The Spring of 2020 will always be remembered as the time when the world 'locked-down' to restrict the spread of the Covid-19 virus. This week however, the powers-that-be have relaxed the lock-down regulations a notch - allowing us to travel to the hills for the first time in months. So, Andy & I headed for Glencoe and attacked Sgor na h-Ulaidh, a hidden Munro, south of Glencoe village.
There is a tiny carpark just before the main road swings to the right (going NW), and just before a bridge. We left the car there, and crossed the bridge on the main road, before taking the track marked 'Glencoe Cottages". The main road is particularly unpleasant and dangerous at this point...
The track reaches some houses, behind locked gates - but there is a bypass track which avoids these on the left hand side. The sign pointing to this is currently broken, but if you keep your eyes peeled you'll see it..
The track continues after the houses, far up into the Glen. Once high up in the glen, we turned left and got stuck into a steep, hard climb of 550m+ from glen-floor to ridge. Once on the ridge it was a straightforward and rather wonderful ridge walk over one top and on to the summit. We sat for ages on the top, as the view there from Ben Nevis, The Mamores, Glencoe, Glen Etive and out to Mull and the islands was vast and wonderful.
The descent to the coll between Sgor na h-Ulaidh and meal Lighiche was very hard going in places, and required some concentration to find a route between impossible crags.In retrospect we took too steep a route (following a path) and would have been better to have gone further west and made an easier descent.
The descent from the col between Sgor na h-Ulaidh and the adjacent Corbett is obvious and a track soon emerges alongside the river. Once here, it was fairly straightforward run out back to the car. Although in one sense it was an uneventful walk - I will remember it for years, as the 'back from lockdown' Munro, in great weather, with simply breathtaking views.
