Lochnagar or 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 area, and is usually higher ...

in the

Mounth The Mounth ( ) is the broad upland in northeast Scotland between the Highland Boundary and the River Dee, at the eastern end of the Grampians. Name and etymology The name ''Mounth'' is ultimately of Pictish origin. The name is derived from ...

, in the Grampians 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 ...

. It is about south of the River Dee near Balmoral. It is a popular hill with hillwalkers, and is a noted venue for summer and

winter Winter is the coldest season of the year in polar and temperate climates. It occurs after autumn and before spring. The tilt of Earth's axis causes seasons; winter occurs when a hemisphere is oriented away from the Sun. Different cultur ...

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 ...

Names

The English name refers to a mountain lake in the northeast corrie, , the 'little

loch ''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 spell ...

of the noisy sound'. or , 'mountain of breasts' or ' breast-shaped mountain', is probably the original

Gaelic Gaelic is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". As a noun it refers to the group of languages spoken by the Gaels, or to any one of the languages individually. Gaelic languages are spoken in Ireland, Scotland, the Isle of Man, an ...

name for the mountain. The summit itself is , meaning 'small cairn of faeces' in Gaelic, or less euphemistically, 'little pile of shit'. Peter Drummond, former chairman of the

Architectural Heritage Society of Scotland The Architectural Heritage Society of Scotland (AHSS) is a society dedicated to the protection and study of the built heritage of Scotland. It has around 1000 members and five regional groups responsible for commenting on planning applications in ...

, has also suggested that is a corruption of ('slope'), which would lend a translation of 'little cairn of the slope'.

Geography

Lochnagar is located on the Royal Estate of Balmoral. Its principal feature is a north-facing corrie, around which most of the subsidiary tops, as well as the main peak, sit. The corrie is the location of many classic summer and winter climbing routes. The mountain 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 Nev ...

and is popular with hillwalkers at all times of the year, with the most common ascent route being from Glen Muick. Care should be taken on the summit in poor visibility: the plateau has few obvious features and has steep cliffs on its northern edge.

Climate

Lochnagar's summit experiences an

Alpine Tundra Alpine tundra is a type of natural region or biome that does not contain trees because it is at high elevation, with an associated harsh climate. As the latitude of a location approaches the poles, the threshold elevation for alpine tundra gets ...

Climate, with freezing, snowy winters and cool summers. The nearest UK Met Office weather station is at

Braemar Braemar is a village in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, around west of Aberdeen in the Highlands. It is the closest significantly-sized settlement to the upper course of the River Dee sitting at an elevation of . The Gaelic ''Bràigh Mhàrr'' pr ...

northwest. The yearly temperature range is usually between , but it can be slightly warmer and colder. January has the highest average frosts, despite February nights being colder; January has an average of 26.9 frost days, compared with 24.3 in February. There is the risk of a frost at any time of the year, even in July and August, when each month averages 1 air frost every 10 years.

Nature and conservation

Lochanagar lies within the

Cairngorms National Park Cairngorms National Park ( gd, Pàirc Nàiseanta a' Mhonaidh Ruaidh) is a national park in northeast Scotland, established in 2003. It was the second of two national parks established by the Scottish Parliament, after Loch Lomond and The Tros ...

, and also gives its name to ''Deeside and Lochnagar National Scenic Area'', one of 40 such areas in Scotland. The designated national scenic area is in size, and covers the mountains surrounding Lochnagar as far south as the head of

Glen Doll Glen Doll, also sometimes spelt Glendoll, lies within the Cairngorms National Park, Scotland, at the top of Glen Clova, in an area of steep hills, corries and Munros. It includes the Corrie Fee National Nature Reserve, which has many endangered ...

, as well

Deeside Deeside ( cy, Glannau Dyfrdwy) is the name given to a predominantly industrial conurbation of towns and villages in Flintshire and Cheshire on the Wales–England border lying near the canalised stretch of the River Dee that flows from neig ...

to the north. The mountain forms part of two designated

Special Protection Area A Special Protection Area (SPA) is a designation under the European Union Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds. Under the Directive, Member States of the European Union (EU) have a duty to safeguard the habitats of migratory birds and certa ...

s, due to its importance for breeding

dotterel The Eurasian dotterel (''Charadrius morinellus''), also known in Europe as just dotterel, is a small wader in the plover family of birds. The dotterel is a brown and black streaked bird with a broad white eye-stripe and an orange-red chest ban ...

(''Charadrius morinellus'') and

golden eagle The golden eagle (''Aquila chrysaetos'') is a bird of prey living in the Northern Hemisphere. It is the most widely distributed species of eagle. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. They are one of the best-known bird ...

s (''Aquila chrysaetos'').

Cultural references

Due to its location on the Balmoral estate the mountain has many royal links, and

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 previ ...

climbed to the summit in 1848. In the film '' Mrs. Brown'', John Brown and

Benjamin Disraeli Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield, (21 December 1804 – 19 April 1881) was a British statesman and Conservative politician who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. He played a central role in the creation ...

hike up Lochnagar to discuss the need for the Queen to return to active involvement with government. It is also the setting for a children's story, ''

The Old Man of Lochnagar ''The Old Man of Lochnagar'' is a 1980 children's book written by then-Prince of Wales, King Charles III, and illustrated by Sir Hugh Casson. The story revolves around an old man who lives in a cave in the cliffs surrounding the corrie loch un ...

'', originally told by

Prince Charles Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to a ...

. The poet

Lord Byron George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824), known simply as Lord Byron, was an English romantic poet and peer. He was one of the leading figures of the Romantic movement, and has been regarded as among the ...

spent time in the area in his youth, Black's Guide to Scotland, 33rd Edition (1903). p. 232. and wrote the poem, ''

Lachin y Gair "Lachin y Gair", often known as "Dark Lochnagar" or "Loch na Garr", is a poem by Lord Byron, written in 1807. It discusses the author's childhood in north east Scotland, when he used to visit Lochnagar in Highland Aberdeenshire. It is perhaps one ...

'' (also known as ''Dark Lochnagar''), which also forms the basis of a song: A malt-whisky distillery located near the Balmoral estate on the south side of the River Dee produces the

Royal Lochnagar Single Malt Royal Lochnagar distillery is a single malt Scotch whisky distillery based on the Abergeldie Estate, near Balmoral Castle in Royal Deeside. It is close to the mountain Lochnagar. The distillery is in the Highland whisky-producing area of Scotland ...

whisky. The hill gives its name to one of the houses at

Aboyne Academy Aboyne Academy is a secondary school in Aboyne, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. The school is located on the Western side of the village and serves many other villages in the surrounding area, including: Braemar, Ballater, Kincardine O'Neil and Tarland ...

References