Scotland
Scaut Hill
607M
1991FT
About Scaut Hill
Located on the Duirinish peninsula, this broad, heather-clad summit offers a wilder alternative to the nearby Macleod’s Tables. It occupies a rugged moorland plateau above the dramatic sea cliffs of western Skye, providing a quiet sense of isolation and an expansive vantage point over the Minch towards the Outer Hebrides.
Key Statistics
Rank
41st Highest in Region
Parent Range
The Isle of Skye
Prominence
?
33m
Nearest Town
Dufftown
Geology
Scaut Hill is composed of hard quartzite and crystalline rocks. These durable layers began as ancient deposits of sand and mud.
Classifications
Nearby Fells
Find It
OS Grid Reference
NJ335314
Latitude
57.3682°N
Longitude
3.1073°W
Did You Know?
- •The name 'Scaut' likely derives from the Old Norse word 'skuti', referring to an overhanging cliff or jutting crag, reflecting the significant Viking influence on the coastal nomenclature of Skye.
- •While the summit is a high point of the Duirinish moorlands, the real drama lies just to the west at the cliffs of Hoe Point, where the land terminates abruptly in the Atlantic.
- •The hill provides one of the most revealing angles of Macleod’s Tables (Healabhal Mhòr and Healabhal Bheag), showing how these iconic flat-topped hills dominate the peninsula's interior landscape.
- •On clear days, the view across the Minch is exceptional, stretching from the jagged Cuillin ridge in the south to the distant mountains of Harris and North Uist on the western horizon.
- •It is a hill where the sheep-to-human ratio remains comfortably in the high hundreds, as most visitors to this corner of the island are understandably distracted by the nearby Neist Point lighthouse.