County/Area - Highland. This is the easiest of the three famous Torridon ridge traverses, but if the Horns are included it still gives some airy scrambling. The Cuillin Ridge on the Isle of Rum. If you don't like scrambling or if the weather is poor, you can return from here back the way you came; taking this option would reduce the difficulty of the walk to Grade 4. … Beinn Alligin. 1 – (NG 86900 57669) Starting from a cap park behind the Torridon Hotel, cross the road bridge and follow a good path on the eastern bank of the Abhainn Coire Mhic Nobuil north for about 2 km until a an obvious footbridge is reached. The descent down the southeast ridge from the third Horn would probably be very tricky with sandstone terraces hidden from above if it wasn't for a clear path which ingeniously avoids any real difficulties - but it is still very steep going requiring care. Between June and September, the Highland midge can really spoil your day if you are not well-protected. There is a good path for the whole distance, but the going is steep and mountainous throughout. it also said “detail uncertain”. (Crossing these Horns was a grade 1 scramble.) Author - Lou Johnson. The three Horns of Alligin, Na Rathanan in Gaelic, are a landmark from many points miles around, and together with the steep domed top of Sgurr Mhor make Beinn Alligin easy to identify in distant views. We reached the top where we were provided with an excellent view back across Beinn Alligin’s twin summits. The highest mountains in Torridon are Liathach, Beinn Eighe and Beinn Alligin, all of which are Munros (Scottish mountains with an altitude of at least 3,000 feet/914.4m). Learn about scrambling, gear … Car park on west bank of Abhain Coire Mhic Nobuil. 3 – (NG 88242 60149) This is where the fun begins. Take the left path and climb steadily up the steepening slope crossing several rocky bands which seemingly circumnavigate the entire ridge proper. Length - 6.0 miles / 9.8 km. A challenging walk to the summit of Beinn Alligin, one of the Torridon giants. Your email address will not be published. This generosity enables us to publish a whole range of scrambling routes to help you enjoy the outdoors. The traverse of the three Horns of Alligin is optional and should only be attempted by confident scramblers. The scrambling on the traverse barely registers as Grade 1 so it’s quite accessible for a lot of walkers. A fairly short approach makes it a … The views from here across the wider Torridon Range including Beinn Dearg and Liathach are spectacular. The best map for this route is the Ordnance Survey 433, Torridon, available on Amazon here. Have you found an error or is any information wrong or missing? Instead follow the path which winds up the first Horn, with some simple but airy scrambling. Home » Scotland Scrambles » Beinn Alligin…. 10. Traverses of Beinn Alligin ,Liathatch and BeinnEighe in Torridon: A visit to Torridon would not be complete without taking in the three great ridge traverses. 4 – (NG 87614 61156) A traverse of this section of the ridge makes for continually interesting (and in some places exposed scrambling) however following the crest itself is not compulsory, with good paths to be found on the south western side of the ridge skirting most of the difficulties. The rock was glorious, high-fraction sandstone and the scrambling was excellent. We descended steeply to the base of the first horn, and then tackled the scrambling ascent via a direct line to the top (865m). People are asked to stay at home except for essential purposes. The second Horn is fairly straightforward, whilst on the final Horn it is necessary to traverse to the right when meeting a steep section, and then getting back to the ridge via a short chimney. The mountains of Torridon hold a special place in the hearts of walkers, scramblers and climbers alike. This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll visit the Munros of Spidean a'Choire Leith, Mullach an Rathain, Sgurr Mor, Tom na Gruagaich, Spidean Coire nan Clach and Ruadh-stac Mor and possibly the Corbetts Beinn Dearg and Beinn Damh. Crossing the next two … Looking down on The Horns. Be the first to rate this post. By accessing any page on ukscrambles.com you agree that you have read, understand, and will fully comply with the following pages: Terms | Disclaimer | Privacy Policy | Affiliate Disclosure. This was once a mere Top but in 1997 it was promoted and it is now the lower of Beinn Alligin's two Munros. Scotland is under national lockdown. This is the easiest of the three famous Torridon ridge traverses, but if the Horns are included it still gives some airy scrambling. This route was created by Sam Wainwright and donated to the UK Scrambles website through our contributor program. Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. From the col, climb up over a minor top; beyond this the ridge levels off briefly before beginning the final steep climb up to Sgurr Mhor. using a map and compass. 6 – (NG 85962 60159) Victory photos collected and remaining sandwiches consumed. Thankfully, once up close they’re not quite as menacing as they first appear. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. Inspire others to try a new scrambling route, become a contributor. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Liathach tops the bill for mountaineers of course, while the slightly gentler Beinn Alligin yields nothing in aesthetic perfection. Continue up to where the angle eases following the path (with the odd hands on section) to the top of the Horns (An t-Sail Bheg). From the tiny walkers' car park, a path leaves the road to the left of the burn. But you can have too much of a good thing, and as I'd done each several times in winter without once tracking snowy prints across neighbouring Beinn Eighe, the choice today was obvious. Another of Torridon’s most famous hills, Beinn Alligin is very shapely, and a true walkers’ mountain. Ascent - 4300 feet / 1303 metres . It is a fabulous viewpoint, with a vast swathe of the sea topped off with the Isle of Skye, whilst to the east, Liathach is seen end-on. Next, a descent and then further climb to the summit of Tom na Gruagaich (922m) completes the traverse. Login to Reply Jmacquarrie 08 Jul 2020. There is a faint path which traverses the very steep grass slopes to the right of the Horns, but this can be very slippery and is probably more dangerous than climbing the Horns themselves. Beinn Alligin - Sgurr Mhor: Hill number: 957: Height: 986m / 3235ft: Section: 13A: Loch Torridon to Loch Maree: Classification: Ma,Hu,Tu,Sim,M,Mur,Y,T100,P600,P500: Drop: 601m: Col: 385m NG925603 : View on: Geograph OS Maps NLS OSM Full screen map (Bing Maps) Show Map (Please be considerate with your usage of the OS map pages, as there are daily limits) Show all hills within map bounds. Click for details, Hear pronunciation Press to hear pronunciation. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. The Horns of Alligin, beyond the only level ground on the ascent of Tom na Gruagaich. Below shows the route outline, and should be taken from East to West, ie right to left. Each one is a committing day out with exposed scrambling in places. You can find good value accommodation nearby on Booking.com here. Saturday 22 nd July 2017: Number of Munro Summits: 2: Tom na Gruagaich; Sgurr Mhor: Distance walked: 11km : Height gain: 1290m : Scrambling: Grade 1 : Impressive gashes photographed: 1 Cicerone Guide time: 4h55m : Fat Guide time: 6-7h : David and Sophie time: 7h15m Expletives audibly muttered: 0 : Marriages proposed: 0 : Bruised backsides: 1: Not mine this time. Sam regularly publishes route blogs on his website Wainright Climbing here. Walking can be dangerous and is done entirely at your own risk. Please let us know by clicking here. This looks impassable from many angles but in fact it is easily bypassed on the left side. Please consider setting up a direct debit donation to help support the continued maintenance and updates to Walkhighlands. As well as reading our description of each walking route, you can read about the experiences of others users on this walk and others.There are 78 user reports for this walk - click to read them. Grade - mod/hard. Beinn Alligin and the western end of Liathach across Upper Loch Torridon. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. There is no bridge across the Abhainn Coire Mhic Nobuil after half a mile (there is one further up, but that one will take you to the Bealach a Chomhla), the path towards Coir nan Laogh starts on the left hand side of the burn! Required fields are marked *. As a horseshoe, it can be done in each direction. The Black Carls are nice, I scrambled over them after traversing the rest of the Beinne Eighe ridge. Start at the Beinn Alligin car park (Maps link). 5 – (NG 86568 61272) From the summit head south west down along the broad ridge over a subsidiary top before following the more defined and blocky arête to the main summit of Beinn Aligin. This is the easiest of the three famous Torridon ridge traverses, but if the Horns are included it still gives some airy scrambling. Beinn Alligin means the Mountain of Beauty in Gaelic - and is well named. Walking | Torridon, Beinn Alligin | A great day out on what is considered the lesser of the three Torridon Giants, it is though still a mighty mountain with great views and challenges of its own. The triangulation point marking the summit of Tom na Gruagaich, at 922 metres, is soon reached over to the right. Mountain hiking, hillwalking and scrambling routes up Beinn Eighe in Torridon including the Munro summits of Ruadh-stac Mor and Spidean Coire nan Clach and other peaks such as Sail Mhor, the Triple Buttress of Coire Mhic Fhearchair, Ruadh-stac Beag, Meall a'Ghiuthais and the Black Carls. Beinn Alligin's Munro summits stand above sandstone terraces on the south and gentle grassy slopes on the north. Not for the faint hearted, but plenty of fun! From this point on the paths become considerably vaguer requiring careful route finding is required at all times. “I live for everything outdoors and to me a bad day in the hills still beats a good day in the office.”. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Any real scrambling can easily be avoided on the right, and soon the summit of Stuc Loch na Cabhaig is reached. There are sensational views looking back to Beinn Alligin. 2 – (NG 88161 58893) Cross the bridge and follow the path for a few hundred meters, taking the left fork at the next path bifurcation. Shortly before reaching the summit, the ridge is split by the Eag Dubh or Black Cleft, a tremendously dramatic gully on the southeast side. Time - 7 hours 20 minutes. This point is away from the river, with the main path seen to be continuing on between the mountains of Beinn Alligin (on the left) and Beinn Dearg (on the right). Open start point in Google Maps for directions. The clear but rough path zig-zags straightforwardly up the corrie, keeping to the west side of the stream. Information is provided free of charge; it is each walker's responsibility to check it and navigate Includes 2 Munro's, 1 Corbett-top & 3 Bishop's Beinn Alligin. Beinn Alligin, the most westerly of the range thrusts its mass out into the Atlantic and provides one of the more accessible, but no less committing mountain traverses in the region and especially when combined with the sensational ‘Horns of Alligin’, makes one of the finest low grad scrambling days in Scotland. People usually walk/scramble Beinn Alligin as a traverse, first taking in the Horns of Alligin and the summit of Na Rathanan (866m). This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Turn left here and acend towards Coir' nan Laoigh." From the foot of the ridge keep heading down towards the Allt a Bhealaich, soon another path joins from the left at a cairn. The easiest entry is to skirt the top southwards for a short way before skirting hard left down and into the Coire basin. Head down the narrow north ridge of Tom na Gruagaich, which is steep and rocky in places, though in good weather the way is very obvious. 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