West of Drumochter
Beinn Udlamain and the Munros west of Drumochter
Bags of character and great views, this is a fine high-level route on which to quickly bag the 4 Munros west of the Pass of Drumochter, possibly adding in the Corbett peak of the Sow of Atholl for good measure.Route outline
Map base ©OpenStreetMap
| Munros | Beinn Udlamain Geal-charn A' Mharconaich Sgairneach Mhor | |||
| Corbetts | Sow of Atholl | |||
| Ascent | 1300m (4260ft) | |||
| Distance | 24km (15m) | |||
| Time | 8:10hr | |||
| Start/finish | Balsporran Cottages Grid Ref : NN627792 | |||
| Terrain |
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| Nav |
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| Effort |
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| Scenery |
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Terrain is fairly easy underfoot, with most of the route on paths and following fence-posts. On the wide summits of A'Mharconaich and Sgairneach Mhor, navigation can be testing if mist or white-out conditions persist. On fine days all summits afford good views, paticularly over Loch Ericht to the Ben Alder group and beyond.
Route detail
Getting to Drumochter and Balsporran Cottages »
- These hills are best accessed from Balsporran Cottages, by the A9, 4km south of Dalwhinnie, where there is ample parking. The hill-route finishes in Drumochter Pass, around 4km south of Balsporran Cottages, therefore having a bike left at the end point or organising transport will avoid an unpleasant walk on the cycle route which hugs the A9 all the way back !
Geal-charn »
- From Balsporran Cottages cross over the the railway line using the level-crossing
, then begin to follow a track uphill.
- Cross a burn via stepping stones, then another using a wooden bridge and just bit further on, the track splits into two
- take right fork.
The track unfortunately doesn't last and suddenly you'll be jumping around trying to avoid the wet marshy ground.
Follow the wet and peat-boggy path uphill.
- Things do improve further up. On approaching c840m, the ground levels out and becomes more stone and gravel covered.
There used to be a group of cairns
looking down on the A9, but these are now mostly gone.
- Continue west-south-west and reach Geal-charn's top with its two cairns, the second being on the summit
.
Excellent views down Loch Ericht.
A'Mharconaich »
- Leave the Geal-charn's cairn and head south-west over stone and boulders following a faint path downhill.
Further down, the path becomes more obvious, turns south and at the bealach
between Geal-charn and A'Mharconaich, joins up with a track coming directly up from Balsporran.
- Cross the bealach, then take a minor path that starts to climb off to left (south-east, there is sometimes a cairn marking the start point of this). This path gradually disappears into the undergrowth, but continue uphill over grass and occasional burn to A'Mharconaich's wind-swept crest.
- A path on the crest is picked up heading north-east and meets two small cairns, the first of which is the summit
, the second is a small shelter out of westerly winds.
Beinn Udlamain »
- About-turn, follow the crest of A'Mharconaich south-west.
- The worn path meets up with fence-posts, which are followed down to a small bealach above Fraoch-choire.
- Uphill next and mainly on grass, continue following the posts to the summit of Beinn Udlamain
.
- A huge untidy cairn made of boulders and old iron fence posts sits on the top. Beinn Udlamain is a broad hill, therefore you'll have to walk a short distance from the summit to get the best views.
Sgairneach Mhor »
- Leaving Beinn Udlamain's summit behind, continue following fence posts south, initially on grass, then stones and boulders. Going downhill, the boulders ease and heather is underfoot.
- At around c900m
, begin to turn slightly left (south-east) and start to pick up a faint path to cross the bealach between Beinn Udlamain and Sgairneach Mhor.
- This path continues up to a small upright cairn
(NN589732) on the north-western end of Sgairneach Mhor's western arm.
- From this cairn, aim south-east over grassy ground, to join with the crest of Sgairneach Mhor's south-west shoulder and continue east-north-east to the trig point sheltered by cairn on the summit
.
Sow of Atholl and return »
- From Sgairneach Mhor's trig point, start to head east, downhill on a path. The path keeps to the crest of Sgairneach Mhor's eastern shoulder and further on contours around a bump
(marked 758 on OS maps) before dropping to a bealach 
before the Sow of Atholl.
From the bealach head directly uphill, north-east over heather. It's only a climb of just over 150m to the Sow of Atholl's summit 
.
- Drop northwards down heathery clad steep slopes to the Allt Coire Dhomhain and cross it using a bridge
(at NN620750 and not currently marked on OS maps). Now on a track above the northern side of the Allt Coire Dhomhain, follow it eastwards towards the A9.
-
When the track meets up with the railway-line, follow it southwards for 300m to go under the railway
.
Pick up the cycle track and if you've not left a bike or other transport, follow the track back to Balsporran Cottages.
Route profile »
Maps and GPX downloads »
Weather forecasts & webcams »
Guided hillwalking events in this area »
Route photos
Geal-charn above Balsporran Cottages
Heading up Geal-charn
Heading to A'Mharconaich
On Sgairneach Mhor's summit plateau
Looking south from Sgairneach Mhor
Bridge over the Allt Coire DhomhainRecent blog posts
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