Carn an Ailean

A modest summit in the Monadhliath Mountains, rising to 549 metres south of Inverness. The hill occupies moorland terrain typical of this quiet range, offering straightforward walking across heather and grass slopes. Its classification as a Dodd marks it as one of the less-visited tops in this extensive upland area, far from the crowded Munros to the west.

• •The name derives from Scottish Gaelic 'Càrn an Ailein', meaning 'cairn of the green place' or possibly 'cairn of Alan', though the exact origin of 'ailean' remains debated among Gaelic scholars.
• •As a Dodd, this hill forms part of a classification system devised by Irvine Butterfield for Lakeland summits, though the term has been adopted for similarly modest Scottish hills qualifying under the same height criteria.
• •The Monadhliath range, where this hill sits, takes its name from Gaelic 'Am Monadh Liath' meaning 'the grey mountain', distinguishing it from the Cairngorms or 'Monadh Ruadh' (red mountain) to the east.