Ben Avon South Top

About Ben Avon South Top

A sprawling, sub-arctic outpost on the fringes of the great Cairngorm plateau. The South Top offers a quieter perspective on Ben Avon’s famous granite tors, assuming you enjoy the kind of isolation that makes you start talking to the local ptarmigan for company.

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Did You Know?

• •The granite tors scattered across this plateau were formed by millions of years of weathering, creating natural sculptures that look more like misplaced ruins than geological accidents.
• •While the main summit is known as Leabaidh an Daimh Bhuidhe, this specific top is part of one of Britain's most extensive areas of high ground consistently over 1,000 meters.
• •The surrounding area is a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest due to its rare alpine-arctic plants and 'periglacial' landforms that date back to the last ice age.
• •This is one of the most remote high points in the Eastern Cairngorms; if you twist an ankle here, your best hope of rescue is a passing golden eagle or a very confused red deer.
• •The plateau is so vast and featureless in a mist that you may find yourself following your own footprints in a circle, eventually reaching the conclusion that the mountain has somehow grown a second, identical hiker.