Creag Mhòr

Creag Mhòr is a mountain in the Breadalbane region of the Scottish Highlands. It stands in the Forest of Mamlorn, ten kilometres northeast of Tyndrum, and is one of the most remote of the southern Highlands. The mountain reaches 1047 metres and qualifies as a Munro and a Marilyn. It is often climbed together with the neighbouring Munro of Beinn Heasgarnich. The two mountains form the high ground between Glen Lochay and Loch Lyon. Creag Mhòr takes its name from the Gaelic for ‘big rocky hill’, describing the series of rocky buttresses near the summit. It has three ridges, the ESE ridge descending to Glen Lochay at Batavaime and giving the usual route of ascent. Another ridge encloses Coire Cheathaich, a former royal hunting ground made famous by the Gaelic poet Duncan Ban MacIntyre. He wrote the poem Òran Coire a’ Cheathaich, which describes the corrie and its flora and fauna. The nationally rare plant Bartsia alpina grows on the slopes as high as 950 metres, the highest occurrence in the U.K. The south ridge includes the subsidiary summit of Stob nan Clach, reached by contouring round the head of Coire Cheathaich. The north ridge goes over Meall Tionail before dropping down to Glen Lyon. Approaches to the mountain require long walks, with the eastern route starting at Kenknock in Glen Lochay. The western approach starts at Auch on the A82 and goes up Glen Coralan. Rainfall on Creag Mhòr drains to the Firth of Tay via Glen Lyon or Glen Lochay.