Always take a map and compass with you. ©Crown copyright 2019 Ordnance Survey. Media 058/170 km (^246810121416182022)
500
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
1
Start/Finish
Parking area near
Glenballoch above
Newtonmore
GR: NN693998
Head up the track until you reach
the ruins at Glenballoch. Turn R
and follow the riverside track to
a footbridge, then climb a rough
path to the bealach.
2
Follow the pathless ridge
to Meall na Ceardaich
Carn Dearg
Monadhliath SCOTLAND
22.2km/13.8 miles/7 hours
Ascent 820m/2700ft^1
“BUT AREN’T THE
Monadhliath hills supposed
to be boring?”
hat was my reaction
when my brother James
suggested a walk in the hills
above Newtonmore. We’d
been trying to organise
something for a while but
hadn’t agreed on a plan. I’m
not much of a Munroist – I
still haven’t hit three igures
in more than 12 years of
hillwalking in Scotland –
and I can be picky about the
hills I climb.
“You’d enjoy the Munros
above Newtonmore,” James
insisted. “here’s a lot
beneath the surface.” When
we started the walk from
the car park at the end of the
road in Glen Banchor, and I
saw the impressive craggy(879m), broad and boggy at irst
before becoming steeper and
more deined.3
Descend slightly from Meall
na Ceardaich and navigate
across the rolling plateau to Carn
Ballach. Follow the corrie headwall
to Carn Ban.4
After crossing the domed
top of Carn Ban, turn south
along the sharp ridge to CarnDearg’s summit (945m), then over
the south top to a bealach.5
From the bealach, descend
steep and boggy slopes to
Gleann Lochain. You’ll soon reach
a path.6
Follow the track back to
Glenballoch, with a river
crossing – not dificult in most
conditions but do take care –
near the ruin at Dalballoch.Gradient proile Metres above sea level
Alex Roddie
inds the
Monadhliath
hills far from dull
The Great Outdoors Spring 2019 85