Creag Mhòr facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Creag Mhòr
Creag Mhòr summit showing its southern cliffs
Highest point
Elevation	1,047 m (3,435 ft)
Prominence	393 m (1,289 ft)
Listing	Munro, Marilyn
Naming
English translation	Big Rock
Language of name	Gaelic
Geography
Location	Perth and Kinross / Stirling Council, Scotland
Parent range	Grampians
OS grid	NN391360
Topo map	OS Landranger 50, 51 OS Explorer 378

Creag Mhòr is a mountain in Scotland. It stands in the old Forest of Mamlorn, which was once a deer forest. You can find it about ten kilometres northeast of Tyndrum. It sits right on the border between the Perth and Kinross and Stirling council areas.

What is Creag Mhòr?

Creag Mhòr is a tall mountain, reaching 1047 metres (3435 feet) high. It's known as a Munro, which is a Scottish mountain over 3,000 feet. It's also a Marilyn, meaning it stands out from the land around it.

People often climb Creag Mhòr along with Beinn Heasgarnich. This other Munro is about 3.5 kilometres to the northeast. Together, these two mountains form the high ground between Glen Lochay and Loch Lyon.

Creag Mhòr is quite a remote mountain. It's about eight kilometres from the nearest main road. Because it's surrounded by other high hills, it's hard to get a good view of it from the valleys below. The best way to see its full beauty is from the tops of nearby mountains.

The name "Creag Mhòr" comes from the Gaelic language. It means "Big Rock." This might seem a bit odd because most of the hill is covered in grass. However, the very top has rocky areas and some impressive rock faces, which is where the name comes from.

Mountain Features

Creag Mhòr has three main ridges, which are like long, narrow hilltops. One ridge, called Sròn nan Eun, goes southeast down to Glen Lochay. This is a common path for climbers. Another ridge also goes towards Glen Lochay, first heading south from the top before turning southeast. This part can be quite steep, so climbers need to be careful.

These two ridges surround an area called Coire Cheathaich, which means "Misty Corrie." A "corrie" is a bowl-shaped hollow on a mountainside. This area was once a royal hunting ground. It became famous thanks to Duncan Ban MacIntyre, a Scottish Gaelic poet. He worked as a gamekeeper there and wrote a poem called Òran Coire a' Cheathaich (Song of the misty corrie). His poem beautifully describes the corrie's nature, plants, and animals. He even wrote, "'S rìomhach còta na Creige Mòire," which means "lovely is the coat of Creag Mhòr."

Stob nan Clach and Meall Tionail

The south ridge of Creag Mhòr includes a smaller peak called Stob nan Clach. It's 956 metres high and is listed as a "Munro Top," meaning it's a significant peak connected to a Munro. You can reach it by walking around the edge of Coire Cheathaich from the main summit.

A third ridge goes north from Creag Mhòr. It passes over another smaller top called Meall Tionail, which is 895 metres high. This ridge then drops down into Glen Lyon. This northern ridge can be used to get to or from Beinn Heasgarnich. You can leave the ridge and head east over a boggy pass called Bealach na Baintighearna (654 m) to reach Beinn Heasgarnich.

All the rain that falls on Creag Mhòr eventually flows into the Firth of Tay on the east coast of Scotland. This water travels through either Glen Lyon or Glen Lochay.

Coire Chirdle's Mystery

Meall Tionail has an interesting natural feature on its western slopes. On OS maps, it's marked as Coire Chirdle. However, it's not a typical corrie because it doesn't have a hollow shape. Instead, there's a clear semi-circle shape, like a curved line, called an arcuate scarp. Below this curve, the ground bulges out.

Scientists believe this feature was likely formed after the last Ice Age. The hillside became unstable and very wet from meltwater. This caused the ground to slip down the steep slope, creating the unique shape we see today.

Rare Plants

A rare plant called Bartsia Alpina grows on the slopes of Creag Mhòr. It can be found as high as 950 metres, which is the highest it grows in the entire U.K.! This plant prefers to grow in brown loam soil on the mountain's alkaline mica-schist rock.

How to Climb Creag Mhòr

Creag Mhòr is quite a lonely mountain, so getting to its base usually involves a long walk. You can approach the mountain from both the east and the west. Most guidebooks suggest the eastern approach from the end of the road in Glen Lochay.

This eastern route starts at Kenknock. You can't drive much further up Glen Lochay because of locked gates, but you can use a mountain bike. It's about a six-kilometre journey west up the glen to reach Batavaime. From there, you can start climbing the mountain using the southeast ridge.

The western approach begins at Auch on the A82 road. From there, you walk under the viaduct of the West Highland Line. Then, you head southeast up Glen Coralan and over the Corbett (a Scottish mountain between 2,500 and 3,000 feet) of Cam Chreag to reach Creag Mhòr.

If you plan to continue to Beinn Heasgarnich after climbing Creag Mhòr, it's not a good idea to go straight northeast. That hillside is very steep and rocky. Instead, it's safer to use the north ridge, as mentioned earlier. From there, you can head east to the col (a low point between two peaks) between the two mountains to avoid dangerous ground.