Sgurr na h-Ulaidh to Beinn Sgulaird from Etive
Munro hillwalking route in the Appin area
Starting from and finishing in Glen Etive, this is a big day out with a 5km return along road - if you were really keen, it could also be possible to include the Corbett Beinn Trilleachan !Route outline
Map base ©OpenStreetMap
| Munros | Sgurr na h-Ulaidh Beinn Fhionnlaidh Beinn Sgulaird | |||
| Corbetts | Beinn Trilleachan | |||
| Ascent | 2475m (8110ft) | |||
| Distance | 30km (19m) | |||
| Time | 11:40hr | |||
| Start | Invercharnan in Glen Etive Grid Ref : NN143483 | |||
| Finish | Head of Loch Etive Grid Ref : NN111453 | |||
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| Effort |
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A fairly long day with varied terrain -grass, boulders, scrambling and much away from paths. Good navigation skills will be needed and a good idea to leave a bike or other transport at the head of Loch Etive to avoid an hour's walk back along the road.
Route detail
Getting to the start in Glen Etive »
- On the A82 that travels from Tyndrum to Fort William, just before approaching Glencoe and just after the turn off for the Kingshouse hotel, there is a single track road that heads south down Glen Etive. This area is a favourite with canoists, so can be busy when wet ! Head down this road for 11km to where a bridge crosses the Allt Charnan, just before which there is off-road parking for a few cars.
Sgurr na h-Ulaidh »
-
By the bridge, a recently bulldozed track heads around the back of Invercharnan. Head up this for 3km, into the de-forested land and to where the track takes a sharp turn right
. If you're cycling in, leave bikes here.
- Sometimes there is a small cairn here to mark the start of a mucky and fainter track heading of left (GR NN121488).
Follow this path heading of left (nnw) to the deer fence enclosing the remains of the forest
- Now on wet ground, follow a faint path across gradually rising grassy ground on the east side of the Allt nan Gaoirean.
- The path eventually disappears - just continue northwards towards Bealach Clach nam Meirleach.
- You'll come across a line of fence-posts
, follow these until you see an obvious worn path heading uphill over grass and some scree on your left (north).
- Head up this and climb uphill.
There are a couple of bits of easy scrambling on the way and some crags can be avoided by keeping slightly to the left (west).
Rejoin the line of fence-posts to follow to Sgurr na h-Ulaidh's summit
.
Sgurr na h-Ulaidh's summit cairn is perched above quite a dramatic drop northwards and fine views are to be had in most directions.
Beinn Fhionnlaidh »
-
Return to Bealach Clach nam Meirleach
by the route up, then follow the fence-posts down to the wet ground at the watershed 
.
- Particularly in wet conditions, don't follow the fenceposts directly up Beinn Fhionnlaidh's north-eastern shoulder - crags and rocky outcrops will hinder progress.
- Instead begin to head south from the watershed and gradually gain height by following the baseline of a rough rockface.
- There are two options from here, at around c600m, turn west up very steep grassy ground around the rocks, heathery further up, and rejoin the crest of the north-eastern shoulder.
The line of posts continue to a minor top (marked 841m), from where a path heading west down to a bealach
is followed.
- Alternatively, an easier route is to keep to the 500m contour aiming southwards following a faint trod and pick up a path south-east of the minor summit (841m), which then heads directly to the bealach with the line of fence-posts.
- At the bealach the posts take a sharp turn south-west downhill - leave them and continue west along crest of Beinn Fhionnlaidh on the path up some scree then grass.
- A couple of tricky, but relatively easy moves are required to negotiate two rocky 'bad steps' (there are alternatives to the left), after which the summit
is only a few minutes further on.
Fine views from the trig point.
Beinn Sgulaird »
-
From Beinn Fhionnlaidh's summit return east to the bealach , then aim south over pathless and grassy terrain following the line of fence-posts.
- Down to a watershed, over a slight rise, head down to Lochan na Fola
.
- It's a fair trudge over more grassy and pathless ground to reach Airigh nan Lochan
. Head around the southern shores of this where an ATV track can be picked up and followed for a bit, but as it reaches the Allt Coire Leacaich 
, it turns southwards and needs to be left behind. Find a suitable place to cross the Allt Coire Leacaich (tricky in spate).
-
Beyond the Allt Coire Leacaich, the ground gradually steepens and any faint paths disappear into the grass. Higher up, a small lochan
is met as the minor summit of Stob Gaibhre is contoured around.
-
Into Coire nan Tulach, keeping just to the north of the burn coming down, terrain gets a bit rougher and looser higher up. Begin start turning southwards and reach the crest of Beinn Sgulaird on a minor summit marked (marked '909' on OS Explorer maps)
. From here, scramble over some rock, descend slightly, then pick up a path for the short distance to Beinn Sgulaird's summit 
.
Return to Glen Etive »
-
Retrace your steps back to cross the Allt Coire Leacaich and descend the ATV track and reach the Airigh nan Lochan .
- You should be able to find a faint path cutting through the grass heading eastwards, follow this to the edge of forestry and into a fire-break surrounding the Allt a'Bhiorain
.
- The faint path can be traced through the forestry to cross the Allt a'Bhiorain around 1km further on where a temporary looking gate in a deer fence leads to the rough remains of a track, which in turn leads to another gate in the deer-fence
.
- Through this gate, you'll find yourself on a fine forestry track that drops down to Glen Etive from where the road can be picked up to follow back to Invercharnan.
Beinn Trilleachan »
- On your way to Beinn Sgulaird, Beinn Trilleachan on your left looks quite intimidating, particularly the Trilleachan Slabs. It is however a fairly straightforward detour to bag this Corbett's summit.
- From Beinn Sgulaird, retrace your steps back to cross the Allt Coire Leacaich .
Keeping on the east bank of this burn, you should be able to pick a route uphill on grassy terrain for the most part.
- The north-east crest of Beinn Trilleachan is reached around 500m from the summit
and a path can be picked up and followed to the cairn on the top 
.
- To return, retrace your steps along the crest , a faint path then heads north-east over Meall nan Gobhar to meet up with the edge of the forest. It's a final mucky descent down to the roadside !
Route profile »
Maps and GPX downloads »
Weather forecasts & webcams »
Guided hillwalking events in this area »
Route photos
On the track from Invercharnan in Glen Etive
On the summit of Sgurr na h-Ulaidh
Aiming up Beinn Fhionnlaidh
West from Beinn Fhionnlaidh's summit
On Beinn Sgulaird's summit
Crossing the Allt Coire Leacaich on way back to Glen Etive
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