Meall a' Ghortain

A modest summit rising above Rannoch Moor in the southern Highlands, offering a surprisingly worthwhile viewpoint over one of Scotland's most distinctive wilderness landscapes. The ascent crosses typical moorland terrain of bog and heather, with the summit cairn providing elevated perspectives across the vast expanse of peatland stretching towards Glencoe and the Black Mount.

• •The name derives from Scottish Gaelic meaning 'hill of the small field' or 'hill of the enclosure', suggesting this higher ground may once have provided sheltered grazing above the surrounding boggy moorland.
• •The summit provides one of the best viewpoints for appreciating the full extent of Rannoch Moor, a 50-square-mile expanse of blanket bog designated as both a Site of Special Scientific Interest and Special Area of Conservation.
• •Rannoch Moor below is the sole British location for the Rannoch-rush, a sedge species found nowhere else in the country and named after this remote plateau.
• •Victorian entomologist Horace Donisthorpe frequently visited the area, collecting unusual ant species including Formica exsecta, the narrow-headed ant, which still survives in this habitat today.