Beinn a' Chaisteil

Beinn a’ Chaisteil is a 886-metre Corbett in the southern Highlands, standing 6.25 km north of Tyndrum on the Perth and Kinross–Argyll and Bute border. Its western face rises steeply above Auch Glen like a fortress wall, visible from the A82. The West Highland Railway curves round the base on two viaducts, looping over Auch Glen and Glen Coralan. The mountain shares a col with Beinn nam Fuaran and is often climbed together with it. The name means ‘mountain of the castle’ in Gaelic, recalling either its rocky profile or the remains of a circular fort on one of its spurs. The hill is the 39th highest Corbett and the 259th highest Marilyn in the UK. Its western crags offer winter ice-climbing routes first ascended in 1898, including the main gully and the Grade IV Valkyrie gully. The mountain straddles Scotland’s main east–west watershed, sending water west to the River Orchy and east to the River Lyon and the Tay. It appears in the work of Duncan Ban MacIntyre, the Gaelic poet who lived locally, who mentions Ben Chaisteil in his ‘Song to The Gun Named Nic Coiseim’. Walkers usually start from Auch on the A82, though parking is limited, so many begin at a higher car park and follow the West Highland Way down to the glen. A direct but steep grassy ascent climbs from the foot of Auch Glen, while a gentler route follows the glen for 2.5 km to an ancient burial ground before turning south-east to the col. From there both Beinn a’ Chaisteil and Beinn nam Fuaran can be climbed. The mountain is also the last of the five Auch Corbetts on a popular 18 km traverse with almost 2000 metres of ascent.