The Corrieyairack Pass is a Wade's Road, built by General Wade in 1731
to link Fort Augustus with the south.
My client on this occasion was from London and was a member of the
London Ramblers. She wanted a low level walk and the owner of the
property she was residing at suggested a linear walk over the
Corrieyairack Pass. Transport wasn't a problem as the client's host
was to collect us at the other end.
We set off from the Ardachy Road, near Fort Augustus and walked up a
path which led to the vehicle track of the Corrieyairack Pass. It was
a bright and sunny morning and as we gained height we had good views of
Fort Augustus and Loch Ness. Further along the road we had to leave
the track to allow a Swiss registered 4 x 4 to pass westwards. Still
wondering where he came from. Despite the fact that the road is a
public road some of the later stretches are very eroded and would be
difficult even for a 4 x 4 to traverse.
The next point of interest was the Blackburn Bothy, which had been
re-built, and was in good condition. We had a look around it and noted
from the Bothy Book that some TGO Challengers had past through in the
last few days.
Once across the stream we continued along the road, the line of which
was obvious as pylons cross the hillside in the same direction and at
times parallel to the road. We crossed a few bridges and at a
concrete building, probably used in connection with the electric
pylons, we took shelter from a cool breeze for lunch. While sitting
there I heard what I thought was the noise of a horse and on looking
round the building saw half a dozen horses and their riders heading
towards Fort Augustus.
After lunch it was a steady climb to the highest point of the Pass with
views west to the mountains around Glen Dessary and Kintail. Once
over the top we met the only walkers on the route who were heading for
Blackburn Bothy. The route of descent was rather eroded, especially
at the zig zags with some rough walking between boulders. One part of
the banking had been washed into the adjoining stream.
The gradient of the road became easier as we headed downhill, although
with a lot more erosion on this side of the Pass than on the north
side. We eventually reached Melgarve Bothy which we visited before
continuing east reaching the tarred road a few minutes later.
We followed this tarred road for a further couple of miles before we
were uplifted as arranged.
Photos from the walk can be found at:
http://www.caledoniahilltreks.com/galleries/corrieyairack_pass_may06/index.htm