Into Knoydart - Meall Buidhe & Luinne Bheinn

My first time into Knoydart would also coincide with my 2nd trip into the Munros for 2021. I seem to be averaging 4-5 Munros per year but this trip had been in planning since I'd been out with Graeme on Mam na Gualain in May. As usual, I didn't sleep well the night before so it was a very early start for me and I was at Mallaig for 0600. The boat wasn't until 0730. Graeme and Luna arrived just before 0700 and with heavy packs on, we boarded and enjoyed the excellent transfer over. Once we disembarked, we started the walk up into the Glen, catching up on life. We fair motored along the track up to the Mam Barrisdale, taking it all in. It felt wild here. After a couple of good hours walking, we found a wee promontory just down from Meall Buidhe and set up camp. 

After some refreshments, it was light packs on and the small matter of the two Munros for the day. It was a steep pull up on to Meall Buidhe and it took us over 2 hours to make the summit - the heat was rather stifling but the views more than made up for the pain. What a wondrous place this is.

I sent a message to Mrs P saying we were at first summit - it was the first time I'd had signal and that was refreshing enough in itself. We began the walk over to Luinne Bheinn, which didn't look that far but the descent and ascent over to it was tricky and tough, especially with Luna who was fearful of some of the climbs. The terrain between the two Munros allowed for some amazing views over to Ben Aden and beyond. Future routes were already being hatched; wee waterfalls planned for a refreshing dook. We eventually topped out on her 2nd Munro of the day, and the views were again fantastic. From here, we headed down towards the Mam Barrisdale but took a more direct route back to the tents, whereupon we downed a tin of beer in seconds. A fabulous day's walking - both tough and tremendous with the walk back out the next day to the Old Forge for lunch and a beer, a real treat. Cannot wait to come back.

An Socach from Killilan

I knew that the minute we could emerge from lockdown 2, I was aiming for this Munro as part of a bike ride from Killilan. And so the moment came, I was too excited to wait for the 0500 alarm. I got up at 0200 after a grand two hours sleep and headed straight out of the door. The long drive from home to Killilan saw me head across Rannoch Moor at 0345 with deer at the side of the road, almost ghostly in the headlights. I eventually rolled up at the car park, where I had also decided to come after lockdown 1 back in July 2020. I popped the front tyre on the Curbar MTB and began the cycle - even at 0630, the farmer was up and about and gave me a wave. It was a lovely cycle up to the end of Glen Elchaig and I rode as far as I could reasonably take the bike - a good 14 km from the car and barely an hour had passed. It was a beautiful day; cold and with some snow on the tops - would it come into play higher up? The view back down Glen Elchaig was outstanding.

Now, the hard work could begin. A tramp across the bogs and the shoulder of An Socach was my first target; it seemed an age before I made the flat ground below the shoulder proper and the views to the hills surrounding my target was astounding. What a place to take it all in. It had been several months since I had been on the Munros (6 in fact) and who could have foreseen the 2nd Covid wave being so brutal. The decision to allow families to meet at Christmas was a costly one; I was happy that I had played no part in putting my own parents at risk. Others had not been so fortunate. I now carried on to the last climb up to An Socach and wondered if I had enough in the tank to take in the 2nd Munro, An Riabhachan. When I finally reached the last part of the hill, I realised with the size of the cornices, getting to An Riabhachan would be too much of a risk and so I stayed a while at the summit of Munro 265. I phoned my wife to let her know I was good (it was 0930) and was heading back down. The views were incredible. It was also bitterly cold. 

I re-traced my steps until the shoulder, then decided to head down to the North of the loch, before a lovely walk back to the bike, dodging frogs and their spawn. From the bike, it was a lovely meander back to the car, with the heat of the day now apparent. I packed the bike away and made the trip back home in time for tea. A 42-km day made much easier with the bike and it was superb to be back amongst the big hills.