Corrour Station to Kinlochmore

Corrour Station is Britain's most isolated train station - there isn't even a road to it. The builders of the West Highland Line from Glasgow to Fort William and Mallaig chose a different route from the roadbuilders, and for miles and miles the train crosses high moorland far from anywhere.

Corrour is the highest point on the line, and has a bothy at the station and a youth hostel about a mile away at Loch Ossian. On this occasion it was the startng point for a winter backpacking trip down to Kinlochmore.

I got off the train in the evening, at which time it was already totally dark. My plan was to walk down to Loch Treig to pitch my tent. There was some moonlight and it wasn't too hard to see where I was going, so I set off down the slope looking for a sign of a path. This wasn't too easy, and after nearly falling into a freezing pool covered in snow I took the other option: I walked along the railway track.

I pitched my tent near the Loch and slept soundly until the winter sun woke me the following morning.

My tent and Loch Treig

It was great. The sun was shining, the snow was crisp, and the silence was absolute. This was the highlight of the trip.

To get to Kinlochmore my route seemed simple, and I was looking forward to more fine weather. But my rucksack was heavier than I would have liked, and the weather deteriorated. To make things worse for several miles I was going to have to walk up a valley without a path, as the path was on the wrong side of the river. The snow deepened and my progress got slower. Eventually I stopped and pitched my tent for a second night.

The second morning

During the night even more snow fell, but my great little tent took it without complaining. I trudged on, to eventually reach Kinlochmore just in time to catch the last bus.

View a map of the area from streetmap.co.uk