in the Western Highlands and is as rough as its name implies. Sgurr Dhomhnuill, pointed and shapely, is the highest peak hereabouts. Sgurr Ghiubsachain, best seen from the Glenfinnan Monument, throws down a steep and inviting ridge to the edge of Loch Shiel; and the views from Beinn Resipol are among the finest on the western seaboard. Further north, in the area from Loch Eil to Glen Shiel, the long undulating ridge of Streap is a joy; Ben Aden is every bit as rocky and rough as the toughest Munros in the Rough Bounds of Knoydart and vies with Sgurr a’ Choire Bheithe as the least accessible. The latter was for many years regarded as a candidate as a possible undiscovered Munro. Now measured definitively with a huge degree of accuracy it remains, tantalisingly, at 913m – just missing the magic height for a Munro. However, surveyors supported by the Munro Society have recently discovered a new Corbett. Beinn a’ Chlaidheimh, in the Fisherfield Forest, has been found to be lacking vital inches and has returned to the fold of the Corbetts, having previously been promoted to a Munro. Are there more Munros to be demoted or Corbetts to be promoted to Munro status? Almost certainly not. As this volume goes to press all the marginal Munros and Corbetts have been surveyed to an accuracy of ±5cm, and there should be no more surprises.
Further north, superlatives abound when describing the hills of Torridon, Coigach and Assynt. Beinn Dearg and Boasbheinn, on the edges of Flowerdale, represent considerable challenges to get up and down; but the rewards are more than worth the effort. Beinn Airigh Charr and Beinn Dearg Mor, of Fisherfield, are my two favourite Corbetts – the former for the view from the summit and the latter for the view of the mountain from Shenavall. In the east of the northern hills, attention needs to be drawn to lonely Carn Ban, one of the most remote. The great hills of Assynt, mostly Corbetts, provide stunning views of Suilven and Stac Pollaidh, neither of which are themselves high enough to be in this list but which dominate the surrounding landscape like medieval castellated fortifications. And before we reach the north coast, we have the shining quartzite of majestic Foinaven, the double-header of Cranstackie and Beinn Spionnaidh and last but certainly not least the multi-topped gem of Ben Loyal – all hills which never disappoint.
And, finally, this volume includes the islands of Rum, Mull, Skye and Harris – with another half a dozen precious pearls.
Liathach from Beinn Damh, Glen Torridon (Route 57)
The southern hills are perfectly fine; but these are the real deals. And more often than not, you will have them to yourself. Go there.
Lord Haworth was the first member of the House of Lords to compleat (sic) the Munros, many of which he climbed with former Labour Party leader John Smith and Chris Smith, the only member of the House of Commons to have compleated the Munros. Although a Lancastrian, his love of the hills of Scotland led him to take the title of Lord Haworth of Fisherfield when elevated to the peerage in 2004. The Fisherfield Forest in Wester Ross contains some of the most remote and dramatic Munros and Corbetts, including A’ Mhaighdean and Beinn Dearg Mor. He is a member of the Munro Society and has sponsored some surveys to measure the height of ‘dubious’ Munros and Corbetts, including the one which resulted in Beinn a’ Chlaidheimh being relegated to Corbett status.
PREFACE
Connoisseurs of the Scottish Highlands will know that north-west Scotland provides some of the most magnificent mountain and coastal scenery in the world.
North of the Great Glen the sea-lochs cut deep into the western seaboard, giving fjord-like scenery, and islands of the Inner and Outer Hebrides have a magic of their own. This side of the Great Glen most of the mountains are rocky and rise steeply from a rough and wild landscape dotted with sparkling lochs and lochans. Along the western seaboard there are far more Corbetts than Munros and most of these are magnificent mountains. In fact, there are no Munros at all in the wild Ardgour or Moidart, nor on the islands of Harris and Rum, and in the far north and west few of the spectacular isolated peaks composed of Torridonian sandstone reach Munro status.
A list of the 50 best walks on the Corbetts would contain at least 45 from north of the Great Glen!
You will find that most of the peaks in Volume 2 of this guide are tougher and more committing than the peaks described in Volume 1 and many could be daunting for the inexperienced walker in bad weather.
This guide is aimed at the walker who wants the most interesting route on the mountain, but even the peak bagger looking for the shortest way up might get more out of his ‘tick’ by following the routes suggested here.
Brian Johnson
Glen Barisdale, Knoydart (Route 31)
INTRODUCTION
Loch Beinn Dearg, Fisherfield Forest (Route 72)
What are the Corbetts?
Scottish Peaks over 3000ft (914.4m) became known as ‘Munros’ after they were listed by Sir Hugh Munro in 1891. The Scottish Mountaineering Club (SMC) published the list and ‘Munro-bagging’ soon became a popular sport. By 2010 over 4000 people were recorded as having ‘compleated’ all the Munros, although there are many more unrecorded compleatists, too.
In 1930 John Rooke Corbett, a district valuer from Bristol, became the fourth person and first Sassenach (Englishman) to compleat the Munros, but he didn’t stop there. He went on to climb all Scotland’s hills and mountains over 2000ft (610m) and drew up a list of mountains between 2500ft (762.0m) and 3000ft (914.4m) with a drop of at least 500ft (152.4m) on all sides. When Corbett died in 1949, his sister passed his list on to the SMC, who published it alongside the Munro tables.
Corbett’s original list has been adjusted as the accuracy of maps has improved, and this has meant the addition of about 20 Corbetts and the deletion of others. Also mentioned in the route descriptions are ‘Grahams’, which are mountains between 2000 and 2499ft.
Cliffs above Allt Slochd a’ Mhogha on Sgurr Coire Choinnichean, Knoydart (Route 33)
Volume 2 covers the Corbetts north of the Great Glen, including the western seaboard and the islands of Mull, Rum, Skye and Harris. South of the Great Glen it is the Munros which attract most attention, but along the western seaboard and in the far north it is often the Corbetts or even the lowly Grahams which dominate the landscape, with isolated rocky peaks rising steeply above the sea and inland lochs, in a wilderness of heather and bog dotted with sparkling lochs and lochans. There are few Munros here, but there are spectacular Corbetts all the way from Ardgour to Cape Wrath, including those in Ardgour, Knoydart, Applecross, Torridon and Fisherfield. The far north-west provides some of the most magnificent mountain scenery in the world and it is difficult to beat the magical islands of Mull, Rum, Skye and Harris.
Is it a Corbett?
Since the lists of Munros, Corbetts or Grahams were first published there have been many revisions as more accurate OS maps have been produced. Accurate surveys, sponsored by the Munro Society, have probably settled all doubts at the boundary between Munros and Corbetts, but there are still likely to be a number of promotions or demotions between Corbett and Graham status.
The problem is highlighted in the case of a peak which appeared in the first draft of this guide but has now been excluded; Beinn Talaidh on Mull. When the OS 1:50,000 maps were first published, Beinn Talaidh was listed at 762m, the minimum height
