Scotland's Best Small Mountains. Kirstie Shirra
venture out if you are confident of your winter walking abilities and have the appropriate equipment including an ice axe and crampons. Make sure you know how to use them.
Plan winter routes taking into account that winter conditions will make routes longer and that the days are much shorter. Always carry a head torch for use in emergencies.
Avalanches are an additional risk in the winter – it is important to check the avalanche forecast www.sais.gov.uk.
Mountain safety
The Scottish mountains can be dangerous places and it is important to be properly equipped and prepared. While this guide covers ‘small’ mountains, they are often in remote and rugged places, and lesser height does not negate the impact of the Scottish weather.
Wear good walking boots and appropriate clothing, with extra warm and waterproof layers to put on if the weather changes.
Always ensure you carry a map and compass and know how to use them. Many of the routes in this guide have sections without paths, and even on those that do it is easy to get lost, particularly in bad weather.
Be sure to leave word with someone of where you are going and when you expect to return, and let them know when you do.
Carry a first aid kit and a whistle to alert people to your location in an emergency. The internationally recognised distress call is six blasts on a whistle within a minute.
Access
The Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003 establishes a clear public right to access land in Scotland, meaning that so long as you act responsibly and do not interfere with the rights of the landowner, you are able to walk where you wish in the Scottish mountains.
The main potential access issue for most of the routes in this guide is deer stalking. The red-stag stalking season is from 1 July to 20 October, although the dates on which estates start stalking vary. The season for shooting hinds is from 21 October to 15 February. Roe-deer stalking is less common, but the roe-buck stalking season is from 1 April to 20 October and the doe-stalking season is from 21 October to 31 March.
Even when an estate is stalking, it is unlikely to prevent you walking many of the routes. The best advice is to contact the estate and find out where they will be. Many will post details at main car parks and popular route access points. In general, walkers are advised to stay on paths and ridges during the stalking season. It is worth noting that deer stalking does not take place on Sundays. The Hillphones network provides phone numbers for walkers to call a number of estates. The relevant hillphone and other estates’ phone numbers are given where available in the information box for each route. However, these can change and it is important to check local information where possible.
Near Cunside on the walk in to Ben Loyal
The rocky summit of Beinn Resipol
Looking south across the rocky shoulder of Meallan Diomhain on Cul Mor
Another potential access issue is forestry work, and again the relevant contact numbers are given where available.
Wherever you are walking it is important to follow the Scottish Outdoor Access Code (www.outdooraccess-scotland.com) and to be responsible for yourself and your activities. As they say, leave only footprints and take only memories and photographs.
Using this guide
For each mountain in this guide, one main route is described in detail. Where possible this is a circular route, providing an interesting and enjoyable ascent and descent of the peak, taking in any notable features and landmarks. This is often, but not always, the most popular route up a hill. It is not always the shortest or quickest.
Alternative routes, where they exist, are described in less detail, to give walkers a choice of routes or allow them to construct their own. The distance and ascent of each alternative route is given in brackets at the end of the description. The route descriptions are not designed to be followed without a map, except for armchair planning.
Little Loch Broom
Each route is accompanied by a description of the mountain and the area in which it is located, and a factual information box detailing distance, timing, ascent, difficulty, access, how to get there, grid reference and other nearby attractions and facilities.
Mountain names
The spelling of mountain names and features in this guide is taken from the Ordnance Survey 1:50,000 maps.
Maps
Each route is highlighted on the relevant section of Ordnance Survey’s 1:50,000 maps.
The main route described is shown in orange, then any alternatives are first blue, then green, then pink, where applicable.
The small section of map provided is not a replacement for carrying the relevant OS map. For those who prefer to use the more detailed 1:25,000 maps, the map numbers for these as well as for the 1:50,000 maps are given in the route information box. HARVEY Maps also cover many of the mountain areas in this book – www.harveymaps.co.uk.
Grid references
Grid references (expressed as two groups of three digits) are given for the start and end points, and summits of all the mountains included, as well as for some useful points along the way, particularly where routes lack paths or key landmarks to aid navigation. These are six-figure references based on GPS readings taken by the author while on the routes.
Distance and ascent
Figures given for distance and ascent both refer to the whole route from start to end. This means the level of ascent is often greater than the height of the peak being climbed.
Difficulty
Rather than give any kind of grading of difficulty, the guide provides an overview of the type of terrain, gradient, exposure, length and need for navigation on each route, to allow you to judge for yourself how easy or difficult you will find a route. A very long walk without any exposure may be difficult for some, while a short walk down steep scree is easy, and vice versa. This allows you to match routes to your own skills and confidence.
Times
Timings given for each route are the walking time to complete the whole route. They are based loosely on 4km an hour plus 30 minutes for every 300m of ascent (Naismith’s Rule) and the author’s own timings. They do not include time for breaks, which should be added to give a clearer idea of the length of time needed. A 4hr30 route may appear short, but can easily become a full day out by the time you’ve stopped for lunch and had a couple of breaks.
Getting to routes
Details of the starting point for each route are given in the information box. In the majority of cases these refer to a car park, but where there is none, details of where you can park are given. Information on how to reach a route by public transport, where possible, is also included and while it is hard to reach many of Scotland’s mountains without the use of car, in an age of climate change we should all be encouraged to do so where we can.
Something else
Also in the information box are details of one or two of the best attractions or things to do near the route, with relevant contact details. These attractions range from ruined castles to real ale pubs, and are intended to enhance your enjoyment of your visit to an area, or fill some time while waiting for a train, bus or lift, and