Assynt + NW Sutherland

A few days later I was back up in the north-west with Kay, helping her to climb some more Grahams in the area. We had failed to climb Carn an Tionail and Beinn Direach the previous September due to stalking so these two hills north of Loch Merkland were the first on our list. The two together make up a grand horseshoe route, and Carn an Tionail particularly is a lovely hill giving great views north towards Ben Hope, Ben Loyal, Cranstackie and Beinn Spionnaidh.
Next day on Ben Stack we were not quite so lucky with the weather which closed in on us on the last steep 200m to the summit so that we only got a limited view of the interesting split summit area and sadly no views across to Arkle and Foinaven. We left the summit cairn and what I gather is a solar powered police aerial to enjoy a quick sandwich beside the trig point before heading back down in increasingly heavy rain. Only on the lower slopes did the cloud clear and the sun came out for us. Making the most of the afternoon, we drove to Scourie for a cup of coffee and a glorious stroll round Scourie Head to end the day.
We were driving home the next day so left Inchnadamph early in order to climb Meall Doire Faid from Braemore Junction. A good moorland path to Home Loch bypasses any houses and from there we climbed directly north-east on steep grassy slopes to reach the summit where we disturbed a ptarmigan and her chicks - a real treat to see them. From there we dropped down to the north-east to reach the col between the Graham and the Corbett Beinn Enaiglair and a good path down to Home Loch and back across the moor.

Ben Stack from Scourie

Scourie Head