Absolutely perfect! I couldn't have asked for a nicer day. I got a nice early start and drove North from Inverness with no real plan for the day. I wasn't convinced that the forecast was going to be accurate (it never bloody is up here!) so the predicted sunshine and blue skies were treated with a certain degree of scepticism.

They got it right! The drive was glorious and I stopped to get this photo of Beinn Dearg from the road at Loch Glascarnoch.




I decided to head a bit further North and drove past Ullapool to do climb Cul Mor, if you're into Corbett bagging then this one is the highest in the area. I'm personally not into Munro or Corbett bagging (not to mention the Donalds, Wainwrights and Grahams!) and tend to go to whatever hill suits my fancy.

I parked up at Knockan Crag and grabbed a bite to eat before heading up the hill. Already the views were promising to be pretty spectacular with a panorama taking in Beinn Mor Coigach,
Cul Beag, Stac Pollaidh and Cul Mor.





The walk up Cul Mor is fairly straightforward and only takes about 2 hours. The views are stunning though and it probably took me a bit longer as I kept stopping to take it all in. Suilven in particular caught my eye, standing alone like a great sphinx of the North West. Canisp lay just to the east and I could make out Quinag and Ben More Assynt further away. The hill was utterly deserted with not a soul in sight, unusual for what should be a popular, especially in this weather!








There was a bit of a breeze at the summit, I stood and gawped at the view for a while before deciding to head back a bit lower down to get a bit to eat. I didn't want to leave! The views were that good and the weather so utterly gorgeous that the thought of heading back down to civilisation didn't exactly fill me with joy. My peace was soon to be shattered though, with the arrival of the first people I'd seen all day. The sunshine seems to bring the best out in people, or maybe it's partly due to the fact that everyone you meet out on the hill has something in common with you - the love of being outdoors. We sat and chatted for half an hour putting the world to rights before parting ways.



It looked like most folk had chosen a later start and the hill was pretty busy on the way back down. Each group seemed keen to stop for a blether so it took just as long to get down as it did to get up! A lovely way to spend the day and I think I'll head back up that way again next weekend.