Fisherfield

Fisherfield Forest contains Britain’s most remote mountains. Combining backpacking and photography, Alex Nail is on a mission to capture the area in all its glory

Alex Nail photographs Britain’s remotest mountains

FISHERFIELD has been dubbed ‘The Great Wilderness’. Whether or not you believe that any area of Scotland can truly be referred to as a ‘wilderness’, there’s no arguing with either its remoteness or the power of its landscape. The UK’s ‘middle of nowhere’ – the spot furthest from any road – is found here, and the area stands alone in combining that remoteness with utterly spectacular scenery.

For me as a photographer this holds the ultimate draw; to explore and photograph places that are hard to reach has become a major part of my approach. In Fisherfield you can still photograph landscapes that many people wouldn’t even realise are in the UK.

But my first introduction to Fisherfield, in April of 2012 was, frankly, forgettable. Heavy drizzle was falling as I set out with my friend Guy from Poolewe on a four day backpacking trip. It was a straightforward walk to Beinn Airigh Charr on our first day; but the cloud obscuring the summit didn’t give us much hope of the high mountain views we had come to photograph, and as we slogged uphill in the mist the damp made its way through every gap in our waterproofs and our spirits started to drop. By the time we reached the top we were cold, wet and fed up. With a similar forecast for the coming days, I started to think of being home for Easter with my family. The seed was sown. In the morning we turned around.

Skip forward to the following February, and I was camped again with Guy on the snow-covered flanks of An Teallach, planning to take on the famous round of the six Munros of Fisherfield in their winter coat. After a sleepless night, it only took one glance at the mountains in the blue light of dawn to recognise that this was a very bad idea. We once again turned around and drove off to Assynt instead.

COMMITMENT REQUIRED

As I learnt on both those occasions, Fisherfield requires

commitment. It’s true that there are some excellent, albeit long, mountain days to be had on the fringes of the area; but for average hillwalkers its innermost peaks can only be reached as part of a multi-day trip. It contains the only Munros in Scotland that it isn’t realistically possible to get to without some kind of overnight stay. That commitment is ultimately part of the appeal; if you’re prepared to roll the dice a little on the weather forecast then you can find yourself almost alone in one of the UK’s most remote and spectacular mountain areas.

There are, broadly speaking, five routes to access the central mountains of Fisherfield: from Kinlochewe, from Loch a’ Bhraoin, from Corrie Hallie, from the Gruinard River, and finally from Poolewe. It’s that last route, which we attempted back in 2012, that has become my preferred approach over the years. I usually plan for a four- or five-night trip, often with photography groups in tow.

The first five miles or so on the approach to Beinn Airigh

Charr are relatively uninteresting; but as you ascend the view out to sea over countless lochans emerges and you realise how far you have already come. The view from the summit, looking out to the east, is one of the greatest surprises in the North-West Highlands. Beneath you is the beautiful Fionn Loch and beyond the causeway, Dubh Loch. Towering rock walls surround the valley forming an imposing amphitheatre that has sometimes given me the sense of Yosemite Valley. In the distance is the imposing face of A’ Mhaighdean, with its unbroken wall of Lewisian Gneiss and Torridonian Sandstone 800 metres high. To the south are views over the islands of Loch Maree and onwards to the mountains

of Torridon. Although this is one of the finest views in Scotland, better is still to come.

CROWN JEWEL

The target of these trips is always to camp on A’ Mhaighdean itself, Scotland’s remotest Munro, and surely one of the crown jewels of the UK mountains. The route from Beinn Airigh Charr to the summit is challenging to do in a day with a backpack full of camping and camera gear; but it is manageable, and if you are lucky with the weather you’ll be handsomely rewarded by the 360 degree view from the top. From a photographic perspective there is so much potential on this one summit that I still feel I have more to achieve there, five visits later! The precipitous outlook over the lochs to the west is rightly regarded as one of the best in the UK, but there are many other aspects to enjoy; the mountain summit itself is extensive and well worth exploring.

Over numerous visits to the area my love for ‘The Great Wilderness’ has grown. After completing a photographic project and book of the far North-West Highlands in 2018 I realised that I had barely scratched the surface in Fisherfield. As a result, my current photographic project is specifically focused on this region and all that it has to offer. I’ve spent a lot of time hiking many of the best-known mountains, amongst them the Fisherfield Six, An Teallach and Slioch;, but there are still several peaks I’ve yet to explore that look equally exciting – Beinn Dearg Mor and Beag, and Beinn Lair being the particularly notable examples.

This summer I hope to spend three weeks backpacking in the area, hopefully avoiding the post-lockdown crowds. Here I know I can always find empty summits and a true sense of adventure.

May 2021

The view east to A’ Mhaighdean from Beinn Airigh Charr is almost impossible to do justice to in photographs, such is the scale and grandeur of the scene. It is only surpassed by the many views from A’ Mhaighdean itself. May 2021

THE ISLANDS OF LOCH MAREE Access to Creag Ruadh is a little awkward but it offers an excellent view for such a small hill. From the top the numerous islands on Loch Maree line up almost perfectly with the towering presence of Slioch at the back.

A STEP BACK IN TIME Paddling amongst the islands of Loch Maree is like stepping back in time to an ancient Scotland before deforestation. Here you can find scenes that seem untouched by humanity, and get a hint of the benefits that appropriate reforestation could bring to the landscape.

BRITAIN’S BEST VIEW? The iconic view west from A’ Mhaighdean over Dubh Loch and Fionn Loch and out to sea is one of the most memorable sights in the British Isles, and it more than justifies the difficulty in getting there. Even now, having visited many times, it is hard to imagine a trip to the area that does not incorporate this peak.

THE VIEW FROM BEINN TARSUINN Beinn Tarsuinn is the fourth peak in the Fisherfield round. From the summit you can look straight down Gleann na Muice towards An Teallach. I hope to revisit this peak this summer and do greater photographic justice to the view. My two nights spent on the mountain so far were largely in the mist!

IN RAINBOWS Taken on an evening of rainbows whilst returning from Beinn an Eoin in Torridon. Often, I have been forced to enjoy the peaks of Fisherfield from afar when the weather windows have been too short to justify a long trip into the mountains.

A COLD FORGE On the approach to Sgurr Fiona on An Teallach (‘The Forge’) one winter’s morning. Although the day started well, the weather soon changed, as is often the case in Fisherfield, and we were caught out on the ridge in gale force winds. In summer the mountain tends to be more benign and views like this are not to be missed.

WILD WINDS An incredible day on Slioch two years ago brought with it some wild and unpredictable winds. My friend Harsharn was posing in front of the view when a strong gust came out of nowhere and he made a hasty retreat from the edge!