Saileag – By the Bealach an Lapain

The walk

The usual way up Saileag on its own starts on the A87 in Glen Shiel. A steep path climbs beside the forest to the Bealach an Lapain, west of the summit, and a path follows the grassy ridge east to the top. By our map it is about 5 km (3 miles) there and back, with about 790 metres of climb. Allow about 3 to 4 hours, more with stops, in poor weather or under snow. The summit is 956 metres up, and the walk starts about 180 metres up, beside the road. No public body publishes a route, a distance or a time for it. The climb to the bealach is steep, loose and eroded, and it is harder on the way down. West of the bealach the ridge climbs to Sgurr na Ciste Duibhe, the most easterly of the Five Sisters of Kintail, and walkers bound for the Five Sisters climb the same path. East of Saileag the ridge runs on to Sgurr a' Bhealaich Dheirg and Aonach Meadhoin. One guide says Saileag is usually climbed in a longer day along the ridge: this walk keeps to Saileag.

The walk starts from a rough car park on the north side of the A87 in Glen Shiel, at grid reference NH 009 135. MunroMagic puts it about 11 km south-east of Shiel Bridge, and by our map it is free. If it is full, one guide says, there is a lay-by a short way west: by our map about 400 metres along the road. No source read lists toilets at the car park, so plan for none. One guide notes that the A87 is on a national bus route, but no stop is mapped at the car park: check with Scottish Citylink before you rely on it.

Before you set off, check the mountain forecast. The Mountain Weather Information Service's Northwest Highlands forecast and the Met Office's Northwest Highlands mountain forecast cover these hills. Conditions on the hills can be very different from those at the roadside and can change quickly, Kintail Mountain Rescue Team warns. Mobile coverage is poor in places, the team says, so plan for it. Carry a map and compass and know how to use them: one guide says the way needs map reading and the skill to navigate with a compass.

From the car park, walk 74 metres west along the A87 to the foot of the path. It leaves the road just behind a chevron road sign, one walker's report says. By our map the A87 here is a trunk road with a 60 mph limit, no pavement and no lighting. Keep well in to the verge, in single file, and keep children and dogs close. Take the same care at the end of the day, on tired legs.

The path climbs north up the hillside beside the forest fence. Lower down it is steep and can be boggy, one guide says, and it crosses some small burns. By our map it fords four burns between about 400 and 700 metres out, with no bridge. They are small, but streams can rise markedly in a day after rain, MunroMagic warns. By our map a second path splits off and rejoins it lower down. Above the burns the path traverses across, round the top of the plantation, and turns uphill at a small pile of stones, one walker's report says.

From there the path climbs steeply to the Bealach an Lapain. By our map it rises about 540 metres from the road to the bealach in under 1.5 km, and about 50 metres in its steepest 100 metres. One walker's report gives 480 metres of climb in less than a kilometre, a gradient of 1 in 2. The same report finds the path by turns badly eroded, wet, slippery and rocky. Wikipedia calls the climb steep and unrelenting on grassy slopes. One reviewer found the path at the bealach horrendous: badly eroded, in places cut four to five feet deep, and running with water. Another walker found its zigzags crumbling at the edges on the way down. Take it slowly and keep to the path.

The path tops out at the Bealach an Lapain, about 1.6 km out and about 725 metres up by our map, where a small cairn marks it, guides say. Here it meets the ridge path. To the west the ridge path climbs to Sgurr na Ciste Duibhe and the Five Sisters. Turn right, east, for Saileag. Note the cairn: in mist it is the place to find again, as the way down to the road leaves the ridge here.

From the bealach a path climbs the grassy ridge east, then north-east, to the summit. By our map it is about 900 metres on and about 230 metres higher. MunroMagic describes a grassy ridge from the bealach to the top, steep grass on the south slopes and crags near the summit. Wikipedia says the north-west face is steep and craggy above the Allt an Lapain. Keep to the ridge path, away from the north side. The top has several high points, and a cairn stands on the highest, 956 metres up. Sgurr a' Bhealaich Dheirg rises to the east, and the Five Sisters run west from the bealach.

In mist the ridge and the bealach can be hard to read. On open ground in poor visibility, following a path without your compass may get you lost, MunroMagic warns. One walker met low cloud above about 800 metres, and found no mobile signal on the hill. If the cloud comes down, the wind rises or anyone is tiring, turn back by the way you came.

The Heading for the Scottish Hills tables say the National Trust for Scotland manages Saileag and the land north of the ridge, with no stalking issues. Corrielair Estate manages the land south and east of the ridge from Sgurr a' Bhealaich Dheirg to Ciste Dhubh. It stalks there from mid-September to 20 October, with no stalking on Sundays. Check the tables before you go on east along the ridge in the season.

Under snow Saileag is a winter mountain. No Scottish Avalanche Information Service forecast area takes it in, which does not mean there is no risk under snow. One guide calls the ridge east of here a very serious undertaking in anything but dry summer conditions, and no place for the inexperienced in winter. Go then only with winter gear and the experience to use it.

The way down is the way you came, and on this hill it is the harder half. From the summit follow the ridge path back south-west, then west, down to the Bealach an Lapain. At the small cairn turn left, south, down the path to the road: the path straight on climbs west to Sgurr na Ciste Duibhe. Go down the steep, eroded path with care, then walk the 74 metres east along the verge of the A87 to the car park. In an emergency call 999 or 112 and ask for Police and Mountain Rescue, Mountaineering Scotland says. Give a six-figure grid reference and a named feature if you can. To be able to text 999 where a call will not connect, register first by texting the word register to 999.