{"id":14998,"date":"2026-08-12T17:45:00","date_gmt":"2026-08-12T16:45:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/?p=14998"},"modified":"2026-08-09T23:29:12","modified_gmt":"2026-08-09T22:29:12","slug":"a-full-family-outing-over-spectacular-torridon-munros-of-beinn-liath-mhor-and-sgorr-ruadh","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/2026\/08\/12\/a-full-family-outing-over-spectacular-torridon-munros-of-beinn-liath-mhor-and-sgorr-ruadh\/","title":{"rendered":"A full family outing over spectacular Torridon munros of Beinn Liath Mhor and Sgorr Ruadh"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

It was always an ambitious outing for four young teenagers and an eight-year-old \u2013 but there was a good forecast and plenty of daylight, so along with us three adults, we gave it a go.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These two fine munros in the southern Torridon area make a fine horseshoe of the beautiful Coire Lair, in the high ground above Achnashellach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019d run through here and walked the so-called Teahouse circuit that passes the entrance to the coire plenty of times but hadn\u2019t yet tackled the two summits on the list.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the record, I had suggested the nearby single munro of Maol Chean-dearg \u2013 still a long walk but without quite as much climbing \u2013 but Kristina, a self-confessed optimist, threw in this suggestion!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I worked out the timings and we reckoned the children could handle the long day, not to mention be inspired by the spectacular scenery \u2013 and we were right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
The view down Coire Lair with the long ridge of Beinn Liath Mhor<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

There was always the obvious escape route, which involved skipping the second munro completely and returning down the path through the coire. For some time, I\u2019d assumed that\u2019s exactly what we\u2019d end up doing. But late in the afternoon, dipping feet in the cool water of the lochan, everyone was keen to climb Sgorr Ruadh as well as Beinn Liath Mh\u00f2r \u2013 and we still had plenty of light left in the day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was going to mean a very late finish, but what better way to spend a Saturday evening than in the stunning hills of the north-west Highlands? With tired legs and sometimes using even more energy to help keep the kids motivated, I was smiling from ear to ear on the descent, knowing that the hard work was done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The route starts at Achnashellach, where there\u2019s a small roadside parking area opposite a red phone box and the track up to the railway station. Technically it\u2019s possible to do this route using public transport but the timings of the trains can make it very difficult.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We walked up the track and over the railway, going left at a crossroads of forestry tracks. Further up this track there\u2019s a marker post that directs you left onto a path that meanders through the woods closer to the river.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Matthew leads the way to Beinn Liath Mhor’s summit cairn<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The blaeberries made for good snacks before we made our way out onto the open hill beyond the forest boundary. The stalkers\u2019 paths in Torridon are invariably excellent, and we made our way up to the coire entrance \u2013 with Matthew, the youngest in our party, leading the way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Any early cloud hanging over the hills was starting to burn off now, leaving a largely clear sky and requiring copious amounts of suncream. Our route took us past a couple of cairns before taking the left fork at a third one, to head steeply up Beinn Liath Mh\u00f2r\u2019s eastern top, at point 876m.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The rocky quartzite shone brightly in the sunlight but a series of false summits made it a struggle for some of the youngsters. We enjoyed a good sit down and feed when we finally reached the top, however, before taking on the ridge to the munro summit, which is the westernmost of the mountain\u2019s three high points.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The ridge is narrow in places and on one or two sections I went ahead of Matthew to ensure he kept to the safest route, but he managed the undulating and exciting route with excitement and fun, reaching the summit first.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
A family selfie at the summit of Beinn Liath Mhor<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

All the guidebooks warn of an awkward down-scramble between this summit and the bealach, and while it was steep and required some care, it was easy enough to find in the clear conditions and straightforward to negotiate with a bit of assistance for those who were less certain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s a lovely lochan tucked at the bottom of that steep drop before the path rounds a knoll to descend to the Bealach Coire Lair itself, where another larger lochan sits. The children all wanted to cool off their feet here and we spent a bit more time just enjoying the experience of being out. We even found a newt in the water, as well as several large tadpoles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There was no disagreement about continuing onto Sgorr Ruadh and, despite the dry conditions, we found a trickle of a spring to fill up our depleted water bottles as we made our way up a grassy rake above the lochan to reach the north-west ridge of this second munro of the day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We stopped for a snack after getting onto the ridge, where we sat again briefly to admire the view over Maol Chean-dearg and Beinn Damh. It was such a beautiful place to be, we just wanted to soak it all up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
At the top of the steep scramble down to the lochan below Beinn Liath Mhor<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Continuing up the hill, the ridge steepened and we could see a rocky stretch where it narrowed just below the summit. Matthew and I walked together and I stayed close to him during the short scramble up the rocks, a short chimney giving us shelter from the breeze for a moment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One narrow section near an edge gave him a healthy dose of fear, just enough to ensure he listened carefully and followed my movements. I looked back to make sure Clara was comfortable with this section and she was right behind me, unperturbed by the situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We reached the summit, where a wind shelter has been fashioned out of the red sandstone, and tucked down while we waited for the others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This second munro of the day took me, by my slightly hazy calculations, to the halfway point in the munros, being my 141st<\/sup>. These two are among the most impressive, and I\u2019d shared it all with the family on an enjoyable and long day in these magnificent surroundings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Some hands-on scrambling on the approach to Sgorr Ruadh’s summit<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Now we had to descend the grass and rocky slopes to Loch a\u2019 Bhealaich Mhoir, which we easy enough but tough on the legs at this stage of the day. It\u2019s possible to add the Corbett of Fuar Tholl onto this round of the coire but we certainly wouldn\u2019t be doing that today!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Led by Jennifer, who by now was determined to reach the easier ground and get back to the car, we plotted a route across the hillside until we set foot on the path. It was still a long walk down to the River Lair, which has to be crossed to reach the path we\u2019d followed up to the coire much earlier in the day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That crossing was problem-free following weeks of dry weather, but in spate this river can be uncrossable, necessitating a lengthy detour upstream across pathless country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thankfully for us, we now just had the walk down to the woods and back over the railway. The light was starting to fade but we wouldn\u2019t need the headtorches we had as an emergency backup in the rucksacks, although it was soon dark as we drove home after a truly memorable \u2013 and very long \u2013 day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Clara arriving at the summit of Sgorr Ruadh<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Route details<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beinn Liath Mh\u00f2r & Sgorr Ruadh<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Distance<\/strong> 11 miles \/ 19 km<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Terrain<\/strong> Good mountain paths, with some easy scrambling in steep, lightly exposed terrain; pathless sections with navigation skills required throughout<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Start\/finish<\/strong> Achnashellach, parking area opposite railway station access<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Map<\/strong> OS Landranger 25; OS Explorer 429<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A long mountain day over two fine Munros in the south Torridon area<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Click here to see the route in OS Maps<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Matthew is all smiles at the top of Sgorr Ruadh<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Looking across to Sgorr Ruadh<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It was always an ambitious outing for four young teenagers and an eight-year-old \u2013 but there was a good forecast and plenty of daylight, so along with us three adults, we gave it a go. These two fine munros in the southern Torridon area make a fine horseshoe of the beautiful Coire Lair, in the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":15051,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[146,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14998","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-active-outdoors","category-blog"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Beinn-Liath-Mhor-and-Sgor-Ruadh-10-scaled.jpg?fit=2560%2C1920&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p5M0xs-3TU","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":5799,"url":"https:\/\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/2019\/09\/24\/striding-high-on-torridons-tremendous-trail-network\/","url_meta":{"origin":14998,"position":0},"title":"Striding high on Torridon’s tremendous trail network","author":"John Davidson","date":"September 24, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"It\u2019s a dog\u2019s life \u2013 and so it proved for one energetic springer spaniel that joined us on a run through the awe-inspiring Torridon landscape.\u00a0 While our exploration of the area took us some 17 miles along excellent mountain paths and tracks high into the hills, I swear the dog\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Active Outdoors"","block_context":{"text":"Active Outdoors","link":"https:\/\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/content\/active-outdoors\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Trail-Running-Scotland-WEB-0352.jpg?fit=1000%2C750&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Trail-Running-Scotland-WEB-0352.jpg?fit=1000%2C750&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Trail-Running-Scotland-WEB-0352.jpg?fit=1000%2C750&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Trail-Running-Scotland-WEB-0352.jpg?fit=1000%2C750&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":6066,"url":"https:\/\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/2019\/11\/26\/opting-for-plan-b-on-beinn-eighe\/","url_meta":{"origin":14998,"position":1},"title":"Opting for Plan B on Beinn Eighe","author":"John Davidson","date":"November 26, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Coire Mhic Fhearchair on the north side of Beinn Eighe is often described as a spectacular amphitheatre but, as well as that, it can also be a cold, rocky, inhospitable world. It is a place where eight RAF Kinloss crew members lost their lives on their return from a navigation\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Active Outdoors"","block_context":{"text":"Active Outdoors","link":"https:\/\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/content\/active-outdoors\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Beinn-Eighe-49.jpg?fit=1000%2C667&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Beinn-Eighe-49.jpg?fit=1000%2C667&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Beinn-Eighe-49.jpg?fit=1000%2C667&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Beinn-Eighe-49.jpg?fit=1000%2C667&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":14992,"url":"https:\/\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/2026\/05\/30\/spotting-a-soaring-eagle-on-a-fine-ridge-walk-on-the-challenging-mullardoch-munros\/","url_meta":{"origin":14998,"position":2},"title":"Spotting a soaring eagle on a fine ridge walk on the challenging Mullardoch munros","author":"John Davidson","date":"May 30, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Tackling four munros above Loch Mullardoch after a boat ride to the start","rel":"","context":"In "Active Outdoors"","block_context":{"text":"Active Outdoors","link":"https:\/\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/content\/active-outdoors\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Mullardoch-munros-Active-Outdoors-JD-7-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Mullardoch-munros-Active-Outdoors-JD-7-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Mullardoch-munros-Active-Outdoors-JD-7-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Mullardoch-munros-Active-Outdoors-JD-7-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Mullardoch-munros-Active-Outdoors-JD-7-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":6149,"url":"https:\/\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/2020\/01\/17\/my-pick-of-photos-from-2019\/","url_meta":{"origin":14998,"position":3},"title":"My pick of photos from 2019","author":"John Davidson","date":"January 17, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Looking back on a few of my favourite photos and adventures from 2019.","rel":"","context":"In "John's blog"","block_context":{"text":"John's blog","link":"https:\/\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/content\/blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/GoPro-Cairngorms-4000ers-WEB-50.jpg?fit=1000%2C750&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/GoPro-Cairngorms-4000ers-WEB-50.jpg?fit=1000%2C750&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/GoPro-Cairngorms-4000ers-WEB-50.jpg?fit=1000%2C750&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/GoPro-Cairngorms-4000ers-WEB-50.jpg?fit=1000%2C750&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1172,"url":"https:\/\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/2012\/01\/15\/sgurr-nan-clach-geala-and-sgurr-nan-each\/","url_meta":{"origin":14998,"position":4},"title":"Sgurr nan Clach Geala and Sgurr nan Each","author":"John Davidson","date":"January 15, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"These two fine Munros in the Fannichs made a superb winter outing on Saturday. 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