Am Buachaille

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Am Buachaille
Scottish Gaelic nameAm Buachaille
Meaning of nameThe Herdsman
Am buachaille.jpg
Location
Highland UK relief location map.jpg
Red pog.svg
Am Buachaille
Am Buachaille shown within Highland Scotland
OS grid reference NC201652
Coordinates 58°32′15″N5°05′30″W / 58.5374°N 5.0918°W / 58.5374; -5.0918
Physical geography
Highest elevation65m [1]
Administration
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Country Scotland
Lymphad3.svg

Am Buachaille is a sea stack, or vertical rock formation composed of Torridonian Sandstone, 1 mile (1.5 kilometres) southwest of Sandwood Bay in the Scottish county of Sutherland. It lies at the tip of the Rubh' a Bhuachaille headland around 5 miles (8 kilometres) north of Kinlochbervie.

The stack is 65 metres (213 feet) high [2] and was first climbed in 1968 by the mountaineers Tom Patey, Ian Clough and John Cleare. [3] [4] At least four climbing routes are identified on Am Buachaille which is considered a "famous" sea stack climb [5] and has been called the "most serious of 'the big three' Scottish stacks" [6] and a "truly great stack". [7] The easiest route is graded Hard Very Severe (HVS) and access to the stack involves a 30-metre (100-foot) swim at low tide. [6] [8]

The name means "the herdsman" or "the shepherd" in Scottish Gaelic. [3] [6]

See also

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References

  1. "Am Buachaille". Gazetteer for Scotland. Retrieved 10 March 2024.
  2. Am Buachaille Sea-Stack, Sandwood Bay Archived 28 February 2014 at the Wayback Machine , Welcome to Scotland. Retrieved 2014-02-18.
  3. 1 2 Sandwood Bay is a beautiful beach shrouded in mystery, The Scotsman , 2010-07-13. Retrieved 2014-02-18.
  4. Sandwood Bay on walkhighlands.co.uk
  5. Am Buachaille, UK Climbing. Retrieved 2014-02-18.
  6. 1 2 3 Latter.G & MacInnes.H (2009) Scottish rock volume 2 - north, Pesda Press (p.297).
  7. North West Highlands. Retrieved 2014-02-18.
  8. Scottish sea stack Archived 2014-02-18 at archive.today , Planet fear, 2005-10-10. Retrieved 2014-02-18.