Beinn Achaladair 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 six kilometres north east of the hamlet of Bridge of Orchy. The mountain stands on the border of the

Perth and Kinross Perth and Kinross ( sco, Pairth an Kinross; gd, Peairt agus Ceann Rois) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland and a Lieutenancy Area. It borders onto the Aberdeenshire, Angus, Argyll and Bute, Clackmannanshire, Dundee, Fife, Highland and S ...

and

Argyll and Bute Argyll and Bute ( sco, Argyll an Buit; gd, Earra-Ghàidheal agus Bòd, ) is one of 32 unitary authority council areas in Scotland and a lieutenancy area. The current lord-lieutenant for Argyll and Bute is Jane Margaret MacLeod (14 July 2020) ...

council areas.

Overview

Beinn Achaladair is a distinct landmark for both road and rail travellers with both the

A82 road The A82 is a major road in Scotland that runs from Glasgow to Inverness via Fort William, Highland, Fort William. It is one of the principal north-south routes in Scotland and is mostly a trunk road managed by Transport Scotland, who view it a ...

and the West Highland Line passing close to the foot of the mountain with the railway actually traversing the lower northern slopes before crossing Rannoch Moor on its way to Fort William. The mountain looks impressive from the north west throwing down steep wall like slopes and along with the three adjoining Munros of

Beinn Dorain Beinn Dorain ( gd, Beinn Dobhrain, 'hill of the otter'), is a mountain in the Breadalbane region of the Scottish Highlands. It overlooks Bridge of Orchy in Argyll. It is a Munro with a height of . The mountain is the subject of Duncan Ban Mac ...

, Beinn an Dothaidh, and Beinn a' Chreachain it forms the historical Great Wall of Rannoch, which was the boundary between the old

Pictish Kingdom Pictish is the extinct Brittonic language spoken by the Picts, the people of eastern and northern Scotland from Late Antiquity to the Early Middle Ages. Virtually no direct attestations of Pictish remain, short of a limited number of geographica ...

to the east and the Dál Riata kingdom of the Scots in the west.Sunday Herald article.
Gives details of Wall of Rannoch. Beinn Achaladair reaches a height of and is classed as a Munro and a Marilyn, geographically it is part of the southern highlands but it stands at their northern extremity and displays many of the characteristics of the rockier peaks to the north. It is believed that the mountain takes its name from the settlement of Achallader at the foot of the northern slopes and translates from the

Gaelic Gaelic is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". As a noun it refers to the group of languages spoken by the Gaels, or to any one of the languages individually. Gaelic languages are spoken in Ireland, Scotland, the Isle of Man, and Ca ...

as “Field of hard water” which referred to the area around

Loch Tulla Loch Tulla ( gd, Loch Toilbhe ) is a small loch at near Bridge of Orchy and Glen Coe in Scotland and in the central highlands. It contains salmon some of which are bred locally. The loch is 2.5 miles in length and an average 0.5 miles in width, w ...

which often flooded and froze in the past."The Munros" Page 40 (Gives translation as “Field of Hard Water“). Achallader is a farm today but it was formally the site of

Achallader Castle Achallader Castle (Scottish Gaelic: ''Caisteal Achaladair'') is a ruined 16th-century tower house under the shadow of Beinn Achaladair, about 3.5 miles north of Bridge of Orchy, Argyll and Bute, Scotland. History Achallader Castle was built near ...

one of Campbell of Glenorchy’s seven strongholds, the remains of which can still be seen next to the farmhouse."The Munros - Scotland's Highest Mountains" Page 47 (Gives details of Achallader Castle). However, Hamish Brown and others give the hill's translated name as “Hill of the Mower”."Hamish‘s Mountain Walk" Page 66 (Gives translation as “Hill of the Mower“).

Geography

Beinn Achaladair has a curved summit ridge almost two kilometres in length which runs north to south, the highest point stands at its northern end and overlooks Rannoch Moor, there are two cairns close together at the summit with the more northerly one being the highest point by a couple of feet. Just over a kilometre south of the highest point stands the South Top, with a height of 1002 metres it listed as a “Top” in the Munro’s Tables. Beinn Achaladair has two

corries The Corries were a Scottish folk group that emerged from the Scottish folk revival of the early 1960s. The group was a trio from their formation until 1966 when founder Bill Smith left the band but Roy Williamson and Ronnie Browne continued ...

on its slopes, to the east of the summit ridge is Coire nan Clach which contains eight very small lochans in its upper recesses. This corrie drains down Gleann Cailliche (Glen of the Old Woman) into

Loch Lyon Loch Lyon (Scottish Gaelic, ''Loch Lìobhann'')Loch Lìobhann/Loch Lyon

Highland Clearances The Highland Clearances ( gd, Fuadaichean nan Gàidheal , the "eviction of the Gaels") were the evictions of a significant number of tenants in the Scottish Highlands and Islands, mostly in two phases from 1750 to 1860. The first phase resulte ...

. The remains of the settlement of Tigh na Cailleach and the surrounding shielings can still be identified"Highland Perthshire" (Gives info on Gleann Cailliche). . All drainage from this side of the mountain finds it way to the Firth of Tay on the east coast via Loch Lyon,

Loch Tay Loch Tay ( gd, Loch Tatha) is a freshwater loch in the central highlands of Scotland, in the Perth and Kinross and Stirling council areas. It is the largest body of fresh water in Perth and Kinross, and the sixth largest loch in Scotland. The ...

and the

River Tay The River Tay ( gd, Tatha, ; probably from the conjectured Brythonic ''Tausa'', possibly meaning 'silent one' or 'strong one' or, simply, 'flowing') is the longest river in Scotland and the seventh-longest in Great Britain. The Tay originates ...

Beinn Achaladair’s other significant corrie is Corrie Achaladair which stands to the south of the mountain and forms a col with the adjoining Munro of Beinn an Dotaidh. The mountain's steep northern and western slopes are rocky higher up before becoming grassy as they fall to the valley. These grassy slopes are riven with many small streams which drain to the Water of Tulla which drains into Loch Tulla.

Ascents

The most common ascent of Beinn Achaladair starts from Achallader farm at grid reference from where it is usually climbed with the adjacent Munro of Beinn a' Chreachain which stands three kilometres to the north east."The Munros" Page 40 (Gives details of walk with Beinn a' Chreachain from Achallader). The farmer at Achallader kindly allows walkers to park in a field next to farm and they can show their appreciation by leaving money in an honesty box. From the farm Coire Achaladair is ascended to the col with Beinn an Dotaidh passing several impressive waterfalls on the way. From the col it is a three kilometre walk north to the summit with a vertical ascent of over 300 metres passing over the South Top on the way. The view from the summit gives fine views of Rannoch Moor, with the near at hand flatness of the moor emphasising the feeling of height.

References and footnotes

*The Munros, Scottish Mountaineering Trust, 1986, Donald Bennett (Editor) *The High Mountains of Britain and Ireland, Diadem, 1993, Irvine Butterfield, *100 Best Routes on Scottish Mountains, Warner Books, 1992, Ralph Storer, *Hamish’s Mountain Walk, Baton Wicks, 1996, Hamish Brown, *The Munros, Scotland Highest Mountains, 2006, Cameron McNeish, *Highland Perthshire, Standard Press, 1978, Duncan Fraser, Footnotes {{Coord, 56.551891, -4.69453, display=title Munros Marilyns of Scotland Mountains and hills of the Southern Highlands One-thousanders of Scotland