Hills & Mountains
Glen Affric, Glen Cannich & Glen Strathfarrar
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The Glen Affric Hills
The Glen Affric hills from the Strathfarrar Ridge.
An Socach
AN SOCACH
Friday 4 December 1998
An Socach is the lowest of the long chain of mountains that form Glen Affric`s northern boundary and with the foot of the mountain lying 12 kilometres from the road end at Loch Beinn a` Mheadhoin it was another `Affric epic`. The weather forecast was reasonable so I didn`t bother going to bed and left the house at 2 a.m, snatching a couple of hours sleep parked in a lay-by near Invergarry. Mine was the only car to break through the icing-sugar coating of snow on the road to the parking area and when I set off at 8 a.m. it was just getting light.
Birds seen during the day included Robin, a Wren, a few Stonechats and an unidentified species of Diver on the loch. On the higher slopes Raven were the only birds apart from a lone Ptarmigan which flew off from beside the cairn as I approached. Not much snow at low level and wearing plastic mountaineering boots, my feet were starting to hurt a bit. Once I`d gained the south-eastern shoulder of the corrie it was an easy walk round to the summit which is a fairly inconspicuous bump. By the time I reached the cairn the cloud had closed right in but a small gap appeared and I got a brief view of distant Loch Mullardoch. I didn`t hang about due to the time factor and as I descended the wind blew the new powder snow around and opened up the views again.
A few stags were down beside Affric Lodge and the sun had set by the time I arrived back at car at 4 p.m. A round trip of eight hours round with not even 30 minutes worth of stops - and I hadn`t seen another soul all day! On the drive out of the Glen I disturbed several Woodcock at the roadside, below some Caledonian pines. Most of the birds flew off as the car approached but I got a really good view of one individual which sat tight, apparently thinking it was well camouflaged.
Friday 4 December 1998
An Socach is the lowest of the long chain of mountains that form Glen Affric`s northern boundary and with the foot of the mountain lying 12 kilometres from the road end at Loch Beinn a` Mheadhoin it was another `Affric epic`. The weather forecast was reasonable so I didn`t bother going to bed and left the house at 2 a.m, snatching a couple of hours sleep parked in a lay-by near Invergarry. Mine was the only car to break through the icing-sugar coating of snow on the road to the parking area and when I set off at 8 a.m. it was just getting light.
Birds seen during the day included Robin, a Wren, a few Stonechats and an unidentified species of Diver on the loch. On the higher slopes Raven were the only birds apart from a lone Ptarmigan which flew off from beside the cairn as I approached. Not much snow at low level and wearing plastic mountaineering boots, my feet were starting to hurt a bit. Once I`d gained the south-eastern shoulder of the corrie it was an easy walk round to the summit which is a fairly inconspicuous bump. By the time I reached the cairn the cloud had closed right in but a small gap appeared and I got a brief view of distant Loch Mullardoch. I didn`t hang about due to the time factor and as I descended the wind blew the new powder snow around and opened up the views again.
A few stags were down beside Affric Lodge and the sun had set by the time I arrived back at car at 4 p.m. A round trip of eight hours round with not even 30 minutes worth of stops - and I hadn`t seen another soul all day! On the drive out of the Glen I disturbed several Woodcock at the roadside, below some Caledonian pines. Most of the birds flew off as the car approached but I got a really good view of one individual which sat tight, apparently thinking it was well camouflaged.
The Glen Strathfarrar Ridge
Looking southeast along the ridge.
Glen Cannich
Sgorr na Diollaid
SGORR NA DOLLAID (818m)
Wednesday 16 October 2002
Wednesday 16 October 2002
Looking towards Glen Affric from the lower slopes of Sgorr na Dollaid.
The ascent of this Corbett makes for a relatively shorter outing when compared to the other peaks in the Cannich and Glen Strathfarrar areas. I set off from the bridge over the River Cannich near the small settlement of Muchrachd with the hope of a decent forecast. Although the two rocky crests at the summit of Sgorr na Diollaid are renowned as fine viewpoints, the weather wasn`t too favourable by the time I got to the top, with cloud rolling in, obscuring the topography in most directions. As a result, I only took a few record shots with my (now very low-resolution) digital compact.
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