The Sleeping Warrior's Long Lie

With an improving forecast, Jude, Brian, Andrew and I decided to leave it late before setting off to do the North Glen Sannox Horseshoe, including a traverse of the famous Sleeping Warrior and the Witches Step. Despite our long lie, the mist hung low in the coire as we set off. The recent dry weather made for an easy crossing of the river and ascent of the boggy hillsides of Sail an Im, but the ridge above was disappointingly clagged-in and damp. What should normally be a glorious walk to the summit of Caisteal Abhail was soggy and cold with limited views, a bit of a shock after the recent heatwave.  Ever the optimist, I kept hoping for the promised break in the clouds- and eventually it came, as we began to negotiate the difficulties on the Warrior.  We lingered, enjoying the views, and let the rock dry before completing the traverse in perfect conditions.  Worth the wait!

Atmospheric but a little damp.

Before.....

And after!

Descending in to the Witches Step

Stunning views over the saddle and in to Glen Rosa

Isles of Bute and the Cumbries visible in the distance

The profile of the Warrior, slumbering since the ice age.

The Sleeping Warrior

The ridge the hangs between North Glen Sannox and Glen Sannox itself is one of the most spectacular on the west coast of Scotland, and is said to look like the form of a sleeping warrior. If you look carefully at the photo above, maybe you can see him?  I think of him as more of a sleeping policeman, wearing an old fashioned helmet, and with a big fat belly covered in buttons.  The cleft that lies between the peak of his helmet and the bridge of his nose is also known as Ceum na Caillich or "the Witches Step" and is a tricky section on an awkward but rewarding scramble on rock that ranges from great to highly dubious.The trick with the "Step", is not to climb the eastern side direct (its a "Diff" graded rock climb if you do), but to drop in to the gully on the North side for a short section and scramble round the difficulties.
I headed up to North Glen Sannox today with Jon, and we did a round of the Glen, taking in the scrambling, and were treated to magnificent views throughout.  What a day!

 Looking North from the northern rim of the coire towards Lochranza

The same view, but this time from near the Summit of Caisteal Abhail (859m), the highest point on The Warrior (his belly).

Cir Mhor (799m) from Caisteal Abhail

 Goatfell (874m) from Caisteal Abhail

Looking back along the Warrior towards Caisteal Abhail- the scrambling in the bag.

Glen Sannox Horseshoe

A full round of the Glen Sannox Horseshoe is no mean feat especially when the days are getting shorter so Graham, Wally and I set off at sunrise yesterday morning to tackle this magnificent ridge.
As we climbed the lower slopes towards the Devil's Punchbowl, we could hear stags roaring in the glen below, and were bathed in beautiful early morning sunshine.
By the time we were on the ridge of Cioch na h-Oighe, the sun was up and a cold wind was whipping across the knife edge ridge.

The scramble up the Cioch is an entertaining ramble amongst granite slabs and blocks.  The Cioch itself forms a hook on the prow of the ridge.From here, gentle undulations broaden out on to Mullach Buidhe (below).

The northern slopes of Mullach Buidhe give way to a steep climb up on to North Goatfell. The route turns right here, and begins a long descent past granite tors in to the Saddle below Cir Mhor.

The climb back up out of the saddle is energy sapping, and once on the summit of Cir Mhor, it was sobering to think we were only half way round. The going gets easier for a while after this however, with a gentle descent form Cir Mhor (below), and a steady climb back up to the summit of the Castles (Caisteal Abhail), the highest point on the "Sleeping Warrior" ridge that bounds the northern flank of Glen Sannox.

The picture below shows the view form the summit of Caisteal Abhail, looking back towards Cir Mhor at the right of the picture.

Finally, the ridge narrows once more and there is plenty more fine scrambling to be had.

Negotiating the steep loose slopes of the Witches Step can be tricky in poor conditions.  The main difficulties of the climb out of the step are avoided by descending north in to the gully and picking up a traverse path that winds over steep rock back up to the ridge. We were fortunate that although there were squalls of snow and hail forecast, they passed us by.  Besides a bitterly cold wind, we were treated to near perfect weather.

To find out more about guided walks in Arran's Mountains, visit my main website: www.arranwildwalks.co.uk