| Ben A'an | |
|---|---|
 The hill of Ben A'an in the Scottish Highlands | |
| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 461 m (1,512 ft) |
| Coordinates | 56°14′34″N4°25′08″W / 56.2427°N 4.4188°W |
| Naming | |
| English translation | Small Pointed Peak |
| Language of name | Scottish Gaelic |
| Geography | |
  Ben A'an | |
| Parent range | Trossachs |
| OS grid | NN 502 082 |
| Topo map | OS Landranger 57 |
Ben A'an is a hill in the Trossachs in Scotland. The pointed peak of its west top (454 metres or 1,490 feet in elevation) [1] resembles a small mountain.
Ben A'an is situated in the Trossachs area of the highlands north of Glasgow, rising above Loch Katrine and Loch Achray. The summit area is largely treeless and comprises several rock outcrops and crags, its highest point being a rounded summit of 461 metres (1,512 feet) elevation [1] , unlike its lower west top.
The normal route is from the pay and display car park of "Ben An" (sic) by the shore of Loch Achray. From there the signed path heads straight uphill in a north-northeasterly direction before picking up the course of a burn, the Allt Inneir, and heading north-northwest up to a low saddle (246 m). The path crosses the saddle heading northwest before picking up the course of another burn, the Allt na Cailliche, and following it steeply uphill below the crags of Ben A'an. Close to the source of the burn the path swings westwards and behind the west top of the hill onto a col, from which it is a short climb to the summit of the west top which is the destination for most hikers. There is no obvious path to the main summit. [1]
Even though Ben A’an is not particularly high, it offers panoramic views of the surrounding lochs, glens, straths and mountains, including Loch Katrine, Loch Achray, Ben Venue and even as far as the Arrochar Alps on the western shore of Loch Lomond.
The name "Ben A’an" is an erroneous Anglicization by Sir Walter Scott. Its original name is uncertain, but it has been suggested that it may have been Am Binnean which means "the pinnacle", [2] although some sites cite its meaning as "the small pointed peak". [3]
The West Highland Way is a linear long-distance route in Scotland. It is 154 km long, running from Milngavie north of Glasgow to Fort William in the Scottish Highlands, with an element of hill walking in the route. The trail, which opened in 1980, was Scotland's first officially designated Long Distance Route, and is now designated by NatureScot as one of Scotland's Great Trails. It is primarily intended as a long distance walking route, and whilst many sections are suitable for mountain biking and horseriding there are obstacles and surfaces that will require these users to dismount in places.
Loch Lomond is a freshwater Scottish loch which crosses the Highland Boundary Fault, often considered the boundary between the lowlands of Central Scotland and the Highlands. Traditionally forming part of the boundary between the counties of Stirlingshire and Dunbartonshire, Loch Lomond is split between the council areas of Stirling, Argyll and Bute and West Dunbartonshire. Its southern shores are about 23 kilometres (14 mi) northwest of the centre of Glasgow, Scotland's largest city. The Loch forms part of the Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park which was established in 2002.
Loch Katrine is a freshwater loch in the Trossachs area of the Scottish Highlands, east of Loch Lomond, within the historic county and registration county of Perthshire and the contemporary district of Stirling. The loch is about 8 miles (13 km) long and 1 mile (1.6 km) wide at its widest point, and runs the length of Strath Gartney. It is within the drainage basins of the River Teith and River Forth.
Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park is a national park in Scotland centred on Loch Lomond and the hills and glens of the Trossachs, along with several other ranges of hills. It was the first of the two national parks established by the Scottish Parliament in 2002, the second being the Cairngorms National Park. The park extends to cover much of the western part of the southern highlands, lying to the north of the Glasgow conurbation, and contains many mountains and lochs. It is the fourth-largest national park in the British Isles, with a total area of 1,865 km2 (720 sq mi) and a boundary of some 350 km (220 mi) in length. It features 21 Munros and 20 Corbetts.
Ben Lomond, 974 metres (3,196 ft), is a mountain in the Scottish Highlands. Situated on the eastern shore of Loch Lomond, it is the most southerly of the Munros. Ben Lomond lies within the Ben Lomond National Memorial Park and the Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park, property of the National Trust for Scotland.
The Trossachs generally refers to an area of wooded glens, braes, and lochs lying to the east of Ben Lomond in the Stirling council area of Scotland. The name is taken from that of a small woodland glen that lies at the centre of the area, but is now generally applied to the wider region.
The Cobbler is an 884 metres (2,900 ft) mountain located near the head of Loch Long in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It is a Corbett, and is an important site for rock climbing in the Southern Highlands. Many maps include the name Ben Arthur, but the name The Cobbler is more widely used. In the 19th century it was referred to as The Cobbler and his Wife.
Ben More is a mountain in the Breadalbane region of the southern Scottish Highlands, near Crianlarich. Rising to 1,174 metres (3,852 ft), it is a Munro and is the highest of the so-called Crianlarich Hills to the south-east of the village. There is no higher land in the British Isles south of Ben More. It is separated from Stob Binnein by the Bealach-eadar-dha Beinn, "col between two mountains". It is the highest peak in the Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park.
Ben Ledi is a mountain in Stirling, Scotland. It is 879 metres high, and is therefore classified as a Corbett. It lies about six kilometres northwest of Callander, near the village of Kilmahog. It is situated in the Trossachs, an area often regarded as having some of the most romantic scenery in the Highlands.
Loch Venachar is a freshwater loch in Stirling district, Scotland.
Loch Achray is a small freshwater loch 11 km (6.8 mi) west of Callander in Stirling district, Scotland.
Ben Venue is a mountain in the Trossachs area of Scotland. The name Ben Venue is derived from the Scottish Gaelic words meaning "the miniature mountain". The summit lies approximately 2 kilometres south-west of the pier at the southern end of Loch Katrine. At the foot of the mountain close to the shore of Loch Katrine is Bealach nam Bò meaning the "pass of the cattle", a reference to the lawless days when Highland cattle "lifters" used the pass to drive stolen herds to their land.
Slioch is a mountain in the Scottish Highlands situated in Wester Ross, eight kilometres north of the village of Kinlochewe. Slioch reaches a height of 981 metres (3218 feet) and towers above the south east end of Loch Maree to give one of the best known and most photographed sights in the Highlands. VisitScotland, the Scottish national tourist agency, has used video footage of Slioch in its television advertisements.
Ben Vane is a mountain in the Arrochar Alps of Argyll, in the Southern Highlands of Scotland. It reaches 915 metres (3,002 ft), making it a Munro. It lies between Beinn Ìme and Ben Vorlich.
Beinn Sgritheall or Beinn an Sgrithill, also anglicized Ben Sgriol, is the highest mountain on the Glenelg peninsula in the Northwest Highlands of Scotland. It is a Munro with a height of 974 metres (3,196 ft). The main approach is via Arnisdale on the shores of Loch Hourn or via Gleann Beag to the north, with its well-known brochs. The view from the summit was described by Sir Hugh Munro, a founder member of the Scottish Mountaineering Club, as "perhaps the most beautiful I have seen in Scotland".
Ben Mor Coigach is the highest point along a ridge rising steeply from Loch Broom, in the far northwest of Scotland. It rises above the Coigach peninsula in the county of Ross and Cromarty, 10 kilometres northwest of Ullapool, reaching a height of 743 metres (2,438 ft). Its coastal position, combined with its high topographic prominence to height ratio, provides a spectacular panorama, sweeping from Ullapool across to the Summer Isles and north over the Coigach to the distinctive peaks of the Assynt, as well as more distant views to Skye and the Outer Hebrides, conditions permitting. The area is a Scottish Wildlife Trust nature reserve.
Craigmore is a prominent hill, 387 metres high, above the village of Aberfoyle in the council area of Stirling in Scotland.
Beinn an Fhogharaidh is a mountain ridge, 616 metres (2,021 ft) high, in the southern Scottish Highlands near the village of Aberfoyle in Stirling council area, Scotland.
Queen Elizabeth Forest Park is a 19,665-hectare (48,590-acre) forest park in the Scottish Highlands which extends from the eastern shores of Loch Lomond to the mountains of Strathyre. The forest park is one of six such parks in Scotland, and was established in 1953, the year of the coronation of Elizabeth II. It is owned and managed by Forestry and Land Scotland.
The Great Trossachs Path is a 48-kilometre (30 mi) long-distance footpath through the Trossachs, in the Stirling council area of Scotland. It runs between Callander in the east and Inversnaid on the banks of Loch Lomond in the west, passing along the northern shores of Loch Katrine and Loch Arklet. The path is suitable for walkers and cyclists; much of the route is also suitable for experience horse riders, although the middle section along the shoreline of Loch Katrine is tarmacked and so may not be ideal for horses.
