Beinn a'Chuirn
Beinn a’Chuirn, Kintail. Section 10A.
Height – 603 metres. Map – OS Landranger 33.
Climbed - 26 February 2011. Time – 3.25 hours.
Distance – 8 kilometres. Ascent – 705 metres.
Trip Report Details:
I was staying in Plockton so it was a reasonably short journey to Letterfearn, on the south shore of Loch Duich, reached along the single track road from Sheil Bridge, on the A87, to Ratagan and then an even narrower road to Letterfearn. Just beyond the fish farm I managed to get my car off the road adjacent to a passing place.
The start of the walk was across some wet and boggy ground followed by a short steep ascent before the gradient eased. However the underfoot conditions were rather difficult due to large areas of dead bracken.
A fence was followed and this took me to the local water treatment works where I located an old overgrown vehicle track. It soon disappeared in the bracken so I headed for and crossed the Allt an Inbhir, which was my initial plan. Immediately on the opposite bank a deer fence marked the boundary of a forest.
The deer fence soon changed direction and I climbed steadily south-west through heather and rocks as I worked my way round Coire Inbhir. Higher up the gradient eased as I walked round numerous knolls before arriving at the summit trig point.
It was rather cloudy to the south but to the west I had views of Kyle of Lochalsh and the Skye Bridge, to the north, Dornie Bridge, Loch Long and Eilean Donan Castle, and to the east The Five Sisters and with a break in the cloud The Saddle.
After a while I returned to the start by a slightly more direct route which involved a steep descent through heather and rocks into Coire Inbhir. However lower down I still had the dead bracken to walk through.
Photos taken on walk.