Seeing as you are talking about walls etc can I ask about ‘Mad Meg’s’ cairn, or to be pc, mentally unwell Meg’s cairn? The Story of Creag Meagaidh National Nature Reserve. The simple answer to your question, Mary, is that the name appears to derive from local oral history. The Story of Creag Meagaidh National Nature Reserve. The Window on Creag Meagaidh above Lochan a Choire. It was a full on blast of cold wind and spindrift at the Window and poor visibility. This has led to a regrowth of the native woodland of birch, alder, willow, rowan and oak. Contradictory local winds winds here today: direction over summits was pretty much Southerly but the wind through The Window was a moderate strength Easterly at 1pm. p. 15. At Locahn a’Choire, a steeper ascent starts to reach what is called “the window”. Combining Creag Meagaidh with these peaks makes for a fine circuit with options of returning through Coire Ardair or staying high over Puist Coire Ardair for long-lasting views. I guess the Min Window example may have been a stalker’s hut, dating from the 19th C.? [7] The cliffs above Coire Ardair have mostly avoided grazing and support a number of rare species such as alpine foxtail, alpine lady-fern, Norwegian cudweed , downy willow and sibbaldia. There was a significant agricultural settlement at Aberarder in the 18th C. which may help support the idea of this area being a summer pasture. There’s some good recent research on subsistence transhumance in Badenoch carried out by Dr David Taylor, a local historian (who coincidentally taught History to all my children), which is quite revealing about the role of upland pasture in 18th century subsistence pastoralism. ... Creag Meagaidh ranks at number 30 in the Munros height table but it's a comparatively straightforward ascent. Still large areas of exposed rocks and boulders at the top of, and approach to, this high watershed. Creag Meagaidh and the Window . [6], The earliest historical records for Creag Meagaidh are from the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries, when the area was farmed by tenants who grew crops on the lower slopes and grazed cattle on the higher ground during the summer. It appears to have quite a lot of gravelly infill which, I speculate, is unlikely to have appeared there by natural processes. The Window forms the bealach between Creag Meagaidh and Stob Poite Coire Ardair. In 1784 Creag Meagaidh was restored to the Macpherson family. Following the Jacobite rising of 1745 the then owner, Ewen MacPherson of Cluny, was deprived of his estate, which was then managed on behalf of the Crown by the Commissioners for Forfeited Estates. The Story of Creag Meagaidh National Nature Reserve. The path up to The Window. [3] These crags are a renowned venue for winter and ice climbing, although being somewhat vegetated they are less suited to summer climbing. Here at The Window there are still some remnants of a long since collapsed wall, too. The Window on Creag Meagaidh. [10], Creag Meagaidh has several overlapping conservation designations, testament to its diverse range of habitats and important features: it is a National Nature Reserve (NNR), a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), a Special Protection Area (SPA) and a Special Area of Conservation (SAC). The approach to 'The Window' Creag Meagaidh National Nature Reserve, Glen Spean. The track up to Creag Meagaidh is clear and quite easily graded. The Creag Meagaidh plateau A short steep pull led up to the vast summit plateau and then it was over the short grassy ground, boggy from recent snowmelt, to the summit. [12], There are three species of deer found at Creag Meagaidh NNR: red, roe and sika. [12] Mountain hares are common on the higher parts of the reserve, whilst pine marten and otter can occasionally be found at lower altitudes. p. 16. International Union for Conservation of Nature, "Creag Meagaidh in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland", "The Story of Creag Meagaidh National Nature Reserve", mountains of Britain and Ireland (the P600s), https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Creag_Meagaidh&oldid=978506445, Mountains and hills of the Central Highlands, Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Badenoch and Strathspey, Sites of Special Scientific Interest in North Lochaber, Special Areas of Conservation in Scotland, Protected areas of Highland (council area), Mountains and hills of Highland (council area), Pages using infobox mountain with language parameter, Pages using infobox mountain with grid ref, Pages using infobox mountain with deprecated parameters, Articles containing Scottish Gaelic-language text, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 15 September 2020, at 09:33. A little further on from Mad Meg’s Cairn we reached the true summit cairn of Creag Meagaidh at 1130m or 3,707’. The Story of Creag Meagaidh National Nature Reserve. There’s a interesting soft crust with a weak layer above it buried beneath a few centimetres of new slabby snow. Finlayson (2004) proposed that such a ... cones and bouldery debris mantle the upper slopes immediately below the window. Creag Meagaidh above Lochan a Choire. (Above) This line of old iron fence posts at high point of The Window marks a boundary between two estates, and is possibly even a continuation of the Moy Wall (demarcates the ancient boundary between Badenoch and Lochaber) which peters out a short distance from Creag Meagaidh’s summit. Park at in car park Creag Meagaidh National Nature Reserve, clearly signposted off the A88, at Aberarder. See here (pages 73 – 90): https://pure.uhi.ac.uk/portal/files/3078042/David_Taylor_PhD_Thesis_full_text.pdf Due to a family bereavement one of the joint leaders had to stand down and the prospect of Richard Taylor’s cooking and some last minute illness meant that only those with strong constitutions (internal and external) ventured on this meet. In addition to possible avalanches the cliff edges all around Coire Ardair can be very heavily corniced, and if … Creag Meagaidh may also be climbed from Moy to the southeast. Creag Meagaidh is a vast and stunning mountain at the heart of a range of 5 Munro peaks in the Central Highlands also including Beinn Teallach, Beinn a'Chaorainn, Stob Poite Coire Ardair and Carn Liath. (Above) A minor cascade of icicles on the south-facing side of the approach to The Window. One species of fly that has been identified at Creag Meagaidh, Spilogona trigonata, is not found anywhere else in Britain, being generally restricted to Scandinavia and North America. From The Window a steep climb on grassy slopes leads up to the plateau, passing Mad Meg's Cairn and on to the summit of Creag Meagaidh at 1,130 metres, Number 30 in the Munro charts. The path uphill climbs quite close to the edge of the cliffs with a really good view down into the corrie. (Above) Taken at approximately 950m: a summer photo of upper Coire Ardair. The construction of the Laggan Dam (completed 1934) as part of the Lochaber hydroelectric scheme led to a reduction in the amount of grazing land in the area, causing an increase in deer numbers at Creag Meagaidh. Creag Meagaidh (Scottish Gaelic: Creag Mèagaidh)[2] is a mountain on the northern side of Glen Spean in the Highlands of Scotland. The dramatic scenery includes Munro summits, an exposed whaleback ridge and ice-carved gullies. Creag Meagaidh is connected to the ridge containing the Munros Stob Poite Coire Ardair and Carn Liath via an unusually sharp bealach called 'The Window'. I’ve never been able to find out much about it. Perhaps the local church insisted on a burial outwith the parish/region? Creag Meagaidh massif and the southern side of the Monadhliath, in the vicinity of the 350 m Glen Roy overflow col (Fig 1C). Often mistaken for the summit of Creag Meagaidh by visitors. Google Map A circuit of the glen may be made by returning to Aberarder by way of Creag Meagaidh's east ridge. [9], Over 150 species of invertebrates have been recorded on the summit plateau. The site is also an important breeding ground for many species of birds, in particular the dotterel Charadrius morinellus. Creag Meagaidh is a great swathe of cliffs and deep corries when seen from the A86. Creag Meagaidh (Scottish Gaelic: Creag Mèagaidh) is a mountain on the northern side of Glen Spean in the Highlands of Scotland. Deer management to reduce numbers takes place at Creag Meagaidh in order to facilitate woodland regeneration. The commission began the process of evicting the tenants and consolidating the holdings into a single sheep farm, and by 1790 there were around 20,000 sheep in the parish of Laggan. Others missed a treat. The reserve covers 3,940 hectares, extending from the shores of Loch Laggan to the high summit plateau of Creag Meagaidh. These crags are a renowned venue for winter and ice climbing, although being somewhat vegetated they are less suited to summer climbing. The Story of Creag Meagaidh National Nature Reserve. Creag Meagaidh is one of the SAIS report areas. Over 120 species of lichen have also been recorded. Creag Meagaidh is also designated as a Special Protection Area, and the number of grazing animals is controlled. Happy with reaching the peak of Creag Meagaidh we left our friends to climb the remainder two Munro's while we made our way back down the way we came up. Definitions of Creag_Meagaidh, synonyms, antonyms, derivatives of Creag_Meagaidh, analogical dictionary of Creag_Meagaidh (English) [15], By the early twentieth century the estate was being managed for sporting interests (deer stalking, fishing and grouse shooting), alongside sheep farming and forestry. Hotels near Creag Meagaidh National Nature Reserve, Fort William on Tripadvisor: Find 20,629 traveler reviews, 11,300 candid photos, and prices for 65 hotels near Creag Meagaidh National Nature Reserve in Fort William, Scotland. Creag Meagaidh may also be climbed from Moy to the southeast.[3]. A number of nationally important plant species can be found at Creag Meagaidh, including woolly willow, wavy meadow grass, highland saxifrage, bog orchid and Scots pine. A track along the glen with the shoulder of Creag Meagaidh in the distance. We needed a swift bout of navigation to get off the summit plateau and then had an enjoyable walk back through The Window and down the Glen. Looking through The Window. Heading up Creag Meagaidh via Carn Liath and Stob Poite Coire Ardair makes for a superb circular route with options of returning down the skyline or heading through 'The … Ice climber with ice axe ascending Creag Meagaidh, Highlands, Scotland, Great Britain. The best approach is by Lochan a Choire and The Window which lies between Creag Meagaidh and Stob Poite Coire Ardair. The wind then hit us and it started snowing but it was wonderful to feel the cold again and feeling like winter. About 20km drive from our house is Loch Laggan, which is a wonderful walking and wildlife area. Creag Meagaidh is the complete mountain experience and feels like the Highlands compressed into one reserve. It’s also located very close indeed to a significant local boundary, possibly also a parish boundary. Any ice build up noted from yesterday in the main coire Post Face now re-located to the Lochan a Choire! The Window on Creag Meagaidh. 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