The Great Outdoors: Yes sir, it gets boggy but the smell is worth getting wet for in this haven for rare birds and blooms

A massive lump of a mountain that sits on the spine of Scotland, Creag Meagaidh is a highlight of any Munro round.

Just west of Loch Laggan, in Glen Spean, Creag Meagaidh is more a massif than a mountain. Its vast plateau has four subsidiary tops, and separated from the plateau by the glacial notch known as The Window are two more Munros – Stob Poite Coire Ardair and Carn Liath.

Munro-baggers tend to climb all three together, in a fine high-level walk of 13 miles and 3,600ft of ascent that will take about eight hours.

To get a proper feel for this huge mountain, however, takes several visits. I’ve recommended it as a single.

It takes you first into the grand amphitheatre of Coire Ardair, then through The Window and, after the summit, along the rim of the cliffs that tower above the corrie, before descending easy slopes through wonderfully aromatic bog myrtle.

The mountain can also be traversed but this means leaving a car, or arranging transport, at Moy or Aberarder, depending on where you start.

Coire Ardair is a famous climbing venue. There’s not much summer climbing – the cliffs are too wet and vegetated – but as a winter venue they’re second only to Ben Nevis.

The great cliffs of the corrie are some of the highest in the British Isles. Most routes are long and in the higher grades – not for beginners. The mountain is also a notorious avalanche spot.

Coming up from The Window, you reach “Mad Meg’s Cairn”. It’s often mistaken for the summit. Writer Cameron McNeish cites a legend that says it marks the grave of an 18th-Century suicide. Denied a churchyard burial, her family, the story goes, instead carried her on to the mountain.

Pronunciation: Craig Meggy

Meaning: Crag of the boggy place

Height: 1,130m (3,707ft);

Rank: 29

OS Landranger Maps 34 & 42

Summit grid ref: NN418875

Nearest town: Newtonmore is about 20 miles north-east. The vibrant Highland village has all amenities. Around 15 miles south-west is Spean Bridge, a smaller centre, home to the famous Commando Bar and close to the Commando War Memorial (pictured right).

Start grid ref: NN482872

Distance: 16km (9.9 miles)

Ascent: 1080m (3543ft)

Time: 7hrs

There’s ample parking in the National Nature Reserve car park, on the north side of the A86 at Aberarder. The reserve is well signposted. From the car park, head down to the whitewashed former farm buildings that now house the reserve offices. There are public toilets here. A path leads through the native woodland.

A tiny cairn marks the start of a boggy path north to Carn Liath, for those planning a circuit of the three Munros. Otherwise, keep following the track high on the north bank of the Allt Coire Ardair.

As it curves to the west, the cliffs of Coire Ardair are revealed. On reaching Coire Lochan, head west for The Window.

The Window is also where those climbing the two neighbouring Munros will end up. From the bealach, it’s a steep climb south on to the plateau – it’s grassy and soft underfoot. Heading initially south, then south-west, you arrive at Mad Meg’s Cairn.

The true summit is a few hundred metres west. The route out cuts east across the plateau, then follows the rim of the great cliffs to Puist Coire Ardair.

Again, take care in poor visibility. From that top, continue to Sron a’ Choire, then bear east down easy slopes toward Aberarder. A bridge at NN475874 takes you over the Allt Coire Ardair.

Creag Meagaidh is a national nature reserve, cared for by Scottish National Heritage. The upland site covers almost 4,000 hectares (approx 10,000 acres) and is home to many rare mountain plants like alpine speedwell, tufted saxifrage and woolly willow.

Bird life on the plateau includes the very rare dotterel (below), and the land above the 2,460ft contour has been designated a Special Protection Area. Snow bunting also nest on the upper slopes.

The area, part of the Moy Estate, was bought in 1985 by the old Nature Conservancy Council. The culling of deer has allowed native plants and woodland to regenerate. Birch, willow and rowan now abound.

Wetter ground is carpeted by lush bog myrtle. Walking through it releases its wonderful scent – which makes up for the soaking your feet get.