Beinn Dearg (one of a number of Scottish hills of that name) is a

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher t ...

in the Inverlael area of the

Highlands Highland is a broad term for areas of higher elevation, such as a mountain range or mountainous plateau. Highland, Highlands, or The Highlands, may also refer to: Places Albania * Dukagjin Highlands Armenia * Armenian Highlands Australia * So ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...

. It is most frequently climbed by following the River Lael up Gleann na Sguaib. Starting from near the head of

Loch Broom Loch Broom ( gd, Lochbraon, "loch of rain showers") is a sea loch located in northwestern Ross and Cromarty, in the former parish of Lochbroom, on the west coast of Scotland. The small town of Ullapool lies on the eastern shore of the loch. Li ...

, a path follows the glen to a

bealach A mountain pass is a navigable route through a mountain range or over a ridge. Since many of the world's mountain ranges have presented formidable barriers to travel, passes have played a key role in trade, war, and both human and animal migrati ...

, which is about north of the summit. From this bealach, the neighbouring peaks of

Cona' Mheall Cona' Mheall (978 m) is a mountain in the Northwest Highlands of Scotland. It is located near Ullapool in Wester Ross. Taking the form of a fine rocky ridge, it lies in the east of the Beinn Dearg range and offers excellent views from its s ...

and Meall na Ceapraichean may also be climbed. Eididh nan Clach Geala, which lies about north of Beinn Dearg, is also added in to complete a round of four Munros. During early 2005, strong

wind Wind is the natural movement of air or other gases relative to a planet's surface. Winds occur on a range of scales, from thunderstorm flows lasting tens of minutes, to local breezes generated by heating of land surfaces and lasting a few ...

s caused much damage to

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...

s in the Inverlael Forest, almost completely blocking the route described. Beinn Dearg is designated as a

Special Protection Area A Special Protection Area (SPA) is a designation under the European Union Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds. Under the Directive, Member States of the European Union (EU) have a duty to safeguard the habitats of migratory birds and cert ...

. The area encompasses a diverse range of habitats, including

woodland A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with trees, or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the '' plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade (see ...

mire A mire, peatland, or quagmire is a wetland area dominated by living peat-forming plants. Mires arise because of incomplete decomposition of organic matter, usually litter from vegetation, due to water-logging and subsequent anoxia. All types o ...

, open water, dwarf-shrub

heath A heath () is a shrubland habitat found mainly on free-draining infertile, acidic soils and characterised by open, low-growing woody vegetation. Moorland is generally related to high-ground heaths with—especially in Great Britain—a cooler ...

, and

cliff In geography and geology, a cliff is an area of rock which has a general angle defined by the vertical, or nearly vertical. Cliffs are formed by the processes of weathering and erosion, with the effect of gravity. Cliffs are common on ...

s. Most significantly, the summit areas support specialist mountain birds such as breeding

dotterel The Eurasian dotterel (''Charadrius morinellus''), also known in Europe as just dotterel, is a small wader in the plover family of birds. The dotterel is a brown and black streaked bird with a broad white eye-stripe and an orange-red chest ban ...

''Charadrius morinellus'' and

golden eagle The golden eagle (''Aquila chrysaetos'') is a bird of prey living in the Northern Hemisphere. It is the most widely distributed species of eagle. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. They are one of the best-known birds ...

''Aquila chrysaetos''.

Footnotes

External links

Beinn Dearg SPA
Munros Marilyns of Scotland Mountains and hills of the Northwest Highlands Special Protection Areas in Scotland Sites of Special Scientific Interest in South East Sutherland Sites of Special Scientific Interest in North Wester Ross and Cromarty Sites of Special Scientific Interest in East Ross and Cromarty One-thousanders of the British Isles {{Scotland-SSSI-stub