Hike An Groban: route guide

Alex Roddie goes for a short scrambling day on the delightful An Groban near Gairloch.

You don’t have to head to the biggest mountains to find enjoyable rock for scrambling. One such hill is An Groban, a rugged and rocky peak of 383m that punches far above its weight. It’s situated above the delightful Flowerdale Glen, well known for its waterfall and wildflowers. The peak is mostly rock, and home to a number of climbs as well as some easier scrambles thanks to its friendly slabby rock.

The route described links up two of the main scrambles on the SW face: Right Hand Slabs and Humpback Buttress. Both are Grade 2 scrambles – or 3, depending on which guidebook you believe, but they are nowhere near as difficult or serious as most big mountain Grade 3 scrambles. Although some isolated moves are tricky, exposure is nowhere great, the rock is fantastic, and they feel non-serious thanks to a good range of lines. However, careful route-finding is essential and novice scramblers should go with an experienced friend. The easy descent makes a good alternative route to the top.

An Groban: route description

START/FINISH: NG810752 Flowerdale Glen Car Park about 2km S of Gairloch | MAPS: OS 1:25,000 Explorer sheet 434 (Gairloch & Loch Ewe), OS 1:50,000 Landranger sheet 19 (Gairloch & Ullapool), Harvey 1:40,000 British Mountain Map (description) | DISTANCE: 7.9km / 4.9 miles | ASCENT: 553m / 1,814ft | DURATION: 3 to 4 hours

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1. NG810752: From the Flowerdale Glen Car Park, take the prominent road heading NE away from the main road. Pass a pond, then the grand Flowerdale House on your left where the path curves right. Avoid signs to the waterfall walk; instead, keep going along the main track.

2. NG815753: The track makes a sharp turn to the right and continues with woodland to your left. Ahead, views open up into the wooded Flowerdale Glen. Continue along the clear track.

3. NG828750: Bear right off the track onto a signed path about 2km from the start; at this point the Flowerdale Waterfalls are visible in the watercourse. Above, as you leave the woodland, the path now climbs into open moorland with An Groban clearly visible about 1km to the E. Study the mountain from this angle in order to identify the scrambles. Several broad ridges slant down from the summit. Right Hand Slabs is the second ridge in from the right, identified by the dark vertical cliff low on its left side – not the far right buttress on the other side of a deep gorge. Humpback Buttress is the less prominent ridge immediately left of Right Hand Slabs. Continue along the path, which becomes increasingly vague and boggy.

4. NG833750: Before the path disappears, break away to the right and make a beeline for the shallow gully left of Right Hand Slabs. The terrain is rough and heathery. Aim for a prominent steep corner right of the large dark vertical wall.

5. NG836748: Climb the corner, then pick a line on the broad edge of the slabs above. The rock is mostly excellent and well equipped with positive but small holds. In most places the best line is close to the crest. Higher, grassy shelves begin to appear, and the angle levels off at a small summit; above this, the rock continues, in a sweep of broken outcrops, towards the summit. The easiest line heads more or less straight for the summit. Don’t go too far left.

6. NG838750: The summit is an impressively craggy perch with exceptional views – north to Loch Airigh a’ Phuill, S towards the big peaks of Torridon, and W back down Flowerdale Glen to Loch Gairloch. To descend, take the path heading N, which then soon veers W and descends roughly towards a broad shoulder on the mountain’s NW flank.

7. NG835752: At the dogleg of the descent, the route veers sharply left and descends a broad gully between rock buttresses. Continue as the ground flattens out and soon return to point 4. Reorient yourself towards An Groban, and this time head for Humpback Buttress, the less prominent ridge left of Right Hand Slabs. Walk back over the boggy ground towards An Groban.

8. NG835750: Humpback Buttress’s scrambling begins lower down with a series of scrappy outcrops. Continue upwards, through sometimes heathery ground, to reach better rocks and a near-continuous series of nice slabs. Some of the scrambling is more sustained on this route and with less positive holds, but the angle is generally easier. Higher up, above the point where Right Hand Slabs levels off to your right, cross over the shallow gully line and resume a similar route you used to reach the summit on Right Hand Slabs.

9. NG838750: At the summit for your second time today, enjoy the view once more before descending as previously described. Then, back at point 4, reverse your approach back to the start.

Further information

PUBLIC TRANSPORT: Westerbus service 700 offers a daily bus between Inverness and Gairloch

TOURIST INFORMATION: GALE Centre, 01445 712071