Geo-Trips :: Beinn Dorain and Beinn an Dòthaidh

East of Bridge of Orchy station

A walk from Bridge of Orchy, Sat, 14 Apr 2018 by Richard Law

These two Munros loom high over the A82 on the right soon after you've left Tyndrum and are heading towards Rannoch Moor. The southern slope of Dorain in particular looks like a right royal flog from the West Highland Way, so it's perhaps not surprising that the 'normal' way that walkers do these two is to use the path up and down Coire an Dòthaidh'; that path however is getting rather worn, especially higher up in the corrie. it was partly to avoid further erosion that we chose to descend a bit to the west of Beinn an Dòthaidh, which is a little visited area, and gave us a rather entertaining snow-run down a gully, thereby saving some wear on two pairs of aging knees.

The whole route is not terribly arduous, and consists of about 7.5 miles of walking and 4200' of ascent & descent. Quite low numbers for two good Munros.

Click the blue circles to see a photograph taken from that spot and read further information about the location. The blue lines indicate the direction of view. There is also a slideshow of this trip. ( )

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West Highland Way goes under the railway
The track ahead is not, technically, the route of the WHW, which actually takes a... more


The Allt Coire an Dòthaidh
Seen here more or less immediately above the railway line, looking upstream to the... more


Fording a tributary of the Allt Coire an Dòthaidh
On the well-worn hillwalkers' path up into Coire an Dòthaidh, which... more


Path alongside the Allt Coire an Dòthaidh


Path alongside the Allt Coire an Dòthaidh
The well-worn path, a popular route to and from the Munros of Beinn an... more


The Allt Coire an Dòthaidh in a gorge


Major tributary of the Allt Coire an Dòthaidh
This stream issues from a lochan [[2351085]] high (about 2800') on Beinn Dorain,... more


View across the burn to Beinn an Dòthaidh


Cliffs high on Beinn an Dòthaidh
These crags high above the burn in Coire an Dòthaidh basically face south... more


Meltwaters in a tributary of the Allt Coire an Dòthaidh
This stream comprises mostly melting snow on this occasion, along with a bit of... more


High in Coire an Dòthaidh
This is a little way below the bealach between the two Munros, and on this... more


The upper Allt Coire an Dòthaidh
The burn rises high on Beinn an Dòthaidh, basically in a scattered... more


Snowpatch in Coire an Dòthaidh
This steep(ish) patch of snow completely covers a long stretch of the path up to... more


Northern spur of Beinn Dorain


More or less at the bealach
At the top of the steep climb out of Coire an Dòthaidh, and here it was... more


Rock slabs high on Beinn Dorain
The well-used hillwalkers' path passes by these bare slabs on the way up to Beinn Dorain.


Snow lying on Am Fiaclach
A somewhat nondescript section of hillside on the southern ridge of Beinn Dorain.


A brief view of Beinn an Dòthaidh
An opening in the clouds over Am Fiaclach gives a glimpse of the second hill of... more


View down Am Fiaclach


Plough on, it'll be up there somewhere
The summit cairn lies up there in the clag. Probably.


That'll be the top then
After a while in the mists, the cairn starts to loom into view.


Not the greatest of conditions at the top
Trevor's third time up Beinn Dorain, and not the best for photography this time.


Extensive snowpatch on Beinn Dorain
High on the north side of the hill, and slightly sheltered between two low ridges,... more


Nameless lochan at the bealach
Quite a notable landmark and feature, which makes it all the more surprising that... more


Snow-covered path climbing into Coire Reidh
The hillwalkers' path lies under this covering of sugar-snow, with remnant... more


The head of Coire Reidh
Rainwater (or melting snow) from Coire Reidh joins the Allt Coire a' Chabalaich,... more


993m summit of Beinn an Dòthaidh
This lies at just over 3250', but is not a Munro 'top' as the drop from the main... more


Cornice above the east face of Beinn an Dòthaidh
A rather nicely-formed winter cornice was still hanging around on this day in... more


Snowfields near the summit of Dothaidh
More or less the opposite view to that in [[5788433]]


50 yards to the summit of Beinn an Dothaidh
The mist was clearing the summit as we approached, for the first time all day... more


Sunshine catches the 993m summit of Dothaidh


Bare plateau near the northern cliffs of Beinn an Dòthaidh
The stony ground and the near-constant wind mean that little grows here, high on... more


Just south of a small cairn
Marked by a ring contour at 1000m, the prominence ahead isn't shown with a spot... more


A wee one that didn't make it
We briefly saw a live one scurry under a stone a hundred yards or so further east,... more


Cairns at 1000m on the West top of Beinn an Dòthaidh
It wasn't entirely clear which of these two was the highest, and the map only... more


Level ground to the west of Beinn an Dòthaidh
This large area of flattish ground lies at about 2850' just west of the West Top... more


Meltwater burn high on Beinn an Dòthaidh
This rather insignificant burn feeds the left branch of the streams cutting down... more


Steep ground high on the west side of Dòthaidh
A previous visitor does not recommend this side of the hill as a descent... more


Below the main snowline
As a previous visitor has remarked [[2027772]] this hillside is steep, and would... more


Quick way down
Soft snow filled this gully, allowing a good run down roughly 600-700' of the... more


Too soft to glissade
This deep gully, filled with the last of the winters' snow, made for a quick run... more


Just inside the forest enclosure
Open hillside with a scattering of trees lies above the main area of forest low on... more


Lightly wooded gorge of the Allt Coire an Dòthaidh


The old Bridge of Orchy
The bridge is thought to date to 1742, and holds a Category B listing status,... more

All images © Richard Law and available under a Creative Commons licence .

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