Beinn a’ Ghlò is a Scottish

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 area, and is usually highe ...

situated roughly north east of

Blair Atholl Blair Atholl (from the Scottish Gaelic: ''Blàr Athall'', originally ''Blàr Ath Fhodla'') is a village in Perthshire, Scotland, built about the confluence of the Rivers Tilt and Garry in one of the few areas of flat land in the midst of the Gr ...

in the Forest of Atholl in between

Glen Tilt Glen Tilt (Scottish Gaelic: Gleann Teilt) is a glen in the extreme north of Perthshire, Scotland. Beginning at the confines of Aberdeenshire, it follows a South-westerly direction excepting for the last 4 miles, when it runs due south to Blai ...

and Glen Loch, in Cairngorms National Park.

Details

It is a huge, complex hill with many ridges, summits and corries, covering approximately with three Munros. These are Càrn Liath (Grey Cairn) at , Bràigh Coire Chruinn-bhalgain ("Brae/Brow of the Corrie of Round Blisters", "blisters" referring to rock formations) at and Càrn nan Gabhar ("Hill/cairn of the

Goat The goat or domestic goat (''Capra hircus'') is a domesticated species of goat-antelope typically kept as livestock. It was domesticated from the wild goat (''C. aegagrus'') of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the a ...

s") at . The mountain has patches of grey

scree Scree is a collection of broken rock fragments at the base of a cliff or other steep rocky mass that has accumulated through periodic rockfall. Landforms associated with these materials are often called talus deposits. Talus deposits typically ...

(see pictures) amongst grass, while heather grows quite profusely on the lower slopes and gives the hill a colourful skirt when in bloom in summer.

Flora and fauna

Beinn a' Ghlò has such a diversity of flora that it has been declared a SSSI and a SAC over an area of . It is a region of European dry heaths and there are many species of alpine and marsh plants on the mountain such as the rare yellow oxytropis ''(Oxytropis campestris)'', mountain avens ''(

Dryas octopetala ''Dryas octopetala'', the mountain avens, eightpetal mountain-avens, white dryas or white dryad, is an Arctic–alpine flowering plant in the family Rosaceae. It is a small prostrate evergreen subshrub forming large colonies. The specific epithe ...

)'', rock speedwell ''(

Veronica fruticans ''Veronica fruticans'', the rock speedwell (a name it shares with other members of its genus) or woodystem speedwell (a common name that is hardly in common use), is a species of flowering plant in the family Plantaginaceae. It is native to nearl ...

)'', rock sedge ''(

Carex rupestris ''Carex rupestris'', called the curly sedge and rock sedge (names it shares with other members of its genus), is a species of flowering plant in the family Cyperaceae, native to temperate and subarctic North America, Greenland, Iceland, Europe, ...

)'' and green spleenwort ''( Asplenium viride)''.

Human activity

Beinn a’ Ghlò is a familiar sight to motorists travelling north along the

A9 road This is a list of roads designated A9. * A009 road (Argentina), a road in the northeast of Santa Fe Province * ''A9 highway (Australia)'' may refer to : ** A9 (Sydney), a road linking Windsor and Campbelltown ** A9 highway (South Australia), a ...

at the Pass of

Killiecrankie Killiecrankie (; ( gd, Coille Chreithnich, meaning aspen wood) is a village in Perth and Kinross, Scotland on the River Garry. It lies at the Pass of Killiecrankie, by the A9 road which has been bypassed since 1986. The village is home to a ...

but this view only shows Càrn Liath. The main mass of the mountain is hidden behind with the highest and most distant Munro, Càrn nan Gabhar, more than from Blair Atholl, so it is a full day's expedition to climb all three Munros. Beinn a’ Ghlò has nineteen corries and legend says that a rifle shot in any one cannot be heard in any of the others.

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previo ...

viewed the mountain in 1844 on a drive up Glen Tilt, saying, ''“We came upon a lovely view — Beinn a’ Ghlò straight before us — and under these high hills the River Tilt gushing and winding over stones and slates … and the air so pure and fine but no description can do it justice”. There are two popular starting points for the traverse of the mountain. The first is at Loch Moraig (grid reference ) at the end of the minor road, from Blair Atholl. The other is at Marble Lodge in Glen Tilt (grid reference ) but this requires permission from the Atholl Estate to drive the up the private estate road. From Loch Moraig a track is followed to the foot of the mountain. It is a steep climb to the first Munro of Càrn Liath passing through white

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained ( phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies under ...

scree near the top. The route continues north dropping down to a col at to climb Bràigh Coire Chruinn-bhalgain which gives a fine view down into Glen Tilt before turning east to take in Càrn nan Gabhar. The return to Loch Moraig can be varied, going over the "top" of Airgiod Bheinn (), which translates as Silver Mountain, before dropping into the valley and picking up the track; this avoids the need to re-ascend the first two Munros.

Views

Càrn Liath and Càrn nan Gabhar both have

trig point A triangulation station, also known as a trigonometrical point, and sometimes informally as a trig, is a fixed surveying station, used in geodetic surveying and other surveying projects in its vicinity. The nomenclature varies regionally: they a ...

s and are excellent viewpoints. Càrn nan Gabhar’s highest point is not actually at the trig point; it is at a cairn to the north east with a height of , about more than the trig point. Càrn nan Gabhar has a panorama that includes the

Cairngorms The Cairngorms ( gd, Am Monadh Ruadh) are a mountain range in the eastern Highlands of Scotland closely associated with the mountain Cairn Gorm. The Cairngorms became part of Scotland's second national park (the Cairngorms National Park) on 1 S ...

, the Glen Shee hills and an aerial view down into Glen Loch. Càrn Liath looks out over Blair Atholl towards the Scottish Lowlands.

Gaelic pronunciation

* Càrn Liath * Bràigh Coire Chruinn-bhalgain (Gaelic: ''Bràigh Coire a' Chruinn-bhalgain'') * Càrn nan Gabhar * Airgiod Bheinn (Gaelic: ''Airgead-bheinn'')

References

* The Munros (SMC Guide) Donald Bennett et al., * 100 Best Routes on Scottish Mountains, Ralph Storer, * The High Mountains of Britain and Ireland,

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 ...