The long ridge of Beinn Fhada starts off in a southerly direction above the gorge of the Scarisdale river. As each new skyline was surmounted I expected to see the summit revealed but it remains stubbornly hidden until one has almost reached the little top beyond which the ridge turns and heads long and straight for the top. Although nowhere narrow this north-west ridge of Beinn Fhada is a great delight and perhaps the best promenade from which to appreciate Mull's only Munro, Ben More with its attendant rocky companion A'Cioch.
A final easy scramble leads up to twin cairns where we were hit by an unexpected strengthening of the north wind which made it necessary to crawl from one to the other. We soon escaped onto the south ridge and found a sheltered lunch spot where it swings eastwards. This gave a grandstand view of the sharp cone of Cruachan Dearg with its flatter twin summit Corra-beinn beyond.
This route over Beinn Fhada would make an excellent approach to Ben More via A'Cioch, more interesting and enterprising than its eponymous glen which we had used for our ascent of the Munro many years before. Today we turned eastwards instead and headed for the lower Marilyn Beinn a'Ghraig which also has a fine long ridge and an even steeper nose which called for care as we made our way down through scree interspersed with crag not easily spotted from above.
This discussion is anyway somewhat academic since it seemed obvious that both hills should be climbed. Observation from the south ridge of Beinn Fhada yesterday had suggested that it would be wise to leave the path up Steibhte-coire well before the col, not only to save distance but also to avoid the excessively steep east ridge of the hill. Even so we encountered fairly unpleasant terrain of steep and slippery slabs interspersed with very loose scree on the south-western flanks of the hill. A direct descent towards Corra-bheinn turned out less problematical and predominantly scree although it was only after reaching the col that one could relax from apprehension of crags not seen from above.
Corra-bheinn itself is also very steep on virtually every side although it has a less striking profile and a much flatter top. The descent towards Beinn a'Mheadhoin is ill defined and more a scree slope than a ridge but the continuation onto the lesser hill becomes quite sharp and pleasing. Beinn a'Mheadhoin has too little drop to qualify for the tables but since it lies right between the two Grahams was most conveniently included and was indeed a worthwhile little hill. The descent towards Cruach Choireadail was straightforward and although the flanks of the higher hill looked intimidatingly steep a swing westwards avoided the steepest ground and the climb was quite easy on grass most of the way. Rowland had climbed this Graham many years before it appeared in any tables, I think as a continuation from Beinn Talaidh which spent a short while in the Corbett list before its superior elevation was called into question and it sank back to head the Grahams. Today I headed towards Beinn Talaidh but after crossing the eastern top swung down towards the road where the car had been driven along to meet me. Despite the tough and rough traverse of the morning I arrived at the vehicle in time for lunch.
Marsco itself is a steeper and rougher hill but there are no real problems on the stony south-east ridge. At one point we diverted sideways to avoid a ewe with a lamb newly born on the very crest of the ridge. The knife edge leading up to the summit took us by surprise, a bit unnerving in the fresh north-east wind. Unfortunately mist had come down onto Sgurr nan Gillean which is particularly impressive from here. Alan Dawson's book has a fine picture of Marsco and Sgurr nan Gillean taken from the summit of Bla Bheinn.
We came down by the steep ridge on the south side of Coire nan Laogh and so back on the slightly drier western side of Coire nam Bruardaran, once again needing care not to separate very young lambs from their wary mothers.
We met the farmer at the gate and he gave us a friendly greeting which set a good tone for the day. The strong south-west wind bowled us up the glen and we were soon at the foot of the hill where we abandoned the bikes and worked our way on deer tracks up the south-west side and thus onto the ridge. The summit had several small lochans and a tiny cairn suggesting that few walkers climb this hill. Despite being hemmed in by higher mountains it gave a pleasing view especially to the west with Beinn Dearg particularly prominent and my last Munro Seana Braigh just glimpsed beyond the bulky Corbett Carn Ban.
To vary our return and to find a sheltered lunch spot we came back down the ridge and then northwards into Gleann Beag. From the track we reckoned that with careful route finding it would not have been too steep to go up the eastern end of the hill and thus shorten the walk and avoid a lot of bog. The ride back was the hardest part of the day with the south-west wind now approaching gale force and channeling directly up the glen.
A tiny track, unpleasantly eroded in places, winds up the steep north-west ridge of Ben Stack avoiding most of the problems on the west but giving occasional dizzy glimpses of Loch Stack and Loch Stack Lodge apparently directly below to the east. As the ridge flattens a short knife edge section, again near vertical to the east although avoidable on the west, leads up to the airy summit cairn beyond which the ridge widens with a curious gash separating an aerial with a small hut, which looks like the trig point from afar, from the actual trig point which lies within a sheltering wall. I settled down to lunch to the east of this wall, sheltered from the gentle westerly breeze and looking across at a magnificent view of Foinaven and Arkle. Soon I was joined by a family of four from Aberdeen who were the first walkers I had met on a Graham since October 1995. On the descent by the grassy south-east ridge I met another walker so my solitude was well and truly shattered. It was not difficult to understand the popularity of this delightful little hill which is both impressive from afar and exciting underfoot.
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