Applecross Corbetts

Sgurr a' Chaorachain above the bridge over Russel Burn

The narrow A896 travels westwards from the village of Lochcarron and as it begins to turn northwards, meets with the head of Loch Kishorn. By the Bealach Café and Gallery, a single-track road heads westwards and up towards the famed Bealach na Ba.

Although the Bealach na Ba road is part of the NC500, it is not suitable for caravans or large motorhomes - the road is very narrow and twists as it climbs up to a height of over 600m !

On the road, around 3km on from the Bealach Café, the hillwalking route begins by a bridge over Russel Burn. There is limited parking by the bridge and room for a few more cars just up the road.

The route ends at the viewpoint on the top of Bealach na Ba, where there is ample parking.

There is a distance of around 6km between route's start and end points, therefore it is recommended leaving a bike or road-trainers at the route-end for the returning descent down the road.

Beinn Bhan's summit above Coire na Feola

Start by the eastern side of the bridge over Russel Burn and head northwards on a rough track making its way through grass. After around 500m, the track comes to an abrupt end (though ATV tracks can bee seen heading north-west for Loch Coire nan Arr), turn eastwards and cross some slightly soggy grass-covered ground to gain the base of Beinn Bhan's southern shoulder.

Gradually turning north-west, climb up a heather clad slope onto the crest of Beinn Bhan's southern shoulder , where terrain becomes easier on grass with occasional rocks and boulders.

Continuing up the crest, a path gradually forms as height is gained. A minor top is reached and the dramatic Coire na Feola with the spur of A' Chioch come into view. The drops into the coire are quite precipitous !

Further on and after gaining around 100m more height, Beinn Bhan's wide and flat summit plateau is reached, where a delightful run along a faint path over grass reaches Beinn Bhan's trig point .

Approaching the summit of Beinn Bhan

Approaching the summit of Beinn Bhan

View from Beinn Bhan over Sgurr a' Chaorachain to Skye

Leave Beinn Bhan's summit and aiming southwest, begin to descend on grass covered ground. Ground cover becomes more stoney, though on occasions, some faint paths can be found. Further on complex boulder strewn crests are followed towards Bealach nan Arr .

At Bealach nan Arr, directly above and ahead is the rocky hillside of Carn Dearg. This can easily be bypassed by tracing a faint path contouring through heather on one of the ledges on the southern side of the hill.

A col below the southern slopes of Carn Dearg is gained, with the rise up Sgurr a' Chaorachain's northern shoulder in view ahead.

Although the route from the col to the masts on Sgurr a' Chaorachain is straightforward, there are no paths to follow, and terrain is undulating, rocky and pitted with lochans (the largest of which is rather tempting to have a dook in on hot days !).

Mast on Sgurr a' Chaorachain with Skye beyond

Mast on Sgurr a' Chaorachain with Skye beyond

Looking east along Sgurr a' Chaorachain

From the masts on Sgurr a' Chaorachain northern summit, ignore the track heading west and follow a faint path southwards through grass. The path comes and goes as some height is lost. Having passed a few tiny lochans, ground rises and a larger lochan is met, beyond which the path becomes more obvious as it turns eastwards and drops to a wide grass-covered crest.

The path crosses a flat minor summit, then reaches the base of a more knobbly summit , where the path continues directly uphill through boulders. However, at the base, to the left of the path, are some cairns and these mark the beginning of a bypass path around the northern side of the top which avoids the scramble down loose boulders on the eastern side of this lump.

Beyond theis second minor top , a straightforward hike up a gently rising crest leads to Sgurr a' Chaorachain's highest point with its small cairn.

View over Coulin from Sgurr a' Chaorachain

View over Coulin from Sgurr a' Chaorachain

Returning along Sgurr a' Chaorachain

On Sgurr a' Chaorachain's summit, about turn and retrace your steps, perhaps going over the minor summit as the steep boulderfield will be easier to scramble up than down-climb.

Upon reaching the masts, head westwards and follow a decent land-rover track to the roadside at the top of Bealach na Ba close to the viewpoint car-park. All that remains is a 6km jog down the road back to the bridge over Russel Burn.