Goat Fell (marked as Goatfell by the

Ordnance Survey Ordnance Survey (OS) is the national mapping agency for Great Britain. The agency's name indicates its original military purpose (see ordnance and surveying), which was to map Scotland in the wake of the Jacobite rising of 1745. There was a ...

;

Scottish Gaelic Scottish Gaelic ( gd, Gàidhlig ), also known as Scots Gaelic and Gaelic, is a Goidelic language (in the Celtic branch of the Indo-European language family) native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a Goidelic language, Scottish Gaelic, as well as ...

: Gaoda Bheinn) is the highest point on the

Isle of Arran The Isle of Arran (; sco, Isle o Arran; gd, Eilean Arainn) or simply Arran is an island off the west coast of Scotland. It is the largest island in the Firth of Clyde and the seventh-largest Scottish island, at . Historically part of Buteshi ...

. At 874 metres (2,867 ft), it is one of four

Corbetts This is a list of Corbett mountains in Scotland by height. Corbetts are defined as Scottish mountains between in height with a prominence over ; solely imperial measurement thresholds. The first list was compiled in the 1920s by John Rooke C ...

on the island. The mountain, along with nearby

Brodick Castle Brodick Castle is a castle situated outside the port of Brodick on the Isle of Arran, an island in the Firth of Clyde, Scotland. It was previously a seat of the Dukes of Hamilton, but is now owned by the National Trust for Scotland. The castl ...

, is now owned by the

National Trust for Scotland The National Trust for Scotland for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, commonly known as the National Trust for Scotland ( gd, Urras Nàiseanta na h-Alba), is a Scottish conservation organisation. It is the largest membership organi ...

. The name is believed to mean 'Goat Mountain' (from the Norse ''geita'').

Ascent

Due to the popularity of "Scotland in miniature" (Arran), Goat Fell is a very popular peak and there are many possible routes of ascent, some of which may be combined with visits to the summits of other nearby peaks. The most commonly used route, a constructed path of just over 3 miles (5 km) in length, starts from near Brodick Castle in

Cladach ''Note: ''Cladach'' is a general Scottish Gaelic word for "beach" or "shore" and occurs in many Scottish placenames'' Cladach ( gd, An Cladach) is a tiny settlement on the Isle of Arran, Scotland. The settlement is within the parish of Kilbride. ...

. Initially the path leads up through the forested grounds of the castle, passing many

rhododendron ''Rhododendron'' (; from Ancient Greek ''rhódon'' "rose" and ''déndron'' "tree") is a very large genus of about 1,024 species of woody plants in the heath family (Ericaceae). They can be either evergreen or deciduous. Most species are nati ...

bushes. At just under 1,000 ft (300 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''. Th ...

the path leaves the forestry, and the route continues through bare

moorland Moorland or moor is a type of habitat found in upland areas in temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands and montane grasslands and shrublands biomes, characterised by low-growing vegetation on acidic soils. Moorland, nowadays, generall ...

, reaching the summit by way of the east ridge of the mountain. There is a viewpoint table at the summit: on a clear day

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is #Descriptions, variously described as ...

may be seen. Goatfell Summit2

An alternative shorter and steeper route comes up from the village of Corrie. This route joins the main path on the east ridge. Goat Fell may also be climbed from the north, where it is linked by a ridge to the subsidiary top of North Goatfell, a point from which three ridges radiate. In addition to the ridge leading south to the main summit, there is a ridge heading northeast, providing some very easy

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 “scrambl ...

as it passes over Cìoch na h-Òighe (the ''Young Maiden's

Breast The breast is one of two prominences located on the upper ventral region of a primate's torso. Both females and males develop breasts from the same embryological tissues. In females, it serves as the mammary gland, which produces and sec ...

''). Finally, the western ridge drops down to a

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 ...

known as The Saddle, before climbing again towards the summit of

Cìr Mhòr Cìr Mhòr (Scottish Gaelic, usually with definite article, ''A' Chìr Mhòr'') is a Corbett known as the Matterhorn of Arran. Its name means the "big comb", referring its resemblance to a cockscomb. It is separated from the island's highest pea ...

. The

right-of-way Right of way is the legal right, established by grant from a landowner or long usage (i.e. by prescription), to pass along a specific route through property belonging to another. A similar ''right of access'' also exists on land held by a gov ...

between

Glen Rosa Glen Rosa ( gd, Gleann Ruasaidh) is a glen near Goat Fell on the Isle of Arran in the Firth of Clyde, western Scotland. Glen Rosa can be reached from the road just outside Brodick Brodick ( , gd, Tràigh a' Chaisteil ("Castle Beach") or ' ...

and

Glen Sannox A number of motor vessels have been named ''Glen Sannox'', including *, a car and passenger ferry serving Clyde routes between 1957 and 1989 *, a dual-fuel ferry under construction for the Arran route {{DEFAULTSORT:Glen Sannox, MV Ship names< ...

passes over The Saddle. The mountain was the scene of the death of English tourist Edwin Rose who was murdered by John Watson Laurie in 1889 on the mountain. Laurie was sentenced to death, later commuted to a life sentence and spent the rest of his life in prison.

References

External links

Goat Fell tourist trail, map and large images
* * Computer-generated virtual panorama
NorthSouth
{{British hills Corbetts Marilyns of Scotland Mountains and hills of the Isle of Arran Highest points of historic Scottish counties