The Pass of Drumochter () meaning simply 'high ridge' is the main

mountain pass A mountain pass is a navigable route through a mountain range or over a ridge. Since mountain ranges can present formidable barriers to travel, passes have played a key role in trade, war, and both Human migration, human and animal migration t ...

between the northern and southern central

Scottish Highlands The Highlands (; , ) is a historical region of Scotland. Culturally, the Highlands and the Scottish Lowlands, Lowlands diverged from the Late Middle Ages into the modern period, when Scots language, Lowland Scots language replaced Scottish Gae ...

. The

A9 road This is a list of roads designated A9. * A009 road (Argentina), a road in the northeast of Santa Fe Province * ''A9 highway (Australia)'' may refer to : ** A9 (Sydney), a road linking Windsor and Campbelltown ** Port River Expressway, a limi ...

passes through here, as does the

Highland Main Line The Highland Main Line is a railway line in Scotland. It is long and runs through the central Scottish Highlands, mainly following the route of the A9 road (Scotland), A9, and linking a series of small towns and villages with Perth, Scotland, ...

, the

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

between

Inverness Inverness (; ; from the , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness") is a city in the Scottish Highlands, having been granted city status in 2000. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highland ...

and the south of

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. The

Sustrans Sustrans ( ) is a United Kingdom-based walking, wheeling and cycling charity, and the custodian of the National Cycle Network. Its flagship project is the National Cycle Network, which has created of signed cycle routes throughout the United ...

National Cycle Route 7 Route For mapping purposes, the route is split at Glasgow into Lochs and Glens (south) and (north) Sunderland to Carlisle This route follows the Sea to Sea (C2C) cycle route for much of its length before the C2C departs to Whitehaven and ...

between

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

and Inverness also runs through the pass. The pass is the only gap in the main

Grampian Grampian () was one of nine local government regions of Scotland. It was created in 1975 by the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 and took its name from the Grampian Mountains. The regional council was based in Aberdeen. The region was abol ...

Watershed suitable for road traffic routes for almost 100 km, between

Glen Coe Glen Coe ( ) is a glen of glacial origins, that cuts though volcanic rocks in the Scottish Highlands, Highlands of Scotland. It lies in the north of the shires of Scotland, county of Argyll, close to the border with the history of local governm ...

(west) and Cairnwell Pass (east); the

West Highland Railway The West Highland Railway was a railway company that constructed a railway line from Craigendoran (on the River Clyde west of Glasgow, Scotland) to Fort William, Highland, Fort William and Mallaig. The line was built through remote and difficul ...

is the only other crossing, at Corrour. The pass is a natural low point, where the headwaters of the Spey and Tay penetrate most deeply into the broad Gaick Plateau, with the River Garry flowing south, and the River Truim north. The gap has been shaped into a "U" convenient for a transport corridor by glacial action over successive ice ages, although

Loch Ericht Loch Ericht () is a freshwater loch on the border between the former Perthshire, now Perth and Kinross and the former Inverness-shire, now Highlands Council areas of Scotland. It has a north-east to south-west orientation. The village of Dalwh ...

just to the west is a much larger glacial breach.Hall AM and Jarman D (2004): Quaternary landscape evolution – plateau dissection by glacial breaching. In The Quaternary of the Central Grampian Highlands - Field Guide (edited by S. Lukas, J. Merritt, W. Mitchell). Quaternary Research Association, London, 26-40. The route through the pass has been used since

prehistoric Prehistory, also called pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the first known use of stone tools by hominins million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The use o ...

times. A military road built between 1728 and 1730 by

General Wade Field marshal (United Kingdom), Field Marshal George Wade (1673 – 14 March 1748) was a British Army officer and politician who served in the Nine Years' War, War of the Spanish Succession, Jacobite rising of 1715 and War of the Quadruple Al ...

came through here. It is the high point on the A9, at 460 m (1508 ft), and in winter can be subject to severe weather conditions. There are routine winter patrols from November to March, and the road is occasionally closed with snow gates near

Dalwhinnie Dalwhinnie ( ; "meeting place") is a small village in the Scottish Highlands. Dalwhinnie is located at the head of Glen Truim and the north-east end of Loch Ericht, on the western edge of the Cairngorms National Park. Location Dalwhinnie sits a ...

and Dalnacardoch. The summit of the railway line is 452 m (1480 ft), making it the highest in the UK. It has been used by the RAF as a training route for low level flying, now less frequently. Drumochter Summit 2064580 428eeeb2

It is isolated, and the nearest settlement of any size is the small village of Dalwhinnie, some to the north. The summit of the pass marks the boundary between

Perth and Kinross Perth and Kinross (; ) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, and a Lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area. It is bordered by Highland (council area), Highland and Aberdeenshire to the north, Angus, Scotland, Angus, Dundee, and F ...

and the

Highland Council area Highland (, ; ) is a council areas of Scotland, council area in the Scottish Highlands and is the largest local government area in both Scotland and the United Kingdom. It was the 7th most populous council area in Scotland at the United Kingdo ...

. A sign at this point says "Welcome to the Highlands/Fàilte don Ghàidhealtachd", although this is the boundary for the authority rather than for the

which extend south to the geological Highland Boundary Fault at Dunkeld.

References

External links

Image of Railway Summit Sign

BBC ALBA – Bliadhna nan Òran – Òrain : traditional song, Tha Sneachd air Druim Uachdair (There is Snow on Drumochter)

Traditional song, Tha Sneachd air Druim Uachdair (There is Snow on Drumochter)
Drumochter Roads in Scotland Badenoch and Strathspey Landforms of Perth and Kinross Railway inclines in the United Kingdom Droving roads {{PerthKinross-geo-stub