If you are looking for a quick half-day walk or an evening hike in the summer, Meall na Faochaig in Strathconon is a good outing. The Fiona is a steep-sided hill with a flatter summit located on the north side of the strath. Two Corbetts, Meallan nan Uan and Sgurr a’ Mhuilinn, can be seen to the north across Gleann Meinich.
It is a long but beautiful drive along a singletrack tarmac road in Strathconon to reach the start of this walk. Just before Carnoch, which is identified on the OS Map, there is the wide opening of a truck leading to a farm. I parked carefully on the edge, making sure it would not cause difficulty for vehicles coming in and out of the track driveway. It was the same starting point for another Fiona, Beinn Mheadhoin.
With Hubby G along for the outing – he is a reluctant Fiona and Corbett bagger! – we headed west from the car, along the road. After a short section of road, there is a track going off to the right and a metal gate to pass through.
The first 1.5km of the route is on a rough Landrover track that heads north-west and then sharply east. This track continues east but to reach the summit of the Fiona, you need to veer off north on to untrodden ground. The ascent is fairly steep on rugged and terrain covered in vegetation and sections of wet bog. After around 1km to 1.5km, the landscape flattens and the aim is the summit to the east.
The highest point on the summit is 677mm. There is a small cairn, although I wasn’t sure if a point further east might be higher so I also walked there. I needed to cross a maze of deep and wet peat bogs, only to find that top is around a meter or two metres lower. (I always prefer to check though!).
This summit walk added extra distance to the route but since the total walk, start to finish is lies than 7km with 544m of of ascent it wasn’t much to worry about.
It’s worth staying a while at the top to take in the lovely views all along the strath.
Our return route from the summit was similar. It is never going to be exactly then same because there is not trod on the rough mountain slope. However, our aim was to return to the track lower down to complete the walk.
Hubby G reported that the Fiona hike wasn’t as bad as he’d feared and, in fact, quite an enjoyable route in a picturesque glen.
Meall na Faochaig details:
Distance: 7km
Total ascent: 544m
Fionas bagged: 66