I did Strathcarron to Aviemore in 2014. This might help https://blogpackinglight.wordpress.com/2014/06/02/tgo-challenge-2014-summary/

Wonderful hills now increasingly spoilt by *****y wind factories, but enough of that.
There are some hidden gems in the Monas. It is far from just a big bog trot.

If going to Aviemore there are some lovely routes.

Jut tap into some blog posts, I've done it several times

2011 Day 5

2011 Day 6

TBH it is a wonderful area, there are so many options, I'm planning to go via Drum if I'm lucky this year.

Hi Andre, and welcome.

The western side of the Monadh Liath is fast becoming a gigantic construction site for wind power stations. Should you wish to avoid them you may well be advised to look at the following wind farms:


From north to south:

1) Farr - completed but with an extension approved (Kyllachy)
2) Dunmaglass - virtually complete, but with a northerly extension likely (Aberarder)
3) Corriegarth - under construction
4) Dell - in planning
5) Stronelairg:
In the last few months the massive wind farm at Stronelairg has been rammed through by the SNP Scottish Government. By the time of the Challenge I would imagine that soil investigations will be going on throughout this area to determine the positions of the haul roads, hardstandings, turbine bases and anemometers.



The above map told of the situation in March 2015. You can see a much larger version of this on my blog, with more information about the windfarms HERE

And of course, further to the south, the fabulous old Corrieyairack Pass is now humbled by enormous new pylons and a massive haul road which cuts across the old road in places. It's been devastated. And adjacent to the pass there are the proposed Culachy (refused at present) & Aberchalder (scoping) wind farms. At its south-eastern end, the Corrieyairack Pass will 'host' the massive new substation for Stronelairg, very close to Garva Bridge.

To the west of the Great Glen, the Moriston wind farm has also been approved.

If you've never witnessed an upland wind farm, take a look at the pictures I took as I walked through Corriegarth this year: HERE

There has been *some* good news, in that Allt Duine was refused. Druim Ba was also refused. But now Cnoc an Eas is in planning, to the south of the Eskdale Triangle, north of Glen Moriston. This means that the walk from Cannich to Drum is likely to be spoiled for ever.

You can find an interactive map of the current state of wind farms (but only those in the Highland Council planning region) by clicking on the link below:

http://www.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=5ec04b13a9b049f798cadbd5055f1787


You can zoom right in on this map to see the approximate positions of the turbines and their size.

And of course, just to cheer you up, if you pass near Fort William (further south than you are expecting to walk) you'll walk through the quagmire that the Scottish Six Day Trials leave behind.


Wild Scotland, eh?


If you would like any further information, please get in touch.
Good luck in the draw, and good luck with your planning.

That is a very sad destruction of a wonderful and beautiful area of Scotland, by those that never go there and never care. This may be one of the last chances to see some of it unspoilt.
Gradually this beauty is being industrialised. But.. still worth a visit to preserve some photos for future generations to mourn its passing...

Thank you Andrew, Robin, Alan,
A strange moment to visit the Monadhliath indeed... Still, it's all part of the modern world. A film about Mongolian Noamds will feature a highway with big lorries.....

Will they remove the roads once the windmills are up you think? In that case the damage on the ground will not be so bad, nature at ground level at least will regenerate.

Thanks again!

I'm afraid the road networks in the midst of the Monadh Liath are there to stay. The average lifetime of an upland wind turbine is said to be 25 years, and turbines require regular maintenance. They also break down with regular monotony. Most turbines require new gearboxes at least once in their lifetime, which requires the use of a huge mobile crane and a lot of trucks.




Pretty miserable.

The peat is on the tops. The streams have washed it away in the valleys. Soooo ... follow streams up an ddown and you should have a wonderful time up there.

hi Andre,I agree with all the replies you have had and yes that great wildness of the Monadhliath has been somewhat
compromised, but its still one fantastic place to go, I must have been over it about 7 times over the years,but remember in bad weather it takes no prisoners!!! but in good weather its a joy,
one year I decided to try and find the source of the river Dulnain, it started with trickle, I fallowed it till it was 40ft across
and there a great bothy on it at NH787 136, Andre have an adventure on it and spread your wings and stay on it as long as possible its the ultimate adventure,

Hi Terry,
Thank you, it will be a great adventure indeed. I do enjoy the lonely places, and there are almost none left in my own country. That may be the one reason I keep coming back to Scotland. That and the great people.

Greetings from the Low Countries,
Andre