I can’t even remember the last time I summited the two iconic Northern Munros of Conival and Ben More Assynt. I think it was over a decade ago and I don’t think the weather was that great. In any case, I often find that it takes a second outing to a place to truly enjoy and remember the sights, atmosphere, challenges, and rewards. This is exactly what happened this summer when I hiked these two Munros and an atypical southern top of Ben More Assynt.
Brilliantly, an electric campervan adventure coincided with a weekend of bright, sunny weather at the end of April. This meant that the 20km walk, from Inchandamph, was filled with fantastic views of the magnificent landscape of Assynt and beyond to the west coast coastline and islands.
I walked with my friends Cath, Claire, Geraldine and Rachel and we followed a well-trodden path for most of the route.
Bagging Munros: Conival and Ben More Assynt
The walk starts at Inchnadamph, next to the Explorer’s Lodge, and from there we walked along a wide track leading into a beautiful gorge. As the path narrowed, we began to climb alongside a beautiful crystal clear stream with waterfalls and pools from time to time.
Slowly but surely we kept going up and finally we saw a beach about 600 m from where we could see Conival. Then began the steepest climb up a rocky path to reach the top of Conival at 987m.
From Conival, we look along a long ridge in an easterly direction. We first descended the ridge, then climbed again to reach the summit of Ben More Assynt at 998m. It didn’t seem to take long and as we walked and talked we also took in more fabulous views.
From Ben More Assynt, an unusual southern summit could be seen. This peak is ranked Munro Top, which he also really wanted to bag. I am now bagging the Munro Top summits when I see them on the map.
My friends agreed to accompany me to the 960m summit and although it added another 2km to the route, plus a short round trip, we were all happy to make the most of the excellent conditions and enjoy even more spectacular views. . The fighting is a bit intimidating for a short time, but nothing too complicated.
To return to the start, the route took us back over the Munro peaks of Ben More Assynt and Conival. This meant that in total we hiked to five summits and climbed a total elevation of 1455m.
While it had been quite a long outing, it was also very rewarding. In my opinion, there is little better than a great day in the mountains, walking and chatting with friends and enjoying beautiful views, especially of Assynt, under sunny blue skies.
