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 southern
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 ...
of
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 ...
. It is a
Munro
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 ...
with a height of . Ben Lui is in northeast
Argyll
Argyll (; archaically Argyle, in modern Gaelic, ), sometimes called Argyllshire, is a historic county and registration county of western Scotland.
Argyll is of ancient origin, and corresponds to most of the part of the ancient kingdom of ...
and is the highest peak of a mountain chain that includes three other Munros. It has five well-defined
ridge
A ridge or a mountain ridge is a geographical feature consisting of a chain of mountains or hills that form a continuous elevated crest for an extended distance. The sides of the ridge slope away from the narrow top on either side. The line ...
s radiating out from the summit. Four corries lie between the ridges, including Coire Gaothaich on the northeast side of the mountain.
Landscape
Ben Lui is the highest and most famous of a group of four
Munro
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 ...
s that lie south of Glen Lochy, and about 10 km north of the top end of
Loch Lomond
Loch Lomond (; gd, Loch Laomainn - 'Lake of the Elms'Richens, R. J. (1984) ''Elm'', Cambridge University Press.) is a freshwater Scottish loch which crosses the Highland Boundary Fault, often considered the boundary between the lowlands of Ce ...
. The other three Munros in the group are
Beinn a' Chleibh
Beinn a' Chleibh ( Gaelic: Beinn a' Chlèibh) is a Scottish mountain. It is linked to Ben Lui
Ben Lui ( gd, Beinn Laoigh) is a mountain in the southern Highlands of Scotland. It is a Munro with a height of . Ben Lui is in northeast Argyll ...
,
Ben Oss
Ben Oss ( gd, Beinn Os) is a mountain in the southern Highlands of Scotland. It is a Munro with a height of . Ben Oss is on the border of Argyll and Perthshire, southwest of Tyndrum, within Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park. It is p ...
and
Beinn Dubhchraig
Beinn Dubhchraig ( gd, Beinn Dubhchreig) is a mountain in the Scottish Highlands, west of Crianlarich in the northern part of Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park. It is a Munro with a height of . It is overshadowed by its neighbour Ben ...
.
Ben Lui stands on the main watershed of Scotland, and is a 'nodal peak', with its waters draining east to the Tay and North Sea, south to Loch Lomond and the Firth of Clyde, and west to the Lochy and Atlantic. It also appears to stand at the head of Glen Fyne, but waters which may once have flowed south-west to it are now captured east with a 50-metre wide separating bar only a few metres high. Secondary divides which radiated north-east and east before glaciers cut across them have higher peaks along them - Ben Lawers, Ben More - which are subordinate in status.
A lochan on the slopes of Ben Lui has been identified as the source of Scotland's longest river, the
Tay
Tay may refer to:
People and languages
* Tay (name), including lists of people with the given name, surname and nickname
* Tay people, an ethnic group of Vietnam
** Tày language
*Atayal language, an Austronesian language spoken in Taiwan (ISO 639 ...
.
The Ben Lui range of peaks was formerly a National Nature Reserve. The cliffs and rocky outcrops are particularly moist, with lower than normal levels of
acid
In computer science, ACID ( atomicity, consistency, isolation, durability) is a set of properties of database transactions intended to guarantee data validity despite errors, power failures, and other mishaps. In the context of databases, a sequ ...
ity in the
soil
Soil, also commonly referred to as earth or dirt, is a mixture of organic matter, minerals, gases, liquids, and organisms that together support life. Some scientific definitions distinguish ''dirt'' from ''soil'' by restricting the former te ...
. This leads to an unusually lush growth of mountain plants, with
saxifrage
''Saxifraga'' is the largest genus in the family Saxifragaceae, containing about 465 species of holarctic perennial plants, known as saxifrages or rockfoils. The Latin word ''saxifraga'' means literally "stone-breaker", from Latin ' ("rock" or " ...
s,
moss
Mosses are small, non-vascular flowerless plants in the taxonomic division Bryophyta (, ) '' sensu stricto''. Bryophyta (''sensu lato'', Schimp. 1879) may also refer to the parent group bryophytes, which comprise liverworts, mosses, and hor ...
es and
lichen
A lichen ( , ) is a composite organism that arises from algae or cyanobacteria living among filaments of multiple fungi species in a mutualistic relationship.
burn
A burn is an injury to skin, or other tissues, caused by heat, cold, electricity, chemicals, friction, or ultraviolet radiation (like sunburn). Most burns are due to heat from hot liquids (called scalding), solids, or fire. Burns occur mainl ...
of Eas Daimh flows into the Lochy. A path leads up through an area of
forestry
Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests, woodlands, and associated resources for human and environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands. Th ...
and then onto the northwest ridge, reaching the summit in just over 3 km. Descent may be varied by visiting Beinn a’ Chleibh, which lies 2 km to the south west.
An approach from the east allows for appreciation of the mountain's most celebrated feature, the rocky circular bowl of Coire Gaothaich. One may either start from
Tyndrum
Tyndrum (; gd, Taigh an Droma) is a small village in Scotland. Its Gaelic name translates as "the house on the ridge". It lies in Strathfillan, at the southern edge of Rannoch Moor.
Location and facilities
Tyndrum is a popular tourist village, ...
Dalrigh
Dalrigh is a hamlet in Scotland near Tyndrum. The name means "The King's Field" in Scottish Gaelic.
The origin of the name stems specifically from the Battle of Dalrigh which was fought there in 1306, when King Robert I of Scotland (Bruce) was ...
in
Strath Fillan
Strath Fillan ( gd, Na Sraithibh) is a strath in west Perthshire named after an 8th-century Irish hermit monk later canonised Saint Fillan. Located in the region was once Strath Fillan Priory, an early 14th century foundation, later destroyed by th ...
; tracks from both starting points merge, and follow Glen Cononish (notable for its goldmine) to the foot of Ben Lui. From here the route follows the northern ridge of the mountain, Stob Garbh, to the summit, the distance being about 9 km. This route is particularly treacherous in winter, even as late as April, when the final third of the ascent is often extremely icy. Furthermore, it can be extremely difficult to navigate through the crags around the upper rim of the Coire Gaothaich in poor visibility.
By descending via the south east ridge the walker may elect to include Ben Oss (and possibly Beinn Dubhcraig) in the route before returning to the start. If transport can be arranged a reasonably fit
hillwalker
Walking is one of the most popular outdoor recreational activities in the United Kingdom, and within England and Wales there is a comprehensive network of rights of way that permits access to the countryside. Furthermore, access to much uncultiv ...
can traverse all four Munros of the Ben Lui group in a day.
See also
*
List of Munro mountains
This is a list of Munro mountains and Munro Tops in Scotland by height. Munros are defined as Scottish mountains over in height, and which are on the Scottish Mountaineering Club ("SMC") official list of Munros. In addition, the SMC define Mu ...
*
Mountains and hills of Scotland
Scotland is the most mountainous country in the United Kingdom. Scotland's mountain ranges can be divided in a roughly north to south direction into: the Scottish Highlands, the Central Belt and the Southern Uplands, the latter two primarily belo ...