We are lucky enough to have two of what many regard as the best corries in the country in Wester ross. Earlier in the year we paid a visit to Toll an Lochan, which sits beneath the imposing An Teallach range. On this occasion we paid a visit to Coire Mhic Fheachair, which sits at the base of Beinn Eighe’s impressive triple buttress. Beinn Eighe is Britains oldest nature reserve. It was set up in 1951 & the reserve covers an impressive 48 square kilometers.
We visited Coire Mhic Fheachair earlier in the year only to be driven away from the corrie by a combination of driving winds & snowfall. This time shorts & t-shirts were the order of the day.
The route starts from the car park beside the A896, just west of the bridge over the Allt a Choire Dhuibh Mhoir. The walk from the car park to the corrie follows a fine stalkers path & whilst the walk is just shy of 9 miles, climbing to an ascent of 540 meters the going is good for the majority of the walk.
As you traverse the foot of Sail Mhor, which is the westernmost of Beinn Eighe’s peaks, you get fine views of Liatach. Liatach is one of Scotlands finest mountains with it’s summits considered as some of the most challenging. Certainly it’s not a hill for the faint hearted.
The far reaching views of the hills of the Flowerdale Forest are outstanding. Baosbheinn & Beinn an Eoin are both clearly visible as is Beinn a Chearcall. Gairloch can also be seen as you climb around the foot of Sail Mhor.
The corrie sits above a waterfall which would be quite a sight when in spate or frozen. For us we were just in the midst of a very dry spell so the waterfall wasn’t flowing quite as hard. Although it wasn’t difficult to imagine how it might be on another day. As you climb beside the waterfall the triple buttress comes into view & you know that the corrie is just around the corner.
Loch Coire Mhic Fhearchair. At 540 meters & surrounded by the triple buttress it’s an impressive sight.
Whilst it was shorts & t-shirt weather, just a wee reminder of what greeted us the last time that we were here. Despite it being the middle of summer a small patch of snow was still lying in the gully.
Unfortunately there is a tragic story attached to Beinn Eighe & Coire Mhic Fhearchair. In 1951 a Lancaster bomber returning from the Faroe Isles crashed just 15 feet from the summit of Beinn Eighe. It was travelling in terrible weather conditions in early March. Sadly all 8 on board lost their lives & wreckage can still be found scattered beside the corrie. As a consequence of the difficulties encountered with the rescue the modern RAF mountain rescue teams were established.
As the walks a linear one its back the way we came, down hill all the way to the car park. The views however continue to captivate.
Coire Mhic Fhearchair truly is an outstanding corrie, however for us Toll an Lochain just shades it as our number one corrie in Scotland.
an cois na mara b&b 
Such a beautiful track! It’s astonishing that you can find snow because I think you had also a hot summer like in Germany.
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Thanks Simone. It was a fantastic walk. We were in shorts so were amazed to find snow still on the hill in summer.
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