Suilven | |
---|---|
Sùilebheinn | |
Highest point | |
Elevation | 731 m (2,398 ft) |
Prominence | 496 m (1,627 ft) |
Listing | Graham, Marilyn |
Coordinates | 58°06′54″N5°08′13″W / 58.115°N 5.13707°W |
Naming | |
English translation | Pillar mountain |
Language of name | Old Norse + Scottish Gaelic |
Pronunciation | Scottish Gaelic: [ˈsuləvjeɲ] |
Geography | |
OS grid | NC153183 |
Topo map | OS Landranger 15 |
Suilven is a mountain in Scotland. Lying in a remote area in the west of Sutherland, it rises from a wilderness landscape of moorland, bogs and lochans known as Inverpolly National Nature Reserve. Suilven forms a steep-sided ridge some two kilometres (1+1⁄4 mi) in length. The highest point, Caisteal Liath ("Grey Castle" in Scottish Gaelic), lies at the northwest end of this ridge. There are two other summits: Meall Meadhonach ("Middle Round Hill") at the central point of the ridge is 723 metres (2,372 ft) high, whilst Meall Beag ("Little Round Hill") lies at the southeastern end.
The name is Viking in origin, coming from the Old Norse súla fjell, meaning ‘pillar mountain’. [1]
Geologically, Suilven is formed of Torridonian sandstone, sitting on a landscape of Lewisian gneiss. The surrounding rocks were eroded during an episode of glaciation. Suilven was covered by the last British and Irish Ice Sheet. Prior research described Suilven and many other mountains in Northwest Scotland as nunataks, but cosmogenic isotope dating of mountaintop erratics has since disproved this hypothesis. The flow of ice created the distinctive narrow teardrop plan, while carving and scouring the vertical sides of the mountain. [2]
In 2005 Glencanisp estate, of which Suilven forms part and the neighbouring Drumrunie estate, were bought by the local community with the help of the John Muir Trust. The Assynt Foundation aims to create local employment and safeguard the natural and cultural heritage for the benefit of the community and future generations, and for the enjoyment of the wider public.
The most common route of ascent starts from the end of a public road that leads to Glencanisp Lodge, about 1.5 kilometres (1 mi) from Lochinver to the west of the summit. From here a path leads across undulating moorland towards the steep north side of Suilven and the route up to Bealach Mòr (the Great Bealach or Pass) after a little over two kilometres (1+1⁄4 mi). The final pull up to the bealach is steep, and the path has been re-made with many boulder steps. From here the summit is nearby. The summit itself is broad and grassy, though it is almost totally surrounded by vertical cliffs.
Another route starts from Inverkirkaig, some four kilometres (2+1⁄2 mi) south of Lochinver: this route reaches the bealach from the south, passing Kirkaig Falls on the way. One may also start from Elphin, on the eastern side. It is possible to reach the ridge without first climbing to Bealach Mòr from this direction, though very exposed scrambling is required, particularly between Meall Meadhonach and Meall Beag.
All these routes involve a round trip of around 25 kilometres (15+1⁄2 mi) over rough terrain.
In the 2017 film Edie, a widowed pensioner climbs Suilven to complete a long-held ambition. [3]
Stac Pollaidh and Suilven star in an episode of Disney+ Star Wars show Ahsoka . [4]
Sutherland is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area in the Highlands of Scotland. Its county town is Dornoch. Sutherland borders Caithness and Moray Firth to the east, Ross-shire and Cromartyshire to the south and the Atlantic to the north and west. Like its southern neighbour Ross-shire, Sutherland has some of the most dramatic scenery in Europe, especially on its western fringe where the mountains meet the sea. These include high sea cliffs and very old mountains composed of Precambrian and Cambrian rocks.
The Summer Isles are an archipelago lying in the mouth of Loch Broom, in the Highland region of Scotland.
Stac Pollaidh is a mountain in the Northwest Highlands of Scotland. The peak displays a rocky crest of Torridonian sandstone, with many pinnacles and steep gullies. The ridge was exposed to weathering as a nunatak above the ice sheet during the last Ice Age, while the ice flow carved and scoured the smooth sides of the mountain.
Lochinver is a village that is located at the head of the sea loch Loch Inver, on the coast in the Assynt district of Sutherland, Highland, Scotland. A few miles north-east is Loch Assynt which is the source of the River Inver which flows into Loch Inver at the village. There are 200 or so lochans in the area which makes the place very popular with anglers. Lochinver is dominated by the "sugar loaf" shape of Caisteal Liath, the summit peak of nearby Suilven.
Assynt is a sparsely populated area in the south-west of Sutherland, lying north of Ullapool on the west coast of Scotland. Assynt is known for its landscape and its remarkable mountains, which have led to the area, along with neighbouring Coigach, being designated as the Assynt-Coigach National Scenic Area, one of 40 such areas in Scotland.
The Mamores are a group of mountains in the Lochaber area of the Grampian Mountains in the Scottish Highlands. They form an east–west ridge approximately fifteen kilometres in length lying between Glen Nevis to the north and Loch Leven to the south.
Ben More Assynt is a mountain in Assynt in the far northwest of Scotland, 30 kilometres north-northeast of Ullapool. The name translates as "big mountain of Assynt", and with a height of 998 metres it is the highest point in Sutherland.
Canisp is a mountain in the far north west of Scotland. It is situated in the parish of Assynt, in the county of Sutherland, 25 kilometres (16 mi) north of the town of Ullapool. Canisp reaches a height of 847 metres (2,779 ft) and qualifies as a Corbett and Marilyn hill. The mountain's name translates from the Old Norse kambsnípa or point of the comb/ridge.
Conival is a Scottish mountain situated in Assynt in the Sutherland area of the Highland Council Area, thirty kilometres north-northeast of Ullapool.
Meall na Teanga is a Scottish mountain located in the Highland council area, 11 km (7 mi) north of Spean Bridge.
An Riabhachan is a Scottish mountain in the Skye and Lochalsh district of the Highland council area. It is situated 35 kilometres east of Kyle of Lochalsh standing in an isolated position at the western end of Loch Mullardoch, ten kilometres from any public road.
Meall a' Chrasgaidh is a Scottish mountain located in the Fannich group of mountains, 21 kilometres south-southeast of Ullapool.
Am Bàthach is a Scottish mountain situated at the head of Glen Shiel, at the western end of Loch Cluanie some 38 km (24 mi) south east of Kyle of Lochalsh.
Cùl Mòr is a shapely, twin summited mountain in the far north west of Scotland whose higher summit is the highest point of Inverpolly. It is almost completely separated from its southern neighbour, Cùl Beag. Despite its higher altitude, it is less well known than two of its other neighbours, Suilven and Stac Pollaidh, but being higher, it commands views over these and other neighbours.
An Ruadh-stac is a Scottish mountain situated in the Wester Ross region of the Highland council area. It is located 26 km north east of Kyle of Lochalsh.
Meall na h-Eilde is a Scottish hill situated in the high ground between the Great Glen and Glen Garry, 23 km north of Fort William in the Highland Council Area.
Cùl Beag is a mountain in Coigach, in the Northwest Highlands of Scotland. It is 15 km north of Ullapool and lies to the south of Cùl Mòr, and to the east of the better-known but lower Stac Pollaidh.
Cam Loch is an irregularly-shaped freshwater loch, about 5 km long, on a north-west to south-east orientation, located slightly north of the village of Elphin, in the Assynt district of Sutherland, Scotland. The loch is located in an area along with neighbouring Coigach, as the Assynt-Coigach National Scenic Area, one of 40 such areas in Scotland.
Fionn Loch is a small irregular-shaped shallow freshwater loch, on a north-west to south-east orientation that is located 3 miles southeast of Lochinver in the Assynt district of Sutherland in Scotland. The loch is located in an area known as the Assynt-Coigach National Scenic Area, one of 40 such areas in Scotland.
Loch an Doire Dhuibh is a small irregular shaped freshwater loch, situated on a north-east to south-west orientation in northern Wester Ross and located 7.5 miles southeast of Lochinver, Scotland. Directly to the northwest of the loch is Loch Gainmheich, considered the "northern portion" of the loch, by the editors of Bathymetrical Survey that is connected by a narrow channel with water flowing out of Doire Dhuibh and northwest to Loch Sionascaig. Loch an Doire Dhuibh is part of the Assynt - Coigach National Scenic Area.