The Hope Road, Strath More (geograph 4677810)

Ben Hope ( gd, Beinn Hòb) 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 northern

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 the most northerly

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 ...

, standing alone in the

Flow Country The Flow Country is a large, rolling expanse of peatland and wetland area of Caithness and Sutherland in the North of Scotland. It is the largest expanse of blanket bog in Europe, and covers about . It is an area of deep peat, dotted with bog ...

(a region of bumpy, peat-covered moorland) south-east of Loch Hope in

Sutherland Sutherland ( gd, Cataibh) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area in the Highlands of Scotland. Its county town is Dornoch. Sutherland borders Caithness and Moray Firth to the east, Ross-shire and Cromartyshire (later ...

. The mountain is a roughly triangular wedge, with a great crag on the west, with two lower shoulders to the south and northeast. Alpine flowers are abundant in season, although the ground is very rocky.

Ascent

The principal route to the summit starts in Strathmore, to the west of the mountain, where there is parking off a small road. The route lies along the Allt-na-caillich

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 ...

which flows down through a gap in the west-facing crags. The route is steep, but well marked with occasional

cairn A cairn is a man-made pile (or stack) of stones raised for a purpose, usually as a marker or as a burial mound. The word ''cairn'' comes from the gd, càrn (plural ). Cairns have been and are used for a broad variety of purposes. In prehis ...

s and not exposed. There is little available

scrambling Scrambling is a mountaineering term for ascending steep terrain using one's hands to assist in holds and balance.''New Oxford American Dictionary''. It is also used to describe terrain that falls between hiking and rock climbing (as a “scramb ...

. Approach from the east is rare, as there is a wide expanse of heather-covered moorland with no roads in that direction. Approach from the north is not possible for walkers, as there is no path between the crags. The view from the summit includes the

Pentland Firth The Pentland Firth ( gd, An Caol Arcach, meaning the Orcadian Strait) is a strait which separates the Orkney Islands from Caithness in the north of Scotland. Despite the name, it is not a firth. Etymology The name is presumed to be a corruption ...

Loch Eriboll __NOTOC__ Loch Eriboll (Scottish Gaelic: "Loch Euraboil") is a long sea loch on the north coast of Scotland, which has been used for centuries as a deep water anchorage as it is safe from the often stormy seas of Cape Wrath and the Pentland Firt ...

and the nearby mountains of Arkle and

Foinaven – , photo = Foinaven_from_Achriesgill.jpg , photo_caption = Foinaven seen from Achriesgill on Loch Inchard , elevation_m = 911 , elevation_ref = , prominence_m = 690 , prominence_ref = , parent_peak = Ben Klibreck , listing = Mari ...

. The

Orkney Islands Orkney (; sco, Orkney; on, Orkneyjar; nrn, Orknøjar), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago in the Northern Isles of Scotland, situated off the north coast of the island of Great Britain. Orkney is 10 miles (16 km) north ...

are visible on a clear day. Just south of the Allt-na-caillich burn on the Strathmore road is the Dùn Dornaigil

Broch A broch is an Iron Age drystone hollow-walled structure found in Scotland. Brochs belong to the classification "complex Atlantic roundhouse" devised by Scottish archaeologists in the 1980s. Their origin is a matter of some controversy. Origin ...

External links

Computer generated summit panorama

References

Munros Mountains and hills of the Northwest Highlands Marilyns of Scotland Mountains and hills of Highland (council area) Sites of Special Scientific Interest in North West Sutherland {{UK-geology-stub

Ascent

See also

External links

References