Lairig Mor

 You are Here: Scotland; Lochaber; Lairig Mor

In the past, I have walked each half of the Lairig Mor, and cycled through it on my way up to Loch Eilde Mor. However, today Mum was wanting to take a look, so we set off from Kinlochleven and after a stiff climb up to Mamore Lodge we followed the old road through the Lairig.

Mamore Lodge

The climb out of Kinlochleven is always steep, and the path up to Mamore Lodge is no exception, but at least some repairs seem to have been undertaken since I first used it 5 years ago. Back then, it was a rock slide where storm waters had ripped the path to shreds and turned it into a makeshift river. We climbed up through the trees, eventually coming to the Hotel Road just below the Hotel itself. Not that I think it is a Hotel anymore, and while a quick look around the building showed dining tables laid for a meal and windows open, there was a distinct 'Mary Celeste' feel about the place.

We walked on, past the old holiday chalets / bunkhouses which appear to be stuck in a 1970s timewarp and found ourselves on the road that General Cauldfeild built in 1753. The exact ascent route out of Kinlochleven has been lost, but beyond the old hotel, the road sports typical 1920/30s roadside barriers and other evidence showing that it was once a public highway, despite its stony and potholed appearance today!

The Lairig

Soon, the West Highland Way joined us from the left - our return route - and then we were heading into the Lairig itself. The Lairig, which would once have been the main route south from Fort William, is now a quiet and almost desolate pass between Glen Nevis and Loch Leven. On the right, the towering heights of the Mamore Mountains rose above us, and on the left the almost as tall Beinn na Caillich climbed away. One day I will have to climb it, and its neighbour Mam na Gualainn, but not with Mum!

The Lairig Mor is a long pass, indeed that it probably the meaning of its name in Gaelic, and other than the road winding over the contours, crossing the occasional bridge and more frequent cobbled ford, there are few notable landmarks. Therefore, when the distant sight of Tigh-na-Sleubhaich comes into view it is a little surprising. It is no more than a ruinous house with a sheepfold and cottage / barn next door, but it does relieve some of the tedium of the landscape. Another mile beyond is the half way point in the Lairig, Lairigmor itself. This ruined house is more substantial, and lies to the west of the watershed (well both houses do, but the other is near the top). One of them was once an Inn on the military road, but I'm not sure which!

Lairig Mor was our turning point, and we headed back, taking the WHW route back to the road at the entrance to Kinlochleven, rather than picking our way back down the steep paths around the Grey Mares Tail Waterfall to the car park.