Arkle

About Arkle

Rising above the remote Reay Forest in Sutherland, this Corbett is a spectacle of shattered Cambrian quartzite. Its two summits are linked by a narrow, sweeping crescent ridge that offers airy walking and dramatic views across the dark waters of Loch Stack toward the jagged silhouettes of Foinaven and Meall Horn.

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Did You Know?

• •The name is thought to derive from the Old Norse 'ark-fjall', meaning 'ark-shaped mountain' or 'chest mountain', a reference to the blocky, massive profile it presents when viewed from the coast.
• •The legendary Irish racehorse Arkle, often cited as the greatest steeplechaser of all time, was named after this mountain by his owner, Anne Grosvenor, Duchess of Westminster, whose Sutherland estate encompassed the hill.
• •The mountain is primarily composed of Cambrian quartzite resting on much older Lewisian gneiss; this white stone gives the upper slopes a shimmering, bone-white appearance that can be mistaken for snow even in the height of summer.
• •The ascent from Achfary leads walkers across vast, shifting scree slopes to reach the narrowest part of the ridge, where the ground falls away steeply on both sides toward the peat hags of the Moine and the waters of Loch an Tuirc.
• •The summit offers a peerless view across the deep, glacial trench of Strath Dionard to the sprawling grey ramparts of Foinaven, showcasing some of the most complex and ancient geology in the British Isles.
• •While the racehorse Arkle was celebrated for his incredible speed, the mountain that shares his name usually demands a much slower, more deliberate pace—especially when the quartzite scree decides it would rather be at the bottom of the hill.