One of our regular runs is to get the train to Corrour and then run back home. It is nothing epic; 17-18 miles on boggy paths and tracks with a moderate amount of climbing but a net downhill. It is a good run on a bad weather day - we know the route well, and once you step off the train you have no option but to run all the way home. Actually that is not quite true - you could sit in the wonderfully warm and cosy Station House Restaurant and sip coffee until the afternoon train came to whisk you back to Spean Bridge (on some days when it has been lashing with rain this has been tempting!) On fine days there is lots of options to add in hills or lengthen the route .Even to run to Fort William via Glen Nevis but that is extremely boggy.
For the last week the weather has been unrelentingly bad - almost continual rain. Oban has had floods and there have been landslides elsewhere in the Highlands. Yesterday I had a day off and expecting more rain we jumped on the lunchtime train to Corrour, which at 1339 feet above sea level is the highest train station in Britain and often very cold. However to our surprise it was a glorious day; both warm and sunny. The hills which are turning golden brown at this time of year looked stunning. The stags were roaring too which added to the atmosphere of rugged wilderness.
 |
| Loch Treig |
The first stage of the run is to Loch Treig and past the sadly boarded up Creag Ghuanach Lodge. From there you climb through the hills on a boggy path to the Lairig Leacach which is hemmed in by Stob Coire Easain on the right and Stob Ban and Stob Choire Claurigh on the left. We often stop at the little bothy for a breather and a chat with any walkers there.A bit more climbing then you start the descent towards Spean Bridge which is about 8 miles further on.
 |
The track beyond the Lairig looking down into the sunlit glen
|
Lastly one reaches the Leanachan Forest which yesterday was delightful, the birds were singing the sun shining and the trees were a medley of autumnal shades - yellows oranges and browns. We arrived home well satisfied with our afternoon trot through the hills.
