Beinn Bhàn (Applecross)

Beinn Bhàn is a

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited Summit (topography), summit area, and ...

in the

highlands Highland is a broad term for areas of higher elevation, such as a mountain range or mountainous plateau. Highland, Highlands, or The Highlands, may also refer to: Places Albania * Dukagjin Highlands Armenia * Armenian Highlands Australia *Sou ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

, lying on the

Applecross peninsula Applecross ( gd, A' Chomraich) is a peninsula north-west of Kyle of Lochalsh in the council area of Highland, Scotland. The name Applecross is at least 1,300 years old and is ''not'' used locally to refer to the 19th century village (which is ...

, on the north side of

Loch Kishorn Loch Kishorn ( gd, Ciseòrn) is a sea loch in the north-west Highlands of Scotland. Kishorn is a collective name used to refer to a group of populated settlements located next to the loch. Topography Loch Kishorn is a northern branch of Loch Ca ...

. The most striking features of Beinn Bhàn are the rocky corries on the eastern side, which are seen well from the

A896 road List of A roads in zone 8 in Great Britain starting north of the A8 and west of the A9 (roads beginning with 8). Single- and double-digit roads Triple-digit roads Four-digit roads See also * B roads in Zone 8 of the Great Britain number ...

. The best known of the corries is probably Coire na Poite, which forms a

bowl A bowl is a typically round dish or container generally used for preparing, serving, or consuming food. The interior of a bowl is characteristically shaped like a spherical cap, with the edges and the bottom forming a seamless curve. This makes ...

shape, almost entirely ringed by crags offering

climbing Climbing is the activity of using one's hands, feet, or any other part of the body to ascend a steep topographical object that can range from the world's tallest mountains (e.g. the eight thousanders), to small boulders. Climbing is done fo ...

and winter ice climbing routes. The summit of Beinn Bhàn lies directly above the corries floor, which has two small

lochan ''Loch'' () is the Scottish Gaelic, Scots and Irish word for a lake or sea inlet. It is cognate with the Manx lough, Cornish logh, and one of the Welsh words for lake, llwch. In English English and Hiberno-English, the anglicised spelling ...

s. The ridges between the corries offer several routes to the summit for scramblers. An alternative route for those without a

head for heights To have a head for heights means that one has no acrophobia, an irrational fear of heights, and is not particularly prone to fear of falling or suffering from vertigo, the spinning sensation that can be triggered, for example, by looking down from ...

involves ascending the grassy southwest ridge of the peak, starting from near the point where the

Bealach na Bà Bealach na Bà (pronounced ) is a winding single track road through the mountains of the Applecross peninsula, in Wester Ross in the Scottish Highlands. The Bealach na Bà is just one feature on this road, being its highest point and site of ...

leaves the A896, a distance of some 4 kilometres. A slightly longer route to the summit, involving far less ascent, may be had from the top of the Bealach na Bà (over 600 m

above sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as ''orthometric heights''. The comb ...

), skirting below the northern top of Sgurr a'Chaorachain to reach the

bealach A mountain pass is a navigable route through a mountain range or over a ridge. Since many of the world's mountain ranges have presented formidable barriers to travel, passes have played a key role in trade, war, and both human and animal migrati ...

separating the aforementioned peak from Beinn Bhàn. An ascent of Beinn Bhàn is often combined with the climbing of Sgurr a'Chaorachain. Corbetts Marilyns of Scotland Mountains and hills of the Northwest Highlands Climbing areas of Scotland {{Scotland-sports-venue-stub