Cuirn Liatha

Rising from the remote moorland east of Ullapool, this stony Tump offers a quiet alternative to the high-traffic Beinn Dearg range. Its broad summit provides a rugged vantage point over the wild Rhidorroch Forest, looking out towards the distinctive, jagged profiles of the Assynt peaks in the far north-west.

• •The name originates from Scottish Gaelic, with 'Cuirn' being the plural form of 'Càrn' (meaning a heap of stones or a hill) and 'Liatha' being the plural of 'Liath' (meaning grey or hoary). It translates literally as 'The Grey Cairns', a reference to the pale, weathered rock and scree that litters its upper slopes.
• •Reaching the summit usually requires a long, pathless trek through the Rhidorroch estate; the terrain is frequently boggy and demands competent navigation, ensuring the hill remains a sanctuary of North West Highland solitude.
• •The summit offers an excellent, earned perspective of the Beinn Dearg massif to the south, while the unmistakable silhouettes of Suilven and Cul Mor can be spotted across the Inverpolly wilderness to the north-west.
• •It is a destination that suggests you have either mastered the art of cross-country navigation or have simply run out of hills with actual paths on them.