Ben Hope
Encyclopedia
Ben Hope is a mountain
in northern Scotland
. It is the most northerly Munro
, standing alone in the Flow Country
(a region of bumpy, peat-covered moorland) south-east of Loch Hope in Sutherland
. The mountain is a roughly triangular wedge, with a great crag on the west, with two lower shoulders to the south and northeast. Alpine flowers
are abundant in season, although the ground is very rocky.
, to the west of the mountain, where there is parking on a small road. The route lies along the Allt-na-caillich burn which flows down through a gap in the west-facing crags. The route is steep, but well marked with cairn
s and not exposed. Approach from the east is rare, as there is a wide expanse of heather-covered moorland with no roads in that direction. Approach from the north is not possible for walkers, as there is no path between the crags.
On a clear day the view from the summit includes the Pentland Firth
, Loch Eriboll
and the nearby mountains of Arkle
and Foinaven
. The Orkney Islands
are visible on a clear day.
Just south of the Allt-na-caillich burn on the Strathmore road is the Dùn Dornaigil Broch
.
Mountain
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in northern Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. It is the most northerly Munro
Munro
A Munro is a mountain in Scotland with a height over . They are named after Sir Hugh Munro, 4th Baronet , who produced the first list of such hills, known as Munros Tables, in 1891. A Munro top is a summit over 3,000 ft which is not regarded as a separate mountain...
, standing alone in the Flow Country
Flow Country
The Flow Country is a large, rolling expanse of peatland and wetland area of Caithness and Sutherland in Scotland. It is the largest expanse of blanket bog in Europe, and covers about 4,000 square kilometres ....
(a region of bumpy, peat-covered moorland) south-east of Loch Hope in Sutherland
Sutherland
Sutherland is a registration county, lieutenancy area and historic administrative county of Scotland. It is now within the Highland local government area. In Gaelic the area is referred to according to its traditional areas: Dùthaich 'IcAoidh , Asainte , and Cataibh...
. The mountain is a roughly triangular wedge, with a great crag on the west, with two lower shoulders to the south and northeast. Alpine flowers
Alpine plant
Alpine plants are plants that grow in the alpine climate, which occurs at high elevation and above the tree line. Alpine plants grow together as a plant community in alpine tundra.-Alpine plant diversity:...
are abundant in season, although the ground is very rocky.
Ascent
The principal route to the summit starts in StrathmoreStrathmore, Sutherland
Strathmore or An Srath Mòr is a strath in northern Scotland. It is best known for being the home of the Scottish Gaelic poet, Rob Donn. Ben Hope is to the east, and it terminates in Loch Hope...
, to the west of the mountain, where there is parking on a small road. The route lies along the Allt-na-caillich burn which flows down through a gap in the west-facing crags. The route is steep, but well marked with cairn
Cairn
Cairn is a term used mainly in the English-speaking world for a man-made pile of stones. It comes from the or . Cairns are found all over the world in uplands, on moorland, on mountaintops, near waterways and on sea cliffs, and also in barren desert and tundra areas...
s and not exposed. Approach from the east is rare, as there is a wide expanse of heather-covered moorland with no roads in that direction. Approach from the north is not possible for walkers, as there is no path between the crags.
On a clear day the view from the summit includes the Pentland Firth
Pentland Firth
The Pentland Firth , which is actually more of a strait than a firth, separates the Orkney Islands from Caithness in the north of Scotland.-Etymology:...
, Loch Eriboll
Loch Eriboll
Loch Eriboll is a long sea loch on the north coast of Scotland, which has been used for centuries as a deep water anchorage as it is safe from the often stormy seas of Cape Wrath and the Pentland Firth...
and the nearby mountains of Arkle
Arkle (hill)
Arkle is a mountain in Sutherland, situated in the far north-west corner of the Scottish Highlands. Like its sister Foinaven, the mountain is made up of glistening white Cambrian quartzite, laid down around 530 million years ago on an uneven basement of much older Lewisian gneiss...
and Foinaven
Foinaven
Foinaven is a mountain in Scotland, situated in the far north-west corner of the Scottish Highlands. Like many of the monolithic mountains that surround it, the mountain is within the Moine Thrust Belt and is made up of imbricated layers of Cambrian quartzite which overlie the older Lewisian...
. The Orkney Islands
Orkney Islands
Orkney also known as the Orkney Islands , is an archipelago in northern Scotland, situated north of the coast of Caithness...
are visible on a clear day.
Just south of the Allt-na-caillich burn on the Strathmore road is the Dùn Dornaigil Broch
Broch
A broch is an Iron Age drystone hollow-walled structure of a type found only in Scotland. Brochs include some of the most sophisticated examples of drystone architecture ever created, and belong to the classification "complex Atlantic Roundhouse" devised by Scottish archaeologists in the 1980s....
.
