Stac na Cathaig

Rising above the wild moorlands south of Inverness, this rounded Marilyn offers a quiet, pathless ascent through thick heather. Despite its modest height, its isolation provides an expansive perspective over the Monadhliath, looking across to the massive Farr Wind Farm and the rolling plateaus of the northern Grampians.

• •The name is derived from the Gaelic Stac na Cathaig, which translates to "Peak of the Jackdaw," though the hill's bulky, rounded profile is a far cry from the jagged spires usually associated with the word stac in the west of Scotland.
• •Most walkers approach from the west using the Farr Wind Farm access tracks or from the road at Flichity, though the final section remains a pathless trudge through deep heather and the occasional peat hag.
• •The summit provides an excellent vantage point for viewing the Great Glen’s northern exit and the distant hills of Easter Ross across the Moray Firth.
• •It is a hill that proves the Scottish 'stac' is a very broad church; anyone expecting a jagged, Alpine spire will find the reality is more of a well-upholstered, heather-clad pudding.