Binnein Mor
Enjoy a day of ridge walking heaven in The Mamores on this grand Highland route, where you’ll clock up three Munros and countless stunning views.
Walking out from Kinlochleven, the day begins by gradually winding and climbing up through the wonderfully quiet Coire na Ba, before bursting out onto the ridgeline approaching Na Gruagaichean. The views are breathtaking.
The day gets better and better and better from here, with each summit being joined by exhilarating ridge walking and views for miles. The high point of the day is the blocky little summit of Binnein Mor. You’ll be blown away at the sheer awesomeness of this place. The route passes over three Munros, five ridges and climbs 1400m!
You might find it a little challenging if you get nervous with height, but it’s achievable. Your legs might not thank you for it, but that will be soon forgotten when all you’re left with are the memories.
1
NN187622 Park in the car park in Kinlochleven. The start point is just down the road (right on exiting) at NN185623. Take the steep track through the woods and into the rough, open ground, going north-east. At NN188628, the track turns sharply north-west towards the old lodge. Meet the road and turn right, following it north-east to another building on its right. Stay on the access road to the river crossing point.
2
NN190638 From the crossing point, head north up the coire, keeping the river left.
The track is well defined until you get nearer the headwall, where the ground gets steeper and the path turns right (north-east) and starts to climb. There was a small landslip in the re-entrant around
NN189652. The track can be hard to follow. Keep the stream to your left, then follow a bearing of north-east/east to pick it up again. It’s a well-worn track. You should come across a small pool at NN196650. The path will dog-leg south-southeast, then north and then contour north-west high at the back of the coire. If you catch the sun, the path here shimmers because of the mineral deposits! It’s a really cool little mountain track. Exit the coire at the bealach.
3
NN193656 From the bealach, head right – south-east then east, straight up the ridge and onto the unnamed 1041m summit, then descend south-east to the bealach that separates it from Na Gruagaichean. This section is steep and tricky, and on the descent it gets a bit loose. When you begin to ascend the next section, move to the right of the spur and then pick your way left and up. This looks intimidating from a distance but is not as bad as it seems. The route through the rocky step is well worn and you shouldn’t find yourself on dangerous ground. Continue to the summit.
4
NN203652 From the summit of Na Gruachaichaen, descend east, down the ridgeline. The route-finding is quite straightforward. You’ll be on a nice, long stretch of ridge all the way to the summit of Binnein Mor, turning north at the 1062m minor summit.
5
NN212663 From Binnein Mor return south to the 1062m peak and take the leftward track to the final peak of the walk, Sgor Elide Beag. The route is straightforward so long as you handrail the steep ground to your left.
There is a well defined path, and you shouldn’t be dangerously close to the edge. There is a descent point at around NN215653, ignore it and keep on to the summit and descend after this. The views here, toward Sgurr Elide Mor are fantastic, it really is a beautiful mountain. From the summit of Sgor Elide Beag, bear south-east downhill to pick up the descent track at
NN220650. The path zigzags down the steep ground before taking a turn left, back towards Sgurr Elide Mor.
6
NN222649 At the junction where the descent from Sgor Elide Beag meets another path, head right (south) and begin to head back to Kinlochleven. This is a long and gentle descent, but is getting increasingly eroded. Please take care if you are using walking poles as there is significant path widening along this section, made worse by them. The path is easy to follow.
Stay on it until it meets the Loch Elide access road at NN208634. Take a right turn (west) and just follow the road all the way to the deer gate at NN197633. Leave the road and take the gate, following the track down to the treeline. Take a left (south) here and head down the spur, toward the waterfall. It shouldn’t be too difficult to exit the woodland here, straight to the car!