Different
from every angle.
Unique
from every angle.
Magnificent
from every angle.
For
the anglo-centric hillwalker, the monolithic outline of Suilven may not be
familiar. And that’s a shame because it
is one of the most magnificent mountains in Scotland. Looking at it head on from either end, its
shape appears to dare you to dare you to climb it; even its profile is defiant
with the foreshortened view disguising the fairly straightforward route up to
the ridge’s low-point.
Suilven
has long been on my list of mountains that must be climbed and even though its
height doesn’t qualify it as a Corbett, let alone a Munro, its isolation and
form begs an ascent. Through my eyes
there are some mountains that are poorly qualified for inclusion in the TRAIL
100 list, but Suilven is wholly deserving of such status as it is definitely
one of the “UK’s finest mountains”. A couple
of readers’ polls by TRAIL magazine placed it at number 9 in the list of the
“UK’s Greatest Mountain” and at number 9 in the list of the “UK’s Ultimate
Mountain Routes” – not bad for a hill which is a 650-mile drive from London!
 |
| Suilven from the north-west |
An
easy track leads from Glencanisp into the heart of Assynt, passing the path to
Suileag bothy, keeping a course parallel to the spine of Suilven, At the point where the path takes a turn for
the mountain, you are faced with a boggy morass, masquerading as a path. Many yards wide, it’s a challenge to find the
least deep way forward to avoid being sucked into the peat before reaching the
plateau of lochans that lies below the ascent gully.
 |
| Suilven from the north |
Aiming
for the lowest point in the ridge, Bealach Mor, the way up looks steep. But foreshortening is always deceptive and
height is gained quickly as the slope is never at an angle where walking
transforms into scrambling and the caution that comes with it. As the ridge became closer the gully narrowed
and the sandstone walls with their overhangs looked as though they might
provide some good rock-climbing for those with a thirst for adventure. Staying to the right to gain the ridge would
only involve a struggle in a very narrow sand gully and would just erode it
even further. Staying to the left
reveals some right-trending ledges that top out at the bealach.
And
here the view reveals magnificent Assynt.
 |
| Quinag |
The
full extent of the landscape is mesmerising.
From the Quinag massif to the pyramidal Canisp and all the way around to
Cul Mor, Cul Beag, the intricacies of Ben More Coigach and the decaying tooth
of Stac Pollaidh, the landscape is a hillwalker’s dream. But as you ascend the ridge westwards towards
the summit, the best view is behind you, along the ridge to Meall
Meadhonach. Reaching its top from here
looks challenging and by all accounts it is terrain for competent scramblers
only and I’m not sure that I would do it solo.
Perhaps one day in the future though.
The
ground ahead was crossed by the oddity that is a drystone wall prompting the
question “why here?” Easy scrambling
yielded a subsidiary summit, a flat grassy area that would make an impressive wildcamping
pitch. A small descent to a very narrow
col – any collapse of the path here would make reaching the summit a
significant problem – and then easy walking led to the summit cairn of Caisteal
Liath and one of the best 360° views I’ve ever seen, of the Assynt hills inland
and the Summer Isles just out to sea.
Here is a place to linger.
 |
| Canisp, Suilven summit cairn, Meall Meadhonach |
