Am Bàthach is a

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

mountain situated at the head of Glen Shiel, at the western end of

Loch Cluanie Loch Cluanie (Scottish Gaelic: ''Loch Cluanaidh'') is a loch in the Northwest Highlands of Scotland at the south-east end of Glen Shiel. It is a reservoir, contained behind the Cluanie Dam, constructed by Mitchell Construction and completed in 19 ...

some south east of

Kyle of Lochalsh Kyle of Lochalsh (from the Scottish Gaelic, Gaelic ''Caol Loch Aillse'', "strait of the foaming loch") is a village in the historic county of Ross-shire on the northwest coast of Scotland, located around west-southwest of Inverness. It is loca ...

Overview

Am Bàthach reaches a height of 798 metres (2,618 feet) and is a lone

Corbett Corbett may refer to: * List of Corbetts (mountains), 222 mountains in Scotland between , with prominence over * Corbett, Oregon, a community in the United States * Corbett Award, US award for athletics administrators * Corbett (surname), people w ...

surrounded by considerably higher

Munros A Munro () is defined as a mountain in Scotland with a height over , and which is on the Scottish Mountaineering Club (SMC) official list of Munros; there is no explicit topographical prominence requirement. The best known Munro is Ben Nevis ...

. Its grassy slopes are in marked contrast to the rockier peaks of the other Glen Shiel hills. it is often climbed along with the adjoining Munro of

Ciste Dhubh Ciste Dhubh is a mountain in the Scottish Highlands, between Glen Shiel and Glen Affric. With a height of , it is classed as a Munro. It is almost surrounded by glens: Fionngleann (north), An Caorann Mòr (east) and Allt Cam-bàn (west), with t ...

with the route over Am Bàthach providing a more interesting and drier route to the Munro than the boggy An Caorann Beag glen. The hill offers an interesting half day walk when ascended on its own and it is frequently the only one of the Kintail mountains in the clear when weather conditions are poor. Am Bàthach's roof like shape made up of a long NE-SW ridge with steep sides is alleged to resemble a cow shed or a

byre A stable is a building in which livestock, especially horses, are kept. It most commonly means a building that is divided into separate stalls for individual animals and livestock. There are many different types of stables in use today; the ...

and that is the meaning of its translated name, a throwback to the time when cattle where a prominent feature of the

Scottish Highlands The Highlands ( sco, the Hielands; gd, a’ Ghàidhealtachd , 'the place of the Gaels') is a historical region of Scotland. Culturally, the Highlands and the Lowlands diverged from the Late Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland Sco ...

."The Call of the Corbetts" Page 58 (Gives meaning of translated name.)

Geography

Am Bàthach's summit ridge is roughly in length with the highest point lying at the northern extremity, and the southern end of the ridge having a

spot height A spot height is an exact point on a map with an elevation recorded beside it that represents its height above a given datum.Whittow, John (1984). ''Dictionary of Physical Geography''. London: Penguin, 1984, p. 506. . In the UK this is the Ordnan ...

of . There is a col with a height of at the midpoint in between the two high points. The steep slopes on either side of the mountain drop down to the valleys of the An Caorann Beag on its west side and the An Caorann Mòr on the eastern flanks, both these hillsides are seamed with numerous small streams. The southern ridge of Am Bàthach descends to the

A87 road A87 or A-87 may refer to: * A87 autoroute, a motorway in western France * A87 road, a road in Highland, Scotland * Dutch Defence, in the Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings, first cited in 1789 * Stuart Highway, a South Australian highway signed as A87 ...

as it passes along the northern shore of

and has been planted with coniferous woodland on its lower slopes, this plantation is an outlying eastern section of the Glenshiel Forest. The hills northern flank descends by a NW ridge down to the Bealach a’ Chòinich (Pass of the Bog) with a height of . The pass, which lives up to its name connects to the two Munros of Ciste Dhubh and

Aonach Meadhoin Aonach Meadhoin is a Munro mountain situated in the Kintail region of Scotland. It stands on the northern side of Glen Shiel some 31 kilometres south east of Kyle of Lochalsh. Overview Aonach Meadhoin reaches a height of 1001 metres (328 ...

and has a small lochan lying on it. Am Bàthach is drained by the Allt a’ Chaorainn Bhig and the Allt a’ Chaorainn Mhòir, the two burns which flow down the glens to the east and west of the hill. They flow to Loch Cluanie and reach the east coast of Scotland at the

Moray Firth The Moray Firth (; Scottish Gaelic: ''An Cuan Moireach'', ''Linne Mhoireibh'' or ''Caolas Mhoireibh'') is a roughly triangular inlet (or firth) of the North Sea, north and east of Inverness, which is in the Highland council area of north of Scotl ...

, some distant, via

Glenmoriston Glenmoriston or Glen Moriston ( gd, Gleann Moireasdan) is a river glen in the Scottish Highlands, that runs from Loch Ness, at the village of Invermoriston, westwards to Loch Cluanie, where it meets with Glen Shiel. The A887 and A87 roads pass th ...

and

Loch Ness Loch Ness (; gd, Loch Nis ) is a large freshwater loch in the Scottish Highlands extending for approximately southwest of Inverness. It takes its name from the River Ness, which flows from the northern end. Loch Ness is best known for clai ...

Ascents

There is really only one route of ascent for Am Bàthach, this is the climb from the A87 road to the south. The only alternative is passing over the hill when descending from the Munro of Ciste Dhubh. The route from the A87 starts at the car park next to the Cluanie Inn (grid reference ). From here the southern ridge of Am Bàthach can be accessed by walking east for along the A87 and then following an old stalkers path which leaves the road and goes to the right of the plantation to climb the southern ridge of the mountain to the summit."The Corbetts and other Scottish Hills" Page 162 Gives details of route of ascent. The summit is a good place to admire the surrounding Munros of Kintail. Loch Cluanie is well seen to the south and the Cluanie Inn is in view at its west end.

References

*''The Corbetts and Other Scottish Hills'', Scott Johnstone (Editor) et al., *''100 Best Routes on Scottish Mountains'', Ralph Storer, *''The Call of the Corbetts'',

Irvine Butterfield Irvine Butterfield (1936–2009) was an environmentalist, hillwalker and author of several books about mountains and the outdoor environment who took a significant role in the running of organisations with such interests in Scotland. He was a go ...

, *''Climbing the Corbetts'', Hamish Brown, Footnotes {{DEFAULTSORT:Am Bathach Corbetts Marilyns of Scotland Mountains and hills of the Northwest Highlands