bad Step section, but nothing daunting. The route finding was also quite straightforward because it appeared there had been many steps taken on this ridge before us. At once point, the steps looked like hoof prints and they eld over the edge to nowhere, but mainly the route was worn by humans.
The Bad Step amounted to a short climb up a steep slope. From a distance it looked a bit sketchy but once we were on the ascent it wasn’t difficult. There was a large area of rocky slab but it was easily possible to scramble up to the side. It might not be so easygoing if you were traversing the ridge in the opposite direction and it would be quite unpleasant if the rock was wet but on a hot, dry day we zipped up and over the pinnacle with no issues.
The rest of the ridge was straightforward although in the heat and with all the keds still landing on us, we both wished for more wind. In fact, we both became very irritated by the bugs and, as we headed downhill, we were becoming desperate for fresh water.
We chose to walk right to the end of the ridge to descend and this was fine to start with. There was a vague trod to follow and we came across the most delicious and cold freshwater burn.
Sadly, further down, the trod disappeared and we faced a long and hot slog through thick vegetation. The bugs didn’t let up either and so all we could do was push on and hope the glen would come sooner.
Strangely, once back at the base of the glen, the breeze was the strongest we had felt it all day. This kept the keds and midges away and we were able to enjoy a fantastic cold water dip in the River Croe.
I continued to be plagued by keds on the drive back to Inverness – I think they were hiding in my hair – and I found two more inside my sports bra and another in my running bag once I got home.
Overall, it was a great day out and a fantastic route, although it would have been easier if the conditions had been cooler and minus the wee beasties.
Route details: Beinn Fhada and two Munro Tops via the ridge
Distance: 27km
Total ascent: 1600m