Brothers of Kintail
1 NH074115 Start in the lay-by just before the Cluanie Inn (heading east). I recommend parking at the end of the route for an easy life after finishing. Follow the track immediately behind the lay-by that contours across the hill to an old sheep pen. About 10m before the pen, a faint track cuts right, steeply uphill. Follow this until it begins to fade out and becomes hard to follow, then gradually contour over to the right (north-east) until you pick up the edge of the broad ridge to stay on a more consistent track. Follow this all the way up, steeply and endlessly until it fades again at a final steep, grassy section.
Clamber up and feel relieved when you sight the impressive standing cairn. Approaching the cairn, head slightly left (north-west) to the weird shaped hill and cross it. Follow a
good track to the boulder piled summit of Sgurr An Fhuarail.
2 NH054139 Descend west on a good track. Pass a small pool to access a more pronounced section of ridge with a brief burst of easy scrambling across a fin of rock which is steep on the sides but easily maneuvered. In general, the next section is essentially a good stretch of enjoyable ridge walking. As you near the summit of Sgurr a’ Bhealaich Dheirg, the ruin of an old and seemingly pointless wall appears. Follow this to clamber across a short but narrow and bouldery section to reach another impressive cairn. Please don’t add any stones to them.
3 NH035143 Return the 75m or so back across the summit ridge and continue north-west along a broader, grassy section of ridge to the 1014m spot-height, which sits at the end. The descent from here is not immediately obvious but runs down the southwest aspect, starting in the deep channel and passes through small boulders. Soon after, a sharp left turn leads to a short, steep muddy section. Take care! Cut back right to the ridge where the next obstacle is passing over the top of a steep, sharp looking slab. Don’t try to avoid it as it’s easier than it looks. Take it almost directly, but slightly on it’s right. The terrain above the slab is comfortable and you barely notice it below but there is still steep ground on both sides. The route mellows out again into undulating ridge walking via good tracks to Saileag.
4 NH017148 Saileag; the beginning of the end. Descend westward down the broad shoulder, until you reach the lowest section of the Bealach, just before it rises again.
A small cairn marks a descent track on the left. In good weather, the car park below should be obvious. The track can be quite vague in parts, steep and very slippery in the wet. There is a large section of deep, stone filled runnels to navigate and these can be awful after a long day. Aim right as you reach the fence at the top of the tree plantation, where another small cairn marks the track down to the car park. Just after the trees, the track leads to a slab in a stream. Don’t try to cross it. Turn left immediately before the stream and continue down between the trees and stream. This final section is also muddy, steep and boggy. It’s not enjoyable but does take you straight to the car park. (If you decide to link up the brothers and sisters as a wild camp or single big day, there are usually several small water pools along the way, some near the
end of this route).