I was staying with a group of friends at Doune on the Knoydart Peninsula, accessible only by boat or on foot. On this day we were conveyed by boat to Barrisdale on the north side of the peninsula and were dropped off at the small landing area just east of Fraoch Eilean. We then walked along the vehicle track to the camp site at Barrisdale where we parted company, the rest of the group heading for the Graham, Slat Bheinn.
I would have continued up Glen Barrisdale with them but a few days earlier I read on the Hill Bagging web site that a new Tump, located behind the White House at Barrisdale, had been added to the list. I therefore walked to and round the White House then across a field to reach the Allt Gleann Unndalain. Once over this stream I made the short climb to the rocky summit of Tom na h-Eilde.
From there I looked at the possibility of descending directly to the River Barrisdale but crossing it would have entailed wet feet so I returned to the bridge beside the camp site and headed up Glen Barrisdale. Before reaching the copse of trees at Coille Mhinniceig I left the track and climbed fairly steeply onto the knoll south-east of Lochan Coire Chaolais Bhig, Meall Lochan Coire Chaolais Bhig, a Sub Dodd.
I then descended to the coll with An Caisteal and made the easy ascent to the summit of this Hump and Graham Top and here I took a break with good views across to Meall nan Eun which I had climbed a few days earlier in cloud and rain. The descent west through the cliffs was a bit tricky and I had to backtrack a couple of times but eventually reached the col with Beinn Bhuidhe and climbed this Tump. From there it was down to the Bealach Bho Chrubaich before the final climb of the day onto the Tump, Carn Mairi.
The descent north was fairly steep but this avoided the rockier north-west ridge and led to the path on the south shore of Loch Hourn. It was then a short walk back to the drop off point beside Fraoch Eilean where we re-grouped before transferring by boat back to Doune.
- Time taken – 6.25 hours.
- Distance – 15.5 kilometres.
- Height climbed – 970 metres.