text: Photos © Neil Pugh
  Don't ask me why 300 Irishmen wanted to go to the top of the Ben, I have no idea. As we left the camp site in Glen Nevis we could see what looked like an enormous centipede climbing the mountain, it turned out to be the aforementioned 300 Irishmen. They all seemed to be having a good time, but we never quite discovered why they were there.
  We climbed up the tourist track to a point above the lochan and then split into two groups. Some went straight on up the main path and some turned off into Coire Leis. I'd always wanted to climb the Ben via the Carn Mor Dearg arête.
  We walked around the back of the hut and then straight up the side of the ridge to Carn Mor Dearg. From there it was a fine walk along the arête to the summit of Ben Nevis. The cloud had lifted just off the top of the mountain when we reached the summit and there were some spectacular views in all directions. After that it was a straight slog back down the tourist path to the campsite.
  Length 17.5 km (11 miles) - 1650 metres (5400 feet) ascent.
  On Sunday we drove to the Corran Ferry and then on along the shore of Loch Sunnart to Castle Tioram (the tide was in, so we had to wade across), venison burgers at the pub at Glenuig, and climbed the Glenfinnan monument.