Beinn Dearg

Rising just two feet short of Munro status, this formidable Torridon Corbett is defined by tiered sandstone terraces and steep cliffs. The ascent through the wild Flowerdale Forest reveals a rugged, rock-strewn landscape, leading to a narrow summit ridge with staggering, direct views across to the Triple Buttress of Beinn Eighe.

• •The name is Scottish Gaelic for 'Red Mountain,' describing the characteristic hue of the Torridonian sandstone when caught in the glow of a setting sun.
• •At 913.7 metres (2,998 feet), it is famously one of the highest Corbetts in Scotland, missing out on Munro status by a negligible margin, which ensures it remains much quieter than its more famous neighbours.
• •The summit offers a spectacular, unobstructed view of the Great Black Cleft and the Triple Buttress of Coire Mhic Fhearchair on Beinn Eighe, widely considered some of the finest rock architecture in the Highlands.
• •To the west, the view extends across the sea to the jagged Cuillin of Skye and the distinctive, long silhouette of the Outer Hebrides on the horizon.
• •The approach from the Abhainn Coire Mhic Nobuil involves crossing some of the oldest Lewisian Gneiss on the planet, a basement rock dating back over three billion years.
• •It remains a point of local amusement to see walkers compulsively adding rocks to the summit cairn, as if they could eventually bridge the two-foot gap to the 3,000-foot mark.