Meall nan Luath

L our oldest boy and I went down to see my brother and his partner, whom we had not met, before they set off back for Glasgow Airport. It was good to meet up however brief.
We had the dogs in the car so on the way home we stopped at Leanachan and gave the guys a quick stretch. We did not unload them on arrival home as the plan was for M and I to give them their main walk somewhere. We had our minds set on a forest track above Loch Laggan then I suggested Upper Inverroy but rather than follow the track to its termination, head off on to open moorland through a field gate a short distance up the track. I said to M this is the way to set off if you were climbing Meall nan Luath and she said well we may as well just do that. This is a fine walk on very rough tussocky hill land. Its notable also for having the tell tale band of the 261m contour parallel road. As you cross it on foot the perception is of walking over a shallow sloping shelf; once an icy shore line a relatively recent 10,000 years ago. Onward and upward. In terms of altitide this hill stands at 450m and is a good step up in quality over Maol Ruadh. The views from the summit are grand in all directions. You see Loch Linnhe, the Fort William outskirts, Spean Bridge and our own house if you look closely. However the main draw on the eye is the vast bulk which is the chain of mountains on the south side of the Glen Spean valley. This runs from Loch Trieg to the big Ben Nevis neighbours.

"You will get to like it eventually" A phrase I often used about hill walking when M and I first stepped out together.

Anyway, I have often told M of this walk and, mindful how an enhanced description of the route can come back to bite me, I have gone to pains to describe this one accurately. To my credit she said it was very much as expected from my words and was hugely impressed by the outstanding views.

Perhaps helped by this beautiful February day M has finally got to like it.