Grahams

Creag Liath

Distance/Ascent

12km 467m

Estimated time

3h 50 mins

26 July 2026

I made a late start for this one, not setting off from the car until about 2pm. It was my plan to afterwards drive west and bike out to lochan na h-earba to camp. As I was changing into my boots, a friendly lady started a conversation. I commented on the weather being forecast to clear for a pleasant night. She clearly did not share my enthusiasm. She clearly knew the names of the hills and as far as I could tell, pronounced the Gaelic correctly. She said the names with a level of confidence that is uncommon among the hillwalking and climbing community.

I took some photographs on the way up, but they are rather underwhelming images. The light was reasonably conducive for good landscape photography, though perhaps just a little bit too much rain and clag, especially on the larger hills. I either needed something interesting in the foreground or to shoot more telephoto than 40mm. Also my primary aim was to bag the peak and I was less willing to stray of the route in search of a better composition.

I often carry a macro lens. I am happy that I did not choose my 100mm macro for this trip. My Pentax K70 had just arrived back from a repair due to the aperture block problem associated with some of the brand's cameras. The repair involved replacing a solenoid with an upgraded solenoid. It was coupled with one of the two lenses that I initially bought with the camera back in 2018. This camera/lens combination were my main photographic tools for a long time and they have even been completely submerged during a river crossing in Kazakhstan. I hope that the repair has not affected the weather seals! While I packed a tripod into the boot of the car, I could not face carrying it. As a result, the camera was rested on a patch of moss. I love the lower angle and the out of focus heather in the foreground: a case of photographic serendipity!

I headed down the north-west ridge to join the path and then track that would take me back towards the car. There are two bridges across the burn; an older footbridge with a broken hand rail and a newer vehicle bridge further down. I took the former as I did not initially see the other one. The bridge was fine but could be a little dangerous if slippery due to either ice or just wet algae growing on it, sending the unfortunate walker crashing into the rocks in the burn below.

I had not time to think about composition of the photograph below. I knew that the rainbow would soon fade and then disappear. I have both dehazed the image and raised the saturation, but both only very slightly.

Below is what I would consider my best landscape photograph of the day. It is easier to get a good depth of field with a wider lens. This was shot at 36mm and I stopped down to f/9 so that both the rocks and Creag Dhu were reasonably in focus. Creag Dhu is one of the hills that are special to me, not just because it is a great hill, but because it is one that I did with my eldest son.

On reaching the car, I needed to make a decision: camp in Glen Banchor or stick to my original plan of coming at Lochan na h-earba. It was getting quite late and I had forgot to bring a torch other than my phone. I decided to look for a meal in Newtonmore before driving west followed by a 5km bike ride to the west end of Lochan na h-earba. I settled on haddock, chips and peas at Newtonmore Grill, which is a transport cafe just of the A9 - an alternative to the one at Dalwhinnie. The staff were really pleasant and while the food was nothing special, it is the sort of stuff that "hits the spot" after a walk on the hills. It is worth keeping it in mind as it opens at 0700 and closes at 2100, which is what we walkers need! Cafes that open at 1000 and close at 1700 are of little use to us!