Where are the Grey Corries?

The Grey Corries are spectacular mountains. Forming a ridge on the northern wall of the remoter, roadless Glen Nevis, they are connected to Ben Nevis at the eastern end of this huge massif.

Most who come to Fort William (or visiting Spean Bridge or Roy Bridge) aim to hike up the Ben Nevis Tourist track. While a major achievement to those who complete it, it does leave the neighbouring mountains - just as spectacular if not more for the discerning walker (rather than climber) - far quieter with a feeling of being able to escape the masses!

The nearest town is Fort William and Spean Bridge. Both are served by mainline trains and even the sleeper train from Euston in London. There are good road links too as well as bus links.

About the Bike & Hike Days

There are 4 Munros that make up the Grey Corries. The main ridge of three, and just off at an angle, Stob Ban. There are only two Munros called Stob Ban and both bound Glen Nevis - one to the west forming the start of the Mamores range, and this one, marking the eastern bound of the northern ridge. Although all four can be done in a day, it's a huge day with a very long walk out. Splitting it into two days means we get maximise the use of bikes to save energy and time.

Both days start at the end of an extremely rough road. To make the best of the trip and save a trip to Halfords for new car suspension and wheel alignment, we'll cycle in both days. From Spean Bridge, we have a wonderful woodland cycle along a good single track road alongside a river. Turning north, we meet the really rough farm track. But in real terms it's not a huge distance.

The ridge of 3 Munros contains everything - from woodland approaches to narrow ridges higher up and some easy scrambling. On a clear day, there are commanding views in all directions as these Munros are giants. From the parking area, a good track leads us through a pine forest with the Aonachs in the distance. We strike off this up hill on a faint track into open grass and moorland before reaching Stob Coire Easain - a Munro top we'll need to come back over. Sgurr Choinnich Mor is then ahead appearing as a pyramid. The final ascent is steep! We'll return to Stob Coire Easain and onto Stob Coire an Laoigh before starting on the winding and undulating main ridge to Stob Choire Claurigh. From here, a faint track leads us back down to our bikes.

From Stob Choire Claurigh, neighbouring Stob Ban looks like a tiny bump at just 977m (3,205ft), but this we'll save for the next day. We'll start and meet at the same spot and apart from the rough farm section, a good landrover track will make for fast progress all the way to the tiny Lairig Leacach bothy. Here we'll strike off steeply up on sometimes boggy ground. This gets easier and a rockier track appears for the final ascent. On a clear day, the main ridge Munros tower above us with the Mammores to the South.

Munros:

Day 1: Stob Choire Claurigh (1,177m / 3,862ft), Stob Coire an Laoigh (1,116m / 3,661ft) & Sgùrr Chòinnich Mòr (1,094m / 3,589ft). The route is roughly 22km (14 miles) with 1,500m (4,921ft) ascent

Day 2: Stob Ban (977m / 3,205ft). The route is roughly 18km (11 miles) with 850m (2,789ft) ascent.

Please Note: If you are signing up for one or two of the days, we can't guarantee which days we'll attempt the Munros as that will be weather dependent. We'll only really know a day or so beforehand so please be prepared to be flexible! If we encounter winter conditions higher up (which is likely even in April), you have the option to borrow an ice axe and crampons. Please note, we have a limited supply and can offer these on a first come, first serve basis. If our stock is used up, you'll need to hire them from Ellis Brigham in Fort William.