Cairn Toul ( gd, Càrn an t-Sabhail, 'hill of the barn') is the fourth-highest mountain in

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 ...

and all of the

British Isles The British Isles are a group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner and Outer Hebrides, the Northern Isles (O ...

, after

Ben Nevis Ben Nevis ( ; gd, Beinn Nibheis ) is the highest mountain in Scotland, the United Kingdom and the British Isles. The summit is above sea level and is the highest land in any direction for . Ben Nevis stands at the western end of the Grampian ...

Ben Macdui Ben Macdui ( gd, Beinn MacDuibh, meaning "MacDuff's mountain") is the second-highest mountain in Scotland and all of the British Isles, after Ben Nevis, and the highest of the Cairngorm Mountains. The summit is above sea level and it is class ...

and

Braeriach Braeriach or Brae Riach ( gd, Am Bràigh Riabhach, 'the brindled upland') is the third-highest mountain in Scotland and all of the British Isles, after Ben Nevis and Ben Macdui, rising above sea level. It is in the Scottish Highlands and is ...

. The summit is 1,291 metres (4,236 feet)

above sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as '' orthometric heights''. The ...

. It is in the western massif of the

Cairngorms The Cairngorms ( gd, Am Monadh Ruadh) are a mountain range in the eastern Highlands of Scotland closely associated with the mountain Cairn Gorm. The Cairngorms became part of Scotland's second national park (the Cairngorms National Park) on 1 ...

, linked by 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 ...

at about 1125 m to Braeriach. The mountain towers above the

Lairig Ghru The Lairig Ghru ( gd, Làirig Dhrù) is one of the mountain passes through the Cairngorms of Scotland. The route and mountain pass partially lies on the Mar Lodge Estate. Like many traditional routes, the ends of the route through the Lairig Gh ...

pass. Cairn Toul is often climbed together with other peaks. From the south, it may be climbed with The Devil's Point, which lies about 2.5 kilometres south-southeast. Alternatively, it may be climbed from the north, including Braeriach and Sgor an Lochain Uaine. Both routes are long days by Scottish standards: around 15 km (plus return) regardless of whether one starts from

Coire Cas Coire may refer to: Geography * Cirque, a terrain feature created by glaciation in high mountains * Chur , neighboring_municipalities= Arosa, Churwalden, Tschiertschen-Praden, Domat/Ems, Felsberg, Malix, Trimmis, Untervaz, Pfäfers , twintowns ...

above Speyside, or Linn of Dee to the south. The mountain may also be climbed from the west, starting from Achlean in

Glen Feshie The River Feshie ( gd, Fèisidh / Abhainn Fhèisidh) is a major right bank tributary of the River Spey in north-east Scotland. It rises in the remote countryside of the Glenfeshie Forest, flowing initially eastwards before turning sharply to t ...

. This provides for a slighter shorter route (around 27 km for the round trip), though the walker must negotiate a large expanse of undulating

bog A bog or bogland is a wetland that accumulates peat as a deposit of dead plant materials often mosses, typically sphagnum moss. It is one of the four main types of wetlands. Other names for bogs include mire, mosses, quagmire, and muskeg; a ...

plateau In geology and physical geography, a plateau (; ; ), also called a high plain or a tableland, is an area of a highland consisting of flat terrain that is raised sharply above the surrounding area on at least one side. Often one or more sides ...

in order to reach the Breariach-Cairn Toul massif. There is a

bothy A bothy is a basic shelter, usually left unlocked and available for anyone to use free of charge. It was also a term for basic accommodation, usually for gardeners or other workers on an estate. Bothies are found in remote mountainous areas of Sco ...

, ''

Corrour Corrour railway station is on the West Highland Line, near Loch Ossian on the Corrour Lodge#Corrour Estate, Corrour Estate, in the Highland (council area), Highland Region (formerly Inverness-shire) of Scotland. It is the highest mainline (railway ...

'', at the point below Cairn Toul in the

defile Defile may refer to: * To make dirty or impure * Defile (geography), in geography, a narrow pass or gorge between mountains * Defile (military), to march off in a line * The Defile, a pass between Suess Glacier and Nussbaum Riegel in Victoria ...

of the Lairig Ghru.

References

{{Scottish Munros section 8 Munros Marilyns of Scotland Mountains and hills of the Cairngorms Mountains and hills of Aberdeenshire Places and place names on Mar Lodge Estate One-thousanders of the British Isles

See also

References