Beinn Tarsuinn

Beinn Tarsuinn is a 937-metre Munro and Marilyn standing in the remote Fisherfield Forest in the Northwest Highlands. Its Gaelic name means ‘crosswise mountain’, describing its position at the head of Gleann na Muice, a glen separated from Lochan Fada by the massif. Ten kilometres north of Kinlochewe, it lies in one of Scotland’s most uninhabited and rugged landscapes. The mountain is the fourth-highest Munro in the Fisherfield Forest, often called the Great Wilderness. Its narrow, rocky summit ridge forms a U-shape opening northwards into Gleann na Muice, while the western and southern slopes slope gently across boggy grass and heather. The broad Bealach Odhar at 740 metres links it to the 1 018-metre Mullach Coire Mhic Fhearchair, the range’s highest peak, and the subsidiary Meall Garbh. From the highest point marked by a cairn, the ridge curves south-west, then west, passing two lower tops of 870 and 860 metres before turning north and descending in cliffs to the glen. Kinlochewe, the nearest village, is more than ten kilometres away by air, and the walk in is at least fifteen kilometres without a path. Most climbers stay overnight in a bothy such as Shenavall or camp beside Lochan Fada before tackling the route via the Bealach Odhar and the eastern ridge. Others combine the Beinn Tarsuinn with nearby Munros like Sgùrr Bàn and Mullach Coire Mhic Fhearchair on a longer circuit from Shenavall. The terrain is rough and pathless, rewarding only those prepared for a long, solitary journey through some of Scotland’s wildest country.