Carn nam Bad
Carn nam Bad, Cannich. Section 12B.Height – 457 metres. Map – OS Landranger 26.
Climbed - 27 August 2011. Time taken – 2.5 hours.
Distance – 8.5 kilometres. Ascent – 345 metres.
Trip Report Details:
Staying in Inverness it was only a short drive to just north of Millness, on the A831 Drumnadrochit to Cannich Road. Numerous barriers prevented me parking at the start of the forest track but I found a small tarred area slightly further north on the opposite side of the road.
I walked back to the start of the track and read notices on the double gates referring to the Beauly to Denny power line upgrade. At that time I thought the signage was directed at vehicle access as there was nothing pinned to the nearby stile, which I crossed to access the track. I also wasn’t aware that the Beauly to Denny transmission line upgrade included the Cannich to Beauly section. As I walked along the forest track, passed a house concealed within the forest, I noted that forest operations had taken place as areas of tress had been cleared and piles of timber were stored nearby. The track soon became wider with a new hard core base which was quite rough to walk on. This led to an open gate with a Health and Safety sign and no entry signs for pedestrians.
I decided to investigate further and soon came to a storage area where huge diggers were parked up. With no human activity around I continued on my approach to Carn nam Bad with a plan to reassess the situation if I came across any work in progress. The widened track was followed through a new deer gate and on-towards Loch Carn nam Badan. I have to admit that I wasn’t enjoying the walk due the track upgrade and the state of the adjoining vegetation which had been churned up or drained leaving an unsightly mess. I was also thinking that if this was the beginning of the upgrade a lot of the Scottish countryside between Beauly and Denny was going to be left in a similar state.On approaching Loch Carn nam Bad I observed two diggers on the track ahead. Fortunately they were parked up but a short section of the old vehicle track was rather muddy. Before reaching the loch I left the track and commenced the ascent of Carn nam Bad through deep heather with some boggy sections lower down. Areas of the hillside were roped off which made me rather inquisitive but I couldn’t figure out why as there were no pylons in this area. I reached a deer fence and followed it towards the summit cairn which was slightly off the fence line. At the cairn I took a break with views of the mountains between Affric and Strathconon.
The return was by the ascent route and again there was no human activity. I later learned that a new power line was being constructed over Carn nam Bad rather than upgrading those that already exist in nearby Strathglass. Well at least I saw and visited Carn nam Bad before the area was ruined forever.Photos taken on walk.