Ben Tee facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Ben Tee |
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| Beinn an t-Sìthidh | |
Ben Tee seen from the cairn on Sròn a' Choire Ghairbh, 3 km to the SW.
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| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 904 m (2,966 ft) |
| Prominence | 356 m (1,168 ft) |
| Listing | Corbett, Marilyn |
| Naming | |
| English translation | Fairy Hill |
| Language of name | Gaelic |
| Geography | |
| Location | Highland, Scotland |
| Parent range | Northwest Highlands |
| OS grid | NN240971 |
| Topo map | OS Landranger 34, OS Explorer 400 |
Ben Tee (which in Gaelic is Beinn an t-Sìthidh) is a mountain in Scotland. It's found in the Lochaber area of the Highland region. This mountain is about 15 kilometres north of Spean Bridge. Many people think Ben Tee is one of Scotland's best smaller mountains. Famous climber Hamish Brown once said:
Ben Tee is such a shapely cone that it is instantly recognisable from anywhere around the Great Glen or along the Garry. Its isolated situation makes it one of Scotland’s finest summit viewpoints.
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About Ben Tee
Ben Tee is part of the hills around Loch Lochy. It stands alongside taller mountains called Munros, like Sròn a' Choire Ghairbh and Meall na Teanga. Ben Tee is 904 metres (2966 feet) tall. This height makes it a Corbett and a Marilyn. It's only 10 metres (33 feet) short of being a Munro, which is a mountain over 3,000 feet.
Ben Tee is easy to spot because of its perfect cone shape. You can see it from far away. The mountain is north of Loch Lochy, where Glen Garry meets the Great Glen.
What Does the Name "Ben Tee" Mean?
The exact meaning of "Ben Tee" isn't fully clear. The most common idea is that it means "Fairy Hill." This comes from the Gaelic name Beinn an t-Sìthidh. Ben Tee's cone shape is a lot like Schiehallion, another "fairy hill." This makes the "Fairy Hill" translation seem very likely.
Some other ideas for the name include "mountain of the house" or "mountain of God." Years ago, someone even painted "GOD" on the rocks at the top of the mountain because of this idea!
Local Stories and Events
Locally, Ben Tee is sometimes called "Glengarry’s Bowling Green." This is a bit of a joke because the top of the mountain is very rocky, with hardly any grass.
There's a local story that Invergarry Castle was built using stones from Ben Tee's summit. The story says workers passed the stones down the mountain by hand. This might be true because the mountain would have been very important to the people living nearby.
Every year, there's a "Ben Tee Hill Race." This is a running event that is 14.5 kilometres long. It starts and finishes at the Glengarry Shinty Club field. Runners climb 900 metres during the race. The fastest runners usually finish the whole course in about 80 minutes.
Ben Tee's Landscape
Ben Tee doesn't have many unusual features, but it's still interesting.
- Eastern Side: It has a wide, grassy ridge on its eastern side. This ridge slopes down towards the northern end of Loch Lochy. This is one of the most popular ways to climb the mountain.
- Southern Side: The southern slopes drop very steeply into a valley. A stream called Allt a’ Choire Ghlais flows here. This stream goes into a deep, wooded gorge and becomes the Kilfinnan Burn. The gorge has a series of waterfalls called the Kilfillan Falls. The burn then flows into the Great Glen, near the north end of Loch Lochy.
- Northern Side: To the north, the mountain goes down into Glen Garry. You can see trees from the Glengarry forest on these lower slopes.
All the water that falls on Ben Tee eventually reaches the Great Glen. However, it flows to both the west and east coasts of Scotland!
- Water from the northern part of the hill flows through Glen Garry and the River Garry. It then reaches Loch Oich, then Loch Ness, and finally the Moray Firth on the east coast.
- Water from the southern slopes flows through the Kilfinnan Burn to Loch Lochy. From there, it flows south-west to Loch Linnhe, which is a sea loch on the west coast.
How to Climb Ben Tee
The most popular way to climb Ben Tee starts at the Laggan locks on the Caledonian Canal. There's a car park there at grid reference NN287963.
From the car park, you walk along a small road towards Kilfinnan, on the north side of Loch Lochy. About 200 metres before you reach the Kilfinnan Burn, you turn north-west. You then climb up the steep slopes of Ben Tee.
Important Tip: Do not follow the path to the Kilfinnan Falls. You cannot get out of the gorge further up, so you would have to turn back. The falls are beautiful to see, but visit them separately.
The climbing route continues across moorland, which gets steeper as you go. You will reach the wide eastern ridge and then the summit.
You can also start climbing from the north or the east. One route begins at the bridge over Loch Garry (grid reference NH195022). Another starts at the Forestry Commission's Alt na Cailliche car park near Invergarry (grid reference NH282006). These routes are longer than the one from Kilfinnan.
