Situated deep in Glen Glass in Easter Ross, Beinn nan Eun is a rounded mountain that is tall enough at 743m / 2437ft to qualify as a Fiona (or Graham). It’s a long way from a public road and I chose to cycle the first 13.5km along a mostly easy-going gravel track before completing the final 2km on foot to reach the cairn atop the mountain. The return route is the same but in reverse.
Bike ride through Glen Glass
Glen Glass is part of 25,000-acre Wyvis Estate, near Evanton, to the west of Inverness. If you are a keen walker, the chances are you will have heard of the more famous Wyvis Estate mountain, the Munro Ben Wyvis.
Perhaps you have also heard about, or seen photos of, the iconic “Pink House”, which sits on the southern shore of Loch Glass. Also known as Culzie Lodge, the grand looking house is actually an abandoned, unfinished and uninhabited building that was constructed in the 1980s, apparently without planning permission. It has become a popular photo spot often featured on social media and in the TV series The Traitors.
The Wyvis Estate also has a grand lodge and several small, inhabited lodges and is owned by Wyvis One Estate Limited, a private limited company incorporated in 2008 and, according to company records, has two directors Ms Theodate Coates and Mr Stuart O’Sullivan.
Parking close to the end of the narrow minor public road that heads north-west out of Evanton and before the Wyvis Estate, I cycled through white gates at Eileanach Lodge, then soon turned right onto a wide track that undulates alongside the River Glass before reaching Loch Glass.
At first, I passed through an area of tall trees, before finding myself in a more open glen with steep-sided hills and mountains on both sides. It was a warm day and the dark loch water was lightened by the sun’s rays.
I could see the unusual pink of the uninhabited house further along the track and kept that in my sight as I enjoyed pedalling with a tailwind. It seemed as if I was descending more than I was climbing for the first two-thirds of the bike section and I knew this wouldn’t be much fun on the route back out of the glen.
At Wyvis Lodge, at the end of the loch, signposts sent me left to make a detour away from the ground immediately surrounding the lodge. This meant I completed a short dog-leg and passed another lodge and a clump of trees as I did so.
I continued alongside a river for a few more kilometres before the track started to climb more steeply uphill. I was pleased I had chosen my mountain bike, rather than gravel bike although people who are more skilful on a bike would have no problem with the full ride on a gravel bike.
After passing a pretty waterfall to my left, I climbed a little more to a small hydro dam. This is where I left my bike, to continue on foot.
Hike of Beinn nan Eun
As is common with Fionas, there was little in the way of a path, or even a trod, to follow on this mountain. However, it was a short walk north with only around 400m of ascent and I could fairly easily see my way thanks to the fine weather and a few glances of my map.
In cloud, you would need to more closely follow a map and a bearing on a compass to be sure of reaching top. The ground was thick in heather and tussocky grass and I was grateful it was early summer because that meant the vegetation had not had a chance to grow too tall. In the height of summer, it would be tough tramp uphill through deep heather.
Every so often, I stopped to look over my shoulder at the stunning panorama to the south over the great bulk of Ben Wyvis. I enjoyed exploring the Munro and several Munro Tops of the wider Wyvis massif last year.
There was a couple of hundred metres of steep ascent to reach a flatter summit and then a short walk to the cairn.
From the top of Beinn nan Eun, the views were superb in every direction. I love being the only person on a mountain amid a huge, wild and remote landscape.
My return walk to my bike was a more direct line and probably a better one to take for both the ascent and descent, although it didn’t matter too much in the end.
Return hike and bike
I headed downhill on foot, making good time and could see the dam ahead where I’d left my bike earlier. The wider views ahead were of the Wyvis range.
Back on my bike, I enjoyed the first speedy downhill section back to the dog-leg around the lodge and then to Loch Glass again. It was an up-and-down return ride after that, into a headwind, with a few sections of ascent that tested my legs. I haven’t used my bike for a while so my body wasn’t used to the pedalling.
After the loch, I cycled along the track next to the river, through the forest and then turned left to exit the estate and on to the minor road for the final few hundred metres back to my parking spot.
This is a fine outing for a Fiona and could be walked if you have the time and energy. An alternative idea is to simply walk along the glen to see the Pink House, or to reach Wyvis Lodge before turning back again.
I saw only three other walkers, who I believe were walking a section of the glen out-and-back, and a couple of estate workers.
Route details:
Bike ride: Strava and OS Maps
Hike: Strava and OS Maps