Conival

Conival is a mountain in the Highland Council Area of Scotland, thirty kilometres north-northeast of Ullapool. It stands within the Assynt region of Sutherland and reaches 987 metres, making it a Munro. The mountain has a striking western face of Cambrian quartzite rock visible from the A837 road. Conival is linked to the nearby Munro Ben More Assynt by a rough quartzite ridge one and a half kilometres long. Its slopes attract walkers, geologists, biologists and speleologists for their variety. The name Conival comes from the Gaelic for ‘adjoining hill’ or ‘hill of meeting’, describing its close connection to Ben More Assynt. The mountain lies within the Ben More Assynt Site of Special Scientific Interest because of its outstanding geological features. It shows the Moine Thrust Belt clearly on its slopes, formed by tectonic plate collision in the Silurian period. Limestone pavement appears on the lower western flank in the valley of the River Traligill. Conival is also part of the UNESCO North West Highlands Geopark and the Inchnadamph National Nature Reserve. Rare plants such as mountain avens, frog orchid and holly fern grow here thanks to the underlying limestone. A usual route to the summit starts at Inchnadamph near the hotel, following the River Traligill past the Cnoc nan Uamh cave system. These caves contain the earliest traces of human habitation in Scotland from about 6000 BC. The path continues to the river’s source between Beinn an Fhurain and Conival, then climbs rough quartzite scree to the top. The summit is marked by a circular wind shelter built around the remains of an OS trig point base. From here there is an impressive view west to the hills of Quinag, Canisp and Cul Mor, and an end-on view of Loch Assynt.