Beinn Bheigier

Standing as the highest point on Islay, this rugged Marilyn offers a wild, pathless character typical of the island’s south-eastern moorland. The ascent through the Ardtalla Estate is often boggy, but the reward is a commanding trig point summit with uninterrupted views across the Sound of Jura to the Paps.

• •The name is likely a Gaelic adaptation of the Old Norse Vikar-fjall, meaning 'mountain of the bay', though it is also frequently translated from Gaelic as 'the Vicar’s Hill'.
• •At 491 metres, it is the highest point on Islay and the island's only Marilyn, making it the primary objective for walkers looking to survey the entire Southern Hebridean archipelago.
• •From the summit trig pillar, the view north is dominated by the unmistakable three-peaked silhouette of the Paps of Jura, while the Kintyre Peninsula and the peaks of Arran are visible to the east.
• •On exceptionally clear days, the perspective extends south across the North Channel to the coastline of Northern Ireland, specifically the cliffs of Rathlin Island and the Antrim coast.
• •Despite its modest height and ecclesiastical nickname, the approach from Ardtalla involves enough unrelenting peat bog to test the patience of even the most devout walker.