Richard Webb photos from 01 May 2007 to 01 June 2007

Sgurr na Cairbe The peak from the east.

Sgurr na Ruaidhe: more tundra The northeast part of the summit plateau of Sgurr na Ruaidhe. Miles of fast going on mossy ground. I was moving fast, trying to get down out of the wind and rain. Clear s…

Snow patch on Sgurr na Ruaidhe Last of the winter snow gathered around the head of the Allt Coire Chairbe, 870m up on Sgurr na Ruaidhe.

Strathconon Road

Ciste Dhubh Meltwater channel cutting across the north ridge of Sgurr na Ruaidhe.

Blarnabee Wood Scots pine plantation on steep slopes. The track is steep too.

Allt Coire Chairbe Plenty of bogwood buried in the peat.

Allt Coire Chairbe The glacier in Glen Orrin deepened the glen, leaving the side drainage as hanging valleys. Here the Allt Coire Chairbe starts to cut down to the level of the Orrin forming a series …

An Leth-chreag The summit, a vast stony plain. Quite a contrast to Sgurr na Cairbe to the north.

Bealach nam Botaichean and Carn nan Gobhar Pass between Carn nan Gobhar (the background hill) and Sgurr na Ruaidhe at the head of Coire na Sleaghaich. These hills are normally done as a ridge walk ove…

Bridge, Luipmaldrig Suspension bridge, high above the River Orrin. Estate bridges like this are very useful to the recreational hill goer, but never assume that they will be there when you need them. …

A bridge over the Orrin A simple suspension bridge. Cross slowly.

Summit, Sgurr na Ruaidhe, 5 km from Ardchuilk, Highland, Great Britain. The cairn on what is remarkably unworn ground for a 3000' summit. Sgurr na Ruaidhe has little soil on its high ground, and is co…

Allt Coire Chairbe Trees hanging on out of the reach of teeth.

Allt Coire Chairbe A flat area at the confluence of the Allt Coire Chairbe and Allt Beithe. The flats are extensive and free of peat. This is probably a former loch bed, the loch draining when the bur…

Allt Gleannan Mall-luirge Ford across the burn.

An Gleannan The Allt Gleannan Mall-luirge descends towards Glen Orrin. Looking up towards the pass which is to the right of the notch on the horizon.

An Leth-chreag Broad ridge above the slopes of An Leth-chreag. Sgurr na Cairbe in the distance and the Orrin Reservoir beyond to the right. The ridge is mostly dry with thin soils and continues to Sgu…

Blàr na Bithe A lone surviving birch on the floor of Strathconon.

Deer below Sgurr na Cairbe With some trees that have somehow avoided the attention of their predecessors.

Exposed ground The wind has removed the soil from this 750m summit, with plant life restricted to a series of stripes.

Sgurr na Cairbe The summit cone from the north ridge.

Sgurr na Cairbe The summit. A sharp top, but the striking hill from Glen Orrin is just the end of a long ridge, but separated by a meltwater channel.

Bogs, Sgurr na Cairbe Bogs on the west side of the hill. View towards Sgurr a' Choire Ghlais and Carn nan Gobhar.

Allt Baile na Creige path A faint and rough pony track ascends the Allt Baile na Creige from Balnacraig in Strathconon. It only runs to a 600m pass, descend to Glen Orrin and you are on your own - the…

Allt Gleannan Mall-luirge The Allt Gleannan Mall-luirge meets Glen Orrin. The fast flowing burn slows down on the flat floor of the glen and has frequently changed course. The land here was once a far…

Bogs on Carn na Còinnich The Glen Orrin side of Carn na Còinnich is very hard going with deeply dissected peat bogs.

Bogs, Allt Baille na Creige Path running through boggy ground. Only as far as the watershed though. Once in Glen Orrin, you are on your own - good luck!

Cairn on the pass Cairn at the summit of a pass into Glen Orrin.

Corrachan Buidhe Stony ridge above An Gleannan, running westward from 598m Corrachan Buidhe.

Glen Orrin Glen Orrin can be a desolate place. There is little birdlife and few trees. After a long hot spell rain and gales lash the peaks between Glen Orrin and Glen Strathfarrar. Once this was arab…

Glen Orrin Looking down on the glen floor from Braigh Lùb na Ceardaich, the steep, heathery northern slopes of a classic glacial U-shaped glen. The river is low, but prone to big floods which can cove…

Glen Orrin A view up the glen from Braigh Lùb na Ceardaich. Below is a big outwash plain below a ravine carrying the Allt na Tururaich. The glen stretches a long way westward and other features are th…

Glen Orrin Looking down to Cnocan nan Dearcaig in Glen Orrin.

Meall Giubhais The summit ridge, with the slightly lower and better defined south top. The ground here is windswept and dry, with the peat deposits long since worn away. Standing at this time was diff…

Meall Giubhais Moorland north of the summit, with a lurid green moss patch in and around a bog pool. Beyond is the glen of the Allt Baile na Creige, which provides another access route to Glen Orrin f…

Meall Guibhais A rocky outcrop near the summit. Just south of, and about the same height as the Ordnance Survey marked summit of Meall Guibhais.

Meall Guibhais The summit, with Sgurr a' Mhuillin beyond.

River Orrin Meanders in the Orrin from the steep slopes beside the Allt na Turaraich. The green areas are frequently flooded and have lost their covering of peat. The brown vegetation is on surviving …

Sgurr Ruaidhe Nearly always climbed from the south, this is a view of the 993m hill from across Glen Orrin to the north.

Sgurr na Cairbe A 686m peak which dominates views in this part of Glen Orrin. It is the end of a long ridge thrown down from Sgurr na Ruaidhe.

Terracing, Glen Orrin A bank where the river has cut into the glacial deposits and peat that cover the floor of Glen Orrin. Other than the immediate surrounds of the river, the glen is covered in bog …

Bogs under Meall Guibhais Gathering grounds of the Allt Gleadhraich.

Corrachan Buidhe Looking east from Corrachan Buidhe to the southern end of Meall Giubhais. This is a boggy hollow with deep and dissected peat deposits. Taken in a strong gale.

Top of the pass 590m pass between Glen Orrin and Strathconon. A possible route for the former inhabitants of Glen Orrin to the kirk in Strathconon. There is a cairn marking the top of the pass and the…

Allt Coire Chairbe The confluence of the Allt Coire Chairbe and River Orrin. Beinn Bha'ach Ard in the background.

Glen Orrin A stretch of the bleak glen beneath Carn a' Bhainne. After a long dry spell the river is low, but it can flood dramatically. The shingle banks look inviting to oystercatchers, but nothing n…

Sgurr na Cairbe View across Glen Orrin towards Sgurr na Cairbe.

South end of Meall Giubhais Drier ground rising from the bogs.

Allt Turaraich A hanging valley. The burn eventually descends a ravine to Glen Orrin, 300m below.