Glen Spean peaks

Peaks: Beinn a'Chaorainn (1052m), Beinn Teallach (915m)

Area: Glen Spean, Scotland

Perhaps not the best option for my last proper Highlands day of the trip, but it was a Bank Holiday and I wanted to at least be in position for a light traffic drive. That said, given that I had plans to stop for a few hours sleep in the Southern Uplands I probably should have stayed further west. This is because these two are not the most interesting of hills. I drove down Loch Arkaig after yesterday's peaks, got a few provisions in Spean Bridge, then slept at the Creag Meagaidh reserve, where I have spent the night before. It was very cold in the night, at least -3C, possibly lower, and uncomfortable at times in the van. Having already done a lot of the mountains in the area, I drove to Roughburn where - after a nightmarish hour looking for my van keys - I set off through the forest towards Beinn a'Chaorainn. This is a runnable track initially, although I was obviously rather fatigued. It leads to a further very vague route through thick conifers then pathless terrain to the knolls of Meall Clachaig. Above this, I stumbled across a much better path, which led to a bouldery section reminiscent of the Carneddau and eventually the south summit of Charorainn, which has three distinct little tops although with little between them. The route across was probably the highlight of the day, really pleasant although short lived as I was moving reasonably quickly, and the views across to Creag Meagaidh and (especially) behind to the Grey Corries and Ben Nevis were excellent. The cwms east of the ridge are also wild and rocky, easily the best side of the profile. The day was cloudless with superb visibility but not too hot with a cool breeze. The central top was the summit, and I descended trackless ground after the north top, probably too early, to gain the broad col of Tom Mor. From here, I made my way up to the NNE ridge of Teallach which was surprisingly enjoyable, and not too long. This is because Beinn Teallach is the lowest Munro of all, and was only promoted after a remeasure in the 1980s (this was my 156th Munro, although I always say I am not a 'bagger'). I had a nice rest picking out peaks in the stunning weather on the summit. The descent was a delightful jog on springy turf initially, but deteriorated to unpleasant bog below, after which the trudge back to the car was longer and harder than I had anticipated. I was really quite tired by now, after 7000-8000m of elevation gain since Wednesday afternoon and the marathon still in my legs. I then drove to Grey Mare's Tail near Moffat, not pleasant with Bank Holiday traffic clogging the roads around Perth and Edinburgh so it was a relief to stop for a kebab in Penicuik (!) before continuing via Peebles and St Mary's Loch in perfect evening weather.