Creag Sgiathan

About Creag Sgiathan

Rising above the northern shores of Loch Sunart, this rugged North West Highland peak offers a wild, pathless character typical of the Ardgour hills. Its rocky summit provides a grandstand view over the Sunart marine protected area toward the peaks of Mull and the distant, jagged profile of Rùm.

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Did You Know?

• •The name is derived from Scottish Gaelic, where 'Creag' means crag or rock and 'Sgiathan' is the plural for wings; this likely refers to the broad, outspread ridges that flank the central summit.
• •Hikers often approach the hill from the south through the Ariundle Oakwood National Nature Reserve, a rare and lush remnant of ancient temperate rainforest that thrives in the high rainfall of the West Coast.
• •The summit offers a specific, celebrated view down the winding length of Loch Sunart, with the distinctive peak of Ben Hiant visible on the Ardnamurchan Peninsula to the west.
• •The hill overlooks the village of Strontian, famous in scientific circles as the place where the element Strontium was first discovered in lead mines during the 18th century.
• •At 699.3 metres, the peak is an exercise in restraint for the map-reader; it sits tantalisingly close to the 700-metre mark, though the thick, pathless heather on its lower slopes ensures it feels twice that height to the knees.