Location of The Far North

The location of this group of mountains is really self explanatory.   They concern everything on mainland Scotland north of a line between Ullapool in the west and Dornoch in the east.

Mountains of The Far North

There are only four Munros in this area.   Ben Hope, Ben Klibreck, Ben More Assynt and Conival.   The latter two can be climbed together from Inchnadamph on the A837.

Due to the nature of the road network in this area, some being single track roads, it is a long drive between Ben Hope and Ben More Assynt.   You will therefore need a few days in this area and to base yourself at different locations.

However the lower hills get as much attention as the Munros.   Being in a remote area and close to the coast they give spectacular views.    There are several Corbetts in the Far North, the most northerly being Beinn Spionnaidh which can be climbed in conjunction with Cranstackie.   South of Cranstackie is Fionaven with its narrow ridge, Arkle with similar characteristics and Meall Horn which overlooks its higher neighbours.

Still further south is a group of three Corbetts at Quinag which can be climbed in a single outing.   Other Corbetts in this area are Ben Loyal, Meallan Liath Coire Mhic Dhughaill, Ben Hee, Beinn Leoid, Glas Bheinn, Breadbag, Canisp, Cul Mor and Cul Beg.   You will see from this list that there are plenty of mountains to retain an interest in this area and you will require several visits to climb them all.

Even when you have climbed these there are still some Grahams that you will also want to visit.   Probably the most famous is Stac Pollaidh on the road to Achiltibuie.   To reach the actual summit requires a short section of easy scrambling.   A runner up for the most famous Graham in the area is Suilven but it isn't as popular as it involves a long walk in and obviously back out.   The Grahams Ben Mor Coigach and Sgurr an Fhidhleir are probably the most photographed mountains as they are the backdrop to Ullapool for tourists travelling north.

Additional Information

This area of Scotland is very remote with long distances between hamlets.   The land is owned by various Estates which carry out land management.   To ascertain who owns which part of the country view the web site www.whoownsscotland.org.uk.

The main concern for hill goers is the deer stalking season which runs from July through to February.   The stag shooting season runs from 1 July to 20 October while the hind season is 21 October to 15 February.   This obviously covers more than six months of the year but the main time for stalking is August through to October.

There is normally a 'Hillphones' booklet which appears in the summer giving contact details for certain estates but none of the estates in the Far North have subscribed to this service as yet.

There is a book, "Heading for the Scottish Hills" published by The Mountaineering Council for Scotland and The Scottish Landowners' Federation which gives useful information and contact details for Estates.   However the book is a bit out of date at the moment.   There may be more information available this year (2005) with the implementation of the Land Reform (Scotland) Act.

I have used the above facilities and found them very useful.   In fact I have been pleasantly surprised when contacting Estate representatives.   These days they appear to be happy to hear from hill walkers and on the whole are very helpful.