Beinn a’ Ghlò is a

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

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 t ...

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 G ...

in the Forest of Atholl in between

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

and Glen Loch, in

Cairngorms National Park Cairngorms National Park () is a national park in northeast Scotland, established in 2003. It was the second of National parks of Scotland, two national parks established by the Scottish Parliament, after Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National ...

Details

It is a huge, complex hill with many ridges, summits and corries, covering approximately with three

Munros 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 Nevi ...

. These are Càrn Liath (Grey

Cairn A cairn is a human-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 (plural ). Cairns have been and are used for a broad variety of purposes. In prehistory, t ...

) 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 species of Caprinae, goat-antelope that is mostly 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 ...

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. The term ''scree'' is ap ...

(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 A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain, or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland, is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle ...

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)'', rock sedge ''( Carex rupestris)'' 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 ** Port River Expressway, a limi ...

at the Pass of

Killiecrankie Killiecrankie (; , 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 power station forming ...

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 A rifle is a long gun, long-barreled firearm designed for accurate shooting and higher stopping power, with a gun barrel, barrel that has a helical or spiralling pattern of grooves (rifling) cut into the bore wall. In keeping with their focus o ...

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 Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

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 (phanerite, phaneritic) intrusive rock, 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 coo ...

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 station is usually set up by a map ...

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 () are a mountain range in the eastern Scottish Highlands, Highlands of Scotland closely associated with the mountain Cairn Gorm. The Cairngorms became part of Scotland's second national parks of Scotland, national park (the Cairn ...

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

Scottish Lowlands The Lowlands ( or , ; , ) is a cultural and historical region of Scotland. The region is characterised by its relatively flat or gently rolling terrain as opposed to the mountainous landscapes of the Scottish Highlands. This area includes ci ...

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 ...