Ben Rinnes () 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 ...

Banffshire Banffshire (; ; ) is a historic county in Scotland. The county town is Banff, although the largest settlement is Buckie to the west. The historic county ceased to be used for local government purposes in 1975. Since 1996 the area has been spli ...

, in northern Scotland. The mountain is popular with hikers. The mountain is 20 km² in total and is located 8 km southwest of

Dufftown Dufftown ( ) is a burgh in Moray, Scotland. While the town is part of the historic Mortlach parish, the town was established and laid out in the early 19th century as part of a planned new town settlement. The town has several listed 19th centur ...

. The mountain has one main path and can be easily accessed from the nearby car park. The ''Friends of Ben Rinnes'' program has been working on the paths to make it more accessible to the public and to prevent further erosion of the fragile ecosystem on the steep slopes and has been rather successful.

View aspects

From the summit it is possible to see 8 counties (

Aberdeenshire Aberdeenshire (; ) is one of the 32 Subdivisions of Scotland#council areas of Scotland, council areas of Scotland. It takes its name from the Shires of Scotland, historic county of Aberdeenshire (historic), Aberdeenshire, which had substantial ...

, Banffshire,

Morayshire The County of Moray, ( ) or Morayshire, called Elginshire until 1919, is a historic county in Scotland. The county town was Elgin. The historic county ceased to be used for local government purposes in 1975. Since 1996 most of the historic ...

Nairnshire The County of Nairn, or Nairnshire, () is a Shires of Scotland, historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. The county was named after Nairn, its only town. The county was used for local government until 1975 when the ...

Inverness-shire Inverness-shire () or the County of Inverness, is a Counties of Scotland, historic county in Scotland. It is named after Inverness, its largest settlement, which was also the county town. Covering much of the Scottish Highlands, Highlands and s ...

Ross and Cromarty Ross and Cromarty (), is an area in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. In modern usage, it is a registration county and a Lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area. Between 1889 and 1975 it was a Shires of Scotland, county. Historical ...

Sutherland Sutherland () is a Counties of Scotland, historic county, registration county and lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area in the Scottish Highlands, Highlands of Scotland. The name dates from the Scandinavian Scotland, Viking era when t ...

, and

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) and on a clear day even the Moray coast. Another draw for the hiker are the waterfalls from the many rivers that flow down the mountain such as Linn of Ruthrie.

Ben Rinnes hill race

A hill race has been held on Ben Rinnes for a number of years, as part of the Dufftown Highland Games. This race begins at the games field, goes over the neighbouring hills of Little Conval and Meikle Conval, then up to the summit of Ben Rinnes. Runners return by the same route. The race is 22 km long, with over 1500 m of ascent. The current records are 1:53:47 by Eoin Lennon and 2:18:12 by Jill Stephen, both set in 2018.

Line notes

References

* Aberlour: Ben Rinnes (2008
Description of Ben Rinnes
* C.Michael Hogan (2008) ''Longman Hill'', Modern Antiquaria

External links

{{commons category, Ben Rinnes
Friends of Ben Rinnes Website
Corbetts Mountains and hills of the Eastern Highlands Marilyns of Scotland Mountains and hills of Moray