26/10/2024
Our reason for heading inland was to climb a mountain. Ben Wyvis is a munro. We are slowly ticking off these mountains over 3000 feet and as it was reasonably close to our route up Scotland’s east coast it was a good candidate. We had set ourselves a challenge to climb three munros on this trip and so far we hadn’t even got one under our belts.
Getting to Ben Wyvis
Our first challenge was getting parked up close enough to the mountain to make it a feasible day out. In theory it should be easy, access to the mountain is directly from the A835. But the car park where most people start their walks has a height barrier and no buses stop nearby (even though they run along that road fairly frequently). I’d put my foot down at the thought of cycling along the A road, I’d seen the speed of some of the cars and the size of the lorries.
Using google maps we scouted along the road for a suitable start point. I slightly relaxed my no cycling rule when we found a layby that was close to a forestry track which would eventually lead us to the path to the summit. Less than a hundred meters of road cycling seemed a reasonable compromise.
Parked and ready to go in the layby
Planning for the Weather
Early in the morning we set off to the layby from our parking at Silverbridge. We knew that poor weather was due in the afternoon and we wanted to be up and down Ben Wyvis before we got a soaking. Even so we packed all our waterproof gear as a precaution. With spare layers and lunch we felt a little over burdened, but better safe than sorry.
In the end our timing was pretty good, we made it up and most of the way down before the drizzle started. Paul was putting the bikes back on the bike rack, and I was safely inside packing stuff away, when the rain hit hard.
It was the wind that really affected the walk though. Luckily we were on our way back from the summit when it picked up, but it really was strong enough to push us around when we forgot to brace against it. On the switchback path of the steepest section we were alternately struggling against the wind and being pushed forward faster than we were comfortable with. Walking poles became a hindrance rather than a help as they were whipped around every time we lifted them up. And I don’t know what it is about getting older but we both produce a lot more snot that we used to. The wind teased skeins of mucus from our noses in unending quantities. It really was as disgusting as it sounds.
Battling the wind on the way down, how Paul kept his hat on I just don’t know.
We were surprised to see people still ascending as we struggled downhill, although one pair of lads in wellies with carrier bags turned around shortly after they passed us. Embarrassingly they overtook us on the way down, their young legs allowing them to skip down the mountain despite the lack of ‘proper’ equipment.
Ascending the Mountain
From our parking spot in the layby we cycled along the forestry track. Our bikes were hidden from casual passers-by behind some trees.
Bikes in the bushes
The path we joined was a nice gentle slope up between a burn and forestry plantations. There were many rowan trees in the burn’s valley making quite a spectacle with their silver branches and red berries.
Rowan berries
As the forest cleared, the path continued across moorland, well made and still only slightly uphill.
Convenient stepping stones across the boggy sections
In front of us we could see the steep sides of An Cabar. The sunrise, hidden behind the mountains, gave everything a golden glow, enhancing the autumn colours of the heather and bracken.
The light from the sunrise
When the sun finally made an appearance between the flank of Ben Wyvis and neighbouring Little Wyvis it was a lovely sight, but a little too directly in our eyes for comfort. We were relieved when we were able to turn slightly north and begin our ascent.
An Cabar looking impressive in the morning glow
A path zig zags up the rocky western side of An Cabar. A path with many steps, man made and natural rock. A huge boulder part way up was noted as somewhere to take shelter from the wind on our way down if we needed it. Hopefully it was nice and stable having only been there since glaciers had deposited it millennia ago. Among the rocks we spotted a pair of ptarmigan, well camouflaged with their white and brown/grey plumage hiding them in the rocks until they gave themselves away with movement.
Impressive set of steps
Westward views on the ascent (a photo is always a good excuse to stop and get our breath)
The downside of Ben Wyvis (from our perspective at least) is that once you have busted your lungs climbing to the top of An Cabar, you have a fairly long and featureless high plateau to cross to the actual summit. A sign warned us to stick to one path in order to avoid damaging the delicate moss of the alpine heath habitat. Unfortunately it was almost impossible to work out which path was meant.
When we reached the summit we stopped for a while to admire views in all directions. Sea views and mountains, forests and moors. And of course a multitude of wind turbines. The sky was still quite clear to the east but we could see the rain clouds gathering to the west and the wind was picking up. We’d been alone on our walk so far but we saw the first evidence of other people as we looked back towards An Cabar.
Summit views and gathering clouds
The way back was a simple retracing of our steps. We stopped at the shelter on An Cabar for some lunch to fortify ourselves before braving the wind on the return. We also donned our waterproof gear. Even if it didn’t rain we would get some wind protection.
Our bikes were exactly as we left them and we welcomed the opportunity for a speedy downhill along the forest track back to Bertie. It had been a good day out on a nice straightforward munro and neither of us were feeling too tired so we decided to move on that evening rather than returning to Silverbridge which had been our Plan A.