Beinn Dubh

Hill, Mountain in Inverness-shire

Scotland

Beinn Dubh

Woodland above Gaich Credit: Jennifer Jones

Beinn Dubh is a prominent hill located in Inverness-shire, Scotland. Standing at approximately 657 meters (2,156 feet) high, it offers stunning panoramic views of the surrounding countryside, including the nearby Loch Ness. The hill is a popular destination for hikers and outdoor enthusiasts, with several trails leading to the summit.

Beinn Dubh is known for its rugged terrain, characterized by steep slopes and rocky outcrops. The hill is covered in a mixture of grasses, heather, and shrubs, providing a habitat for a variety of wildlife including deer, birds, and other small mammals.

The summit of Beinn Dubh offers breathtaking views of the surrounding landscape, with the rolling hills of Inverness-shire stretching out in all directions. On a clear day, it is possible to see as far as the Cairngorms and the Isle of Skye.

Overall, Beinn Dubh is a challenging yet rewarding hike for those looking to experience the beauty of the Scottish Highlands. Its remote location and natural beauty make it a must-visit destination for outdoor enthusiasts in the area.

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Beinn Dubh Images

Images are sourced within 2km of 57.366048/-4.1479046 or Grid Reference NH7032. Thanks to Geograph Open Source API. All images are credited.

Woodland above Gaich

Jennifer Jones

Woodland path near Inverarnie

Steven Brown

Uisge Dubh

Area of clear felled timber on the left of the Uisge Dubh, which runs through the bottom of the valley.

valenta

The Uisge Dubh

The Uisge Dubh, just downstream of the main waterfall.

valenta

Waterfall on the Uisge Dubh

This waterfall is just downstream from a new intake weir for the Farr Hydro scheme.

valenta

Farr Hydro Intake Weir

Water is piped to the power station here. NH6931 : Farr Hydro-electric Power Station

valenta

Peaty Pond on Meall na Fuar-ghlaic

It is always nice to find a pond at the top of a hill. Particularly if your water is running low, as mine was. Though light brown in colour the water was clear - I filled up my containers and suffered no ill effects, so if anyone else ventures into the Western edge of this grid-square in years to come I can guarantee that the water from here is perfectly safe for drinking! While it has its own name, and is quite a presence, this hill to me had the feel of just being part of Beinn Dubh, further East. The dip between them is negligible. In fact another contributor to this square says that Beinn Dubh trig point's official name is this hill's, which pretty much backs up my point.

Ian Dodds

An Eye-Catching Rock near Beinn Dubh

This looked precarious from a distance, but once up close it was obvious that this rock will remain in place long after the world has blown itself up at some unspecified date in the future! Due to its prominence on the horizon, it also appears, initially, to be bigger than it actually is - it is just over six feet tall. I like to think it had a name once though, and it probably did, but we shall never know...

Ian Dodds

Beinn Dubh Summit

The big boulder (If I remember correctly the bit on the far right of it is actually a separate rock) across from the trig point is marked on the map as a cairn. Personally I wouldn't classify it as such - it is a big boulder with a few unfeasibly heavy stones piled on top of it. Whatever my opinions though, that's what they get called round here, as I came across a couple more in this area. The trig pillar, like a few others round here, is in remarkably good condition - maybe Highland concrete is superior in some way?!

Ian Dodds

View SouthWest from Beinn Dubh Summit

Beinn Dubh is a very common hill name in Scotland. Translated from the Gaelic it simply means 'black hill'. The Walk Highlands website has an audio recording of a fairly elderly sounding gentleman reading out the names of all Scotland's notable hills (ie the ones that are on the most commonly used hill-bagging lists). Translations are given for the Gaelic names too. The pronunciations take some getting used to as the letters used often seem to have no relation whatsoever to the sound of the word (viewed from an English-speaking perspective of course!) This hill isn't important enough to be on anything more than minor hill lists, but there are more important Beinn Dhubs around. So I know that it should be pronounced 'Bain [rhyming with rain] Doo [rhyming with too]'. Lots of hills in Scotland start with 'Ben', the most famous example being Ben Nevis of course. This is simply an anglicisation of the old Gaelic word 'Beinn', sometimes spelt 'Bheinn'.

Ian Dodds

Valley between Beinn Dubh and Beinn nan Cailleach

The burn running through the valley is already quite established, despite this being very close to its source. It is impossible to tell from the map whether it has a name at this point. What is certain, however, is that the water in it will eventually be part of Allt na Fuar-ghlaic (Allt means burn, or stream, in Gaelic). The strange thing about this is that to the West of Beinn Dubh there is a hill called Meall na Fuar-ghlaic. Having already found a translation for the hill name for a previous write-up, we now have a 'burn of the cold hollow' running well over a mile away from the 'round hill of the cold hollow', which actually has another stream with a completely unrelated name running down it. Where, or what, this cold hollow actually is I would be fascinated to find out!

Ian Dodds

Summit of Beinn na Cailleach

I'm not too sure what the surveying, or ranging, pole was doing here but I came across a few on my travels in this area. I have never done much surveying myself - my main exposure to them has been through photographs in which the poles are used as an easy way to show scale. This one was the standard length of two metres with the red and white colouring alternating every 50cm. The spike at the end of the pole is included in the two metres length, incidentally (I had always been curious!) One of the many Gaelic place-naming guides available online translates the hill name as 'hill of the old woman', which is a curious one - I do hope she didn't actually live up here.

Ian Dodds

Deer on the Upper Slopes of Beinn nan Cailleach

I always wish I was quicker at getting my phone out of my pocket. The deer spotted me right away and had already largely dispersed by the time I took the picture - a few seconds before it was a far more impressive spectacle. Considering that this stretch of hilly countryside is obviously some kind of shooting estate - there are occasional large cabin-sized wooden huts dotted about, and very good hard tracks throughout, one of which reaches more than 600 metres - I was surprised I didn't come across more deer than I did. But then again may be they realised long ago that they are here to be shot at, and are experts in human avoidance now.

Ian Dodds

Forestry Road

This forestry road was reconstructed to allow access to transport windmills to build a wind farm at Farr. It is 8 miles long. The hill in the background looking north east is Meall Mor (492m)

Thelma Smart

Beinn Dubh & Meall na Fuar-ghlaic

Beinn Dubh, or the black hill (514 mtrs) stands in the foreground; over its shoulder peeps Meall na Fuar-ghlaic, the rounded hill of the cold hollow, living up to its name in a late fall of snow.

John S Ross

Beinn Dubh - Trig Pillar S7257

The OS official name for this triangulation station is "Meall Na Fuar Ghlaic". This tertiary triangulation pillar was completed 10th August 1953 costing £27.3s.6d. OSBM flush levelling bracket S7257 is on the north face of the pillar.

Graeme Paterson