Beinn a' Bhuird [Beinn a' Bhuird North Top]

Rising as a vast, high-altitude plateau in the Eastern Cairngorms, this Munro is defined by its immense scale and the sheer, dramatic cliffs of its eastern corries. The approach from Braemar via the Quoich provides a long, classic wilderness walk leading to an expansive summit with an unmistakably Arctic feel.

• •The name is derived from the Gaelic Beinn a' Bhuird, meaning 'Table Hill'. This perfectly describes the vast, level plateau that characterises the mountain, a feature typical of the Cairngorm granites but executed here on an enormous scale.
• •The mountain is celebrated for its spectacular eastern corries, particularly Coire na Ciche and Garbh Choire. These hold some of Scotland's most impressive granite cliffs and the 'Dividing Buttress', a massive rock pillar that remains a prized destination for climbers.
• •From the North Top, the view looks directly west across the deep trench of the Lairig an Laoigh to the sprawling mass of Ben Macdui and the jagged profile of the Shelter Stone Crag.
• •Navigating the summit plateau in poor visibility is notoriously difficult; the ground is so expansive and flat that finding the highest point often requires more reliance on a compass than on any obvious change in terrain.
• •Despite being a Munro of nearly 4,000 feet, the ascent from the west is so gradual that you may occasionally wonder if you are climbing a mountain or simply walking across a very tilted county.