Sgurr an Doire Leathain, Sgurr an Lochain and Creag nan Damh Route Information

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Sgurr an Doire Leathain, Sgurr an Lochain & Creag nan Damh

Quick Facts

This is the summed total of all the climbing within a route and is a good indicator of the strenuousness of a route.

Total Ascent

1785 m

An estimate of the time taken based on a derivation of Naismiths rules. Our calculation is based on the horizontal and ascent components of a climb, we do not make a reduction for descent.

Registered users can customise these walking times by specifying their own walking and ascending speeds. They can also add a fixed time period for stoppages.

Route Time

7 hrs

The horizontal distance of the route.

Route Distance

18.30 km

The UK is covered by 204 Ordnance Survey Landranger 1:50,000 scale maps. Maps numbered 1 to 86 cover Scotland but for the highest mountains (Munros) only 23 maps are required. The name given roughly describes the area covered by the map.

You can click on the map name to purchase the map for £6.29 including postage which is one of the cheapest prices we have found.

OS Landranger Maps Required

33	Loch Alsh, Glen Shiel & Loch Hourn

Only £6.29 (£13.49 Laminated) from

A brief summary of this route.

Our summary will always contain one of easy, moderate or hard to indicate the severity of the route.

Notes

This is the west section of the South Glen Shiel Ridge. It is possible to traverse the whole ridge on a long summer day.

Here we provide the nearest town to the start of the route where you will find basic services.

We then give directions from that location to the route start. Your approach route may differ.

Travel Information

Head to: Shiel Bridge

From Shiel Bridge (A87) travel SE 10km to parking at Glen Sheil Battle site. N.B.This is close to the end rather than the start of the route.

Route Waypoint Map

The total ascent is 1,785 metres. Allow 7 hours to complete this 18.30 km route.

In winter months please check the local snow conditions at sais.gov.uk.

The hillphones service can inform you of stalking activities in the area.

Usually the shortest way to climb the mountain, making best use of tracks and paths to gain altitude. Route navigation requires map reading skills and an ability to navigate with a compass.

The information given here will enable you to annotate your map and plan your route. We do not give anecdotal descriptions on where to find the paths, worn by the feet of previous mountaineers.

Where the access routes are few or the ridge is narrow, paths are generally obvious. On open ground, following paths without using your compass may get you lost in poor visibility.

Route Information

Waypoint Detail

	Leave car here or at end of route (by bridge at Glenshiel battle site)
		NH04451141	Distance	Altitude 250 m

1	Follow path SSW up Druim Thollaidh to summit of Sgurr na Feinne
		NH02780929	Distance 3.02 km	Altitude 902 m

2	Follow ridge WNW
		NH01510957	Distance 1.33 km	Altitude 947 m

3	Continue along ridge to Sgurr Doire Leathain
		NH01520989	Distance 0.52 km	Altitude 1010 m

4	Continue WNW along ridge
		NH00811007	Distance 0.78 km	Altitude 863 m

5	Continue NW on ridge to Sgurr an Lochain
		NH00581043	Distance 0.62 km	Altitude 985 m

6	Descend WNW then W to col then ascend NW to summit of Sgurr Beag
		NG99841095	Distance 0.99 km	Altitude 896 m

7	Descend W to Bealach Am Fraoch-choire then ascend WNW to Creag nan Damph
		NG98361120	Distance 1.60 km	Altitude 918 m

8	Descend NE on ridge or return ESE to bealach and descend NNE to join path
		NG99161203	Distance 1.95 km	Altitude 380 m

9	Follow path down to road
		NG99221319	Distance 1.34 km	Altitude 120 m

10	Head ENE along road
		NH00741362	Distance 1.73 km	Altitude 183 m

11	Continue ESE on road to return to start
		NH04451141	Distance 4.42 km	Altitude 250 m

A selection of weather forecasts local to this route.

Weather

North West Highlands
by MWIS (PDF format)

West Highlands
by Met Office

Ladhar Bheinn
by Metcheck

Images of Sgurr an Doire Leathain, Sgurr an Lochain & Creag nan Damh

Sgurr an Doire Leathain seen from the A87 road in Glen Shiel.

Image by David S Brown

Sgurr an Lochain taken during my South Shiel Ridge adventure with John wells and Lou. 4th April 2010.

Image by Colin Fridge

Creag nan Damh from the NW: taken near Achnagart farm, Glen Shiel, May 2006.

Image by David S Brown

Sgurr an Doire Leathain from Maol Chinn-dearg NH032088 1 October 2009

Image by Brian Howarth

Route Area Map

Legend

Munro

Corbett

Graham

English/Welsh Top

Accommodation

A selection of local accommodation options who advertise with Munromagic.com.

Where to Stay

We currently have no
sponsored accommodation listings for this area.

Rating & Reviews

Rating & Reviews

Rated:

from 6 votes

Click Stars to Vote
Your Rating

Written by Dave Craik on 02 Oct 2008:

Did the full route from east to west, poor visibility and very mixed weather, rained liked there Noah was builting the ark the night before and started to snow with 50mph winds half way through route, as for the descent off Greag nan damh don't try this if heavy rain the day before,would have been better walking down the middle of the several burns, and the forest route was knee high mud, terrible, exit NW route, must be better than the muddy swim we had.

Written by Mike Watson on 17 Sep 2007:

Another vote for doing it in one go. Once up there its really not too bad and the path is very obvious. The taxi we used dropped us off at the end of the private road to Cluanie Lodge with shaved off some time. If descending via Bealach Duibh Leac be careful as there are a few dodgy burn crossings!

Written by Ben Dolphin on 15 May 2007:

I'd be the first to admit I'm something of a masochist when it comes to walk-ins, but doing the full circular walk along the ridge isn't too bad at all. Starting at Cluanie, the key is to walk down the road first and do the ridge west to east, otherwise you'll be walking up that road at day's end. Still, to avoid too much road-walking I went up Druim a Choire Reidh. It's quite easy to nip to Creag nan Damh and back from Sgurr Beag in an hour or so and then head east along the six other munros back to Cluanie. Took me 9 hours. The only downside is that the views are better east to west.

Written by Craig Dunderdale on 11 Mar 2007:

I did the whole ridge on a clear day on 9th October 2006 with my mate in 8hrs. We started at the Cluanie Inn (they only do drop offs if ur staying there!) and walked out via the North East ridge of Creag nan Damh. A taxi from the village to the Cluanie dropping your car off at the Glenshiel memorial may be your best option, if you don't want to take your chances with thumbing or the bus timetable. Without a doubt one of the best days I've ever had on Munros!

Written by Graham Ellis on 27 Aug 2006:

I did all the ridge in one long day. If coming down the NE ridge, then look out for the "path" when it veers to the west through the wood at the end. It doesn't follow the route marked on the map around the edge of the wood, but goes through the middle. It is very wet, with big holes, and with some sheer, but small drops. Others have been before, so it is possible with care!

Disclaimer. The details provided above are an aid to planning an expedition, but all distances, altitudes and bearings must be considered approximate. You must navigate with the appropriate map, a compass, your navigation skills and common sense, MunroMagic.com accept no responsibility for your interpretation of our route information.

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