Heabhal [Sheabhal] [Heaval]

Rising as the highest point on the island, this prominent Marilyn offers a short, steep ascent over typically damp turf. The summit is marked by a trig pillar, providing an immense coastal panorama featuring the turquoise waters of Castlebay and the smaller islands trailing south into the Atlantic.

• •The name is a Gaelic adaptation of the Old Norse 'fjall', meaning mountain, reflecting the significant Viking influence on the nomenclature of the Scottish islands.
• •A notable landmark on the southern slope is the 'Our Lady of the Sea' statue, a white marble figure erected in 1954 that looks out over the local harbour and serves as a point of pilgrimage.
• •The summit offers a bird's-eye view of the medieval Kisimul Castle sitting in the bay below, with the peaks of the southern archipelago, including Vatersay, Pabbay, and Mingulay, clearly visible to the south.
• •Despite its modest height of 384 metres, the hill is classified as a Marilyn because it is the highest point for miles, possessing a topographic prominence of over 150 metres.
• •The ascent is often described as a 'vertical bog'; walkers usually spend as much time navigating around peat hags as they do actually climbing toward the trig pillar.