📌 Cuillin Hills, Isle of Skye
★★★★
Part gabbro, part granite, Garbh-bheinn is a geological hybrid connecting the Black Cuillin and Red Cuillin hill ranges. Its entertainingly rough north and east ridges straddle our black and red difficulty grades too, with lots of steep but fairly straightforward ground, but also a couple of airy moments where a head for heights is useful. This is a superb viewpoint for Blaven, Clach Glas and Marsco, with the Cuillin Ridge also well seen (in clear weather) across Glen Sligachan. Back on the route, the majestic pyramidal peak of Belig lies beyond a bealach; its ascent looks intimidating from below but hands shouldn’t be required.
📷 Chronological photo guide
Eas a’ Bhradain 
Glamaig hill group from the lower slopes 
Garbh-bheinn 
Belig 
489m minor summit 
Route ahead up Garbh-bheinn’s north ridge 
Allt nam Fraoch-choire, Cuillin Ridge (centre) & Marsco (right) 
View back down the ridge, Glamaig beyond 
Marsco (left) & Glamaig group (right) 
Upper slopes of Garbh-bheinn 
Clach Glas (left) & Blaven 
Garbh-bheinn summit approach, Belig beyond 
Belig from Garbh-bheinn summit 
Sgùrr nan Each (left) & Clach Glas (right) 
Descent off the northeast ridge towards Belig 
Garbh-bheinn north ridge & coire 
Sgùrr nan Each (right), Beinn na Caillich group beyond 
Route ahead to Belig, starting with some scrambling 
Belig 
Belig summit, looking towards Glas-Bheinn Mhòr & Loch Ainort 
View along Belig’s east ridge 
Belig north ridge – the route of descent, just at first 
Garbh-bheinn from Belig’s lower slopes 
Abhainn Ceann Loch Ainort, Belig (left) & Garbh-bheinn (right) beyond 
Abhainn Ceann Loch Ainort & Glas-Bheinn Mhòr
🌍 Location
📌 Start / finish on the A87 at Eas a’ Bhradain, 2 mi west of Luib, Skye
🧭 O.S. Grid Reference: NG 534267
🛰️ GPS coordinates: 57.264578,-6.090740
❌ Buses pass the start but there is no official stop
🚗 Layby
📝 Key info
▶ 9 km / 6 mi | ▲ 1120 m | ⌛ 5.5-6.5 hr
Features: 🌊 Eas a’ Bhradain ★★★; △ Garbh-bheinn (808 m, Corbett); △ Belig (702 m, “Torbett”)
⬤ Very tough | Scrambling required on Garbh-bheinn – a little awkward in a couple of spots on descent, with a sense of exposure. Belig is more straightfoward. There is a visible path – faint at times – for most of the route, up until the descent from Belig. Some boggy ground low down. Relatively easy route for this grade.
Download file for GPS➡️ Anticlockwise circuit: start – ascent just left of Eas a’ Bhradain – Garbh-bheinn by north ridge – Belig – descend north ridge to 540m contour (before crags) – descend scree to northwest – Abhainn Ceann Loch Ainort – start via A87 verge
🥾 On our last visit
Wildlife: Ptarmigan on Garbh-bheinn, crows. A few cuckoos heard.
Weather: Dry but mixed overhead conditions, with cloud banks on some surrounding hills & glens. Sunnier weather around Loch Ainort. Moderate wind adding spice to the scrambling, 14°C at finish.
May 2022
