Scotland
Geal Charn
673M
2208FT
About Geal Charn
Rising above the head of Strathdon near Corgarff, this rounded heathery moorland summit marks a quiet corner of the eastern Highlands. Classified as a Hump and Tump, it offers a straightforward ascent through typical Aberdeenshire upland terrain, rewarding walkers with clear perspectives across the high Lecht road.
Key Statistics
Rank
23rd Highest in Region
Parent Range
Data coming soon
Prominence
?
111m
Nearest Town
Corgarff
Geology
You are walking over ancient, hardened muds and tough, crystalline quartzite. These layers form the solid foundation of the hill beneath your boots.
Classifications
Nearby Fells
Find It
OS Grid Reference
NJ284109
Latitude
57.1834°N
Longitude
3.1859°W
Did You Know?
- •The name is derived from the Scottish Gaelic 'Geal Charn', meaning 'White Cairn', a common descriptive name for hills with light-coloured rock or those where snow patches linger long into the spring.
- •The summit provides a grandstand view of the 16th-century Corgarff Castle in the valley below, once a strategic military base used by government troops to patrol the Lecht road against Jacobites and whisky smugglers.
- •The hill overlooks one of the highest points of the A939, famously known as the Lecht Road, which frequently features as the first major route in Britain to be closed by snowfall each winter.
- •Looking southwest, walkers can spot the distinctive granite tors of Ben Avon, one of the most remote and sprawling massifs in the high Cairngorms.
- •Despite the name promising a 'white' hill, for much of the year, the terrain is more accurately a persistent shade of peat-brown and heather-purple.