GUIDE TO... A’ MHARCONAICH THE ROUTE

Pronunciation: A-var-con-ich Meaning: The horse place Height: 975m (3,199ft) Rank: 179

OS Landranger: Map 42 Summit grid ref: NN604763 (cairn)

Nearest town: Dalwhinnie is a small village 8km (5 miles) to the north. It has a railway station,

B&B and bunkhouse accommodation, cafe, bar and, of course, a distillery.

Start grid ref: NN632755 Distance: 25km (15.5 miles) Ascent: 1,100m (3,609ft) Time: 7hrs

Start by driving to the car park at Balsporran Cottages (NN628792). Here, you can leave your bike, chaining it to a convenient fence. Then drive south for about 5km (3.1 miles) to layby number 79. Take the old road from the layby, through a gate. After a short distance, fork right on to a track that takes you under the railway. After fording a small stream, follow the Allt Coire Dhomhain on a good track on its north bank. After about 1.5km (0.9 miles), ford the river (if safe) and head south-west on to the long ridge that takes you to the summit of Sgairneach Mhor. From here, make for the col at the head of Coire Dhomhain, then almost directly north for a little over 1.5km (0.9 miles) to the summit of Beinn Udlamain, the highest of the four Munros at 1,010m (3,314ft). Take in this hill’s lower summit and continue roughly north-east across the bealach and on to the summit of A’ Mharconaich. You can descend via the long northeast ridge back to Balsporran, or backtrack a few hundred meters before heading north-west to the bealach with Gael Charn, then north for the summit. The descent can be a bit of a plod in deep, tussocky heather until you pick up another of the bulldozed tracks that take you back to Balsporran, where the waiting bikes are a welcome sight. The cycle path along the A9 makes for a speedy return to your vehicle – although my friend Ron gloomily insists that the quite flat route is entirely uphill!