After a long hike on the Ardgour peninsula on Saturday, I plumped for a shorter, easier out-and-back walk to bag another Fiona, Creag Dhubh (Glen Spean), the following day.
This is a short route on rough moorland and with some steeper sections but it’s fairly quickly completed. The weather was brighter and calmer than Saturday, too.
The mountain sits between Glen Roy and Glen Spean and I started from a car park next to the old church and cemetery of Cille Choirill, Achluachrach, east of Roybridge. If you have time, it’s worth spending some time strolling around the churchyard. The views of Lochaber are breathtaking.
Looking north, the hill was easy to identify and I having planned the route on my OS Map app, I could make out most of the route I would follow. Yet, still, I couldn’t be sure how it would pan out once I started walking and the type of terrain I would encounter. I was fairly sure it would be wet, boggy and thick with a mess of vegetation. I was proved correct!
My first attack point was the lower summit of Tom a’ Chrochaire above the church. A short descent, including a river and fence crossing, saw me ascending on a steepish gradient. I headed north-east on to the western shoulder of Creag Dhubh and then continued more easterly.
At higher elevation the gradient eased and, as I walked, I looked out across the many taller, snow-topped peaks of the mountainous region. The cloud hung over the mountains of Munro height but still the views were superb.
There is a tall trig and a cairn on the summit of the Fiona at 658m.
To return, I followed a similar route although I strayed further south and encountered some steeper ground that I needed to traverse for safety. On wet ground it can be tricky to stay upright on a very steep slope.
Spotting the church below me, I found a slightly different descent to regain the car park. I headed towards the remains of an old building and then a gate in the fence, which led to a rise in the land before another descent towards the church. You can see this on my OS route map. I spent a short while reading some of the old gravestones before returning to my van and then heading north – and back home.
Route details: Creag Dhubh (Glen Spean)
Distance: 5.5km
Total ascent: 500m
Fionas bagged: 56