Number 7 of 282 by height · West Highlands
Aonach Beag
4,049 ft (1,234 m)
Facts
- Grid reference
- NN 197 715
- Latitude, longitude
- 56.80001, -4.95413
- Area
- West Highlands
The walk up
- Distance, one way
- 7.6 mi (12 km)
- Climb
- 5,620 ft (1,713 m)
- Estimated time up
- 5 h 15 min
- Start
- Car park near Lochyside
Route picked by computer, not yet checked on the hill
Summit conditions
From Sunday 1 November, 17:07. Not live.
- Weather
- Fair
- Temperature
- 33°F (1°C)
- Wind chill
- 30°F (−1°C)
- Wind
- 4 mph (6 km/h) from the northwest
- Cloud cover
- 20%
- Rain or snow, next hour
- None
- Freezing level, rough estimate
- 4,403 ft (1,342 m)
- Sunrise, sunset
- 07:28, 16:38
The way up
From Car park near Lochyside, follow the track east for 0.9 mi, almost level. On the way you pass Tail Race on your left. It then turns south-east for 0.8 mi, climbing steeply from 110 ft to 760 ft. It then turns east for 0.6 mi, climbing gently from 760 ft to 900 ft. On the way you cross the Allt a' Mhuilinn. Then follow the path south-east for 2.8 mi, climbing steeply from 900 ft to 3,800 ft. On the way you go over Càrn Dearg Meadhonach (3,850 ft) and go over Càrn Mòr Dearg (4,000 ft). It then turns east for 1.0 mi, almost level. It then turns south-east for the last 1.0 mi to the summit, climbing gently from 3,800 ft to 4,050 ft. The steepest part is between 2,750 ft and 3,900 ft, about 5.7 mi from the start. The summit is at 4,049 ft (1,234 m).
Written from the map, not from walking it. Paths on the ground can differ, so carry a map and compass.See it in 3D.
Getting there
By car
Car park near Lochyside. Parking charge not known. This is where the walking route starts.
Driving directions to the Aonach Beag car park56.82852,-5.07719
By train
Nearest station: Fort William, 1.2 mi (1.9 km) from the car park.
By bus
Nearest bus stop on the map: North Road Retail Park, right by the car park. Check the times first: many Highland buses run only a few times a day.
Near the start
- Outdoor shop: Mountain Warehouse 0.2 mi (0.3 km)
- Shop: M&S Foodhall 0.2 mi (0.3 km)
- Toilets 0.2 mi (0.3 km)
- Shop: Aldi 0.2 mi (0.4 km)
- Café: J J's Cafe' 0.5 mi (0.8 km)
- Café: Costa 0.6 mi (1.0 km)
From OpenStreetMap. Places close or change hours, especially in winter, so check before you rely on one.
Public transport directionsBus and train times on Traveline Scotland
About Aonach Beag
- Means
- Small ridge
Aonach Beag stands about 2 miles east of Ben Nevis on the north side of Glen Nevis, near Fort William. At 4,049 ft (1,234 m) it is the seventh highest Munro. A high bealach joins it to Aonach Mor, 0.9 miles to the north, which carries the Nevis Range ski area. Aonach Beag is the higher of the two, though Aonach Mor is the bulkier hill.
It rises 1,325 ft (404 m) above the col that links it to higher ground. Ben Nevis, 1.9 miles away, is its only higher neighbour, and Carn Mor Dearg lies 1.3 miles off. Stob Coire Bhealaich and Sgurr a' Bhuic are its subsidiary Tops.
The long-lasting snow patch on the north face sits at about 3,100 ft (950 m), at the foot of a climb called Queen's View, and has been known to last until the first lasting snows of the next winter. A small cairn marks the summit.
Tops on Aonach Beag
2 lower summits in the Munro tables, not counted as separate Munros. Keen baggers tick these too.
| Top | Height | From the summit |
|---|---|---|
| Stob Coire BhealaichNN 201 708 | 3,612 ft (1,101 m) | 0.5 mi (0.7 km) |
| Sgurr a' BhuicNN 204 701 | 3,159 ft (963 m) | 0.9 mi (1.5 km) |
Through the year
Hours of daylight on Aonach Beag in the middle of each month. The shorter the day, the earlier you need to start.
Stag stalking season, 1 July to 20 October. On many estates, walkers are asked to keep to set routes on stalking days: check the Scottish Outdoor Access Code site's Heading for the Scottish Hills service before you go.
Nearest Munros
| Munro | Height | Straight-line distance |
|---|---|---|
| Aonach Mor | 4,004 ft (1,220 m) | 0.9 mi (1.5 km) |
| Carn Mor Dearg | 4,003 ft (1,220 m) | 1.3 mi (2.1 km) |
| Ben Nevis | 4,411 ft (1,345 m) | 1.9 mi (3.0 km) |
Common questions about Aonach Beag
- How high is Aonach Beag?
- Aonach Beag is 4,049 ft (1,234 m), number 7 of the 282 Munros by height, in the West Highlands.
- How long does it take to climb Aonach Beag?
- About 5 h 15 min up and 3 h 15 min back down by our route from Car park near Lochyside, before stops: 7.6 mi (12 km) each way with 5,620 ft (1,713 m) of climbing. That is one of the longer Munro days. Most people take longer than these estimates.
- Where do you park for Aonach Beag?
- Our route starts at Car park near Lochyside.
- Can you climb Aonach Beag without a car?
- The nearest railway station is Fort William, 1.2 mi (1.9 km) from the start, and the nearest bus stop on the map is North Road Retail Park, 0.2 mi (0.4 km) from the start. Highland trains and buses are few, so check times on Traveline Scotland before you go.
- Is Aonach Beag a hard Munro?
- By time and climbing, it is one of the longer Munro days, with 5,620 ft (1,713 m) of ascent over 7.6 mi (12 km). Like every Munro it reaches over 3,000 ft, where the weather can be far worse than at the car park, so take a map and compass and check the mountain forecast.
- What does Aonach Beag mean?
- It is usually translated as "small ridge".
- When is the best time to climb Aonach Beag?
- Daylight runs from about 18 hours in mid June to 7 hours in mid December, so summer gives the most time. From 1 July to 20 October it is the stag stalking season, when some estates ask walkers to keep to set routes. In winter, snow and ice turn most Munros into mountaineering terrain.
A guide only. Mountain conditions change fast: carry a map and compass and know how to use them, and read the mountain forecast for the West Highlands before you go.
Questions
Where can I get a proper mountain forecast?
Read the Mountain Weather Information Service forecast for the West Highlands, written by forecasters for walkers and climbers. In winter, also read the Scottish Avalanche Information Service report for the area.
Where does the summit weather come from?
From MET Norway's forecast model, fetched for every Munro once an hour at the summit's own height. It is computer output for one point, not a forecast written for mountains, so treat it as a guide. The past hours are what the forecast said at the time. Wind chill, the freezing level and sunrise and sunset are worked out by this site from those figures; the freezing level assumes temperature drops steadily with height, so it can be well out when cold air sits in the glens.
How was this route drawn?
It follows footpaths and tracks mapped on OpenStreetMap, from a public car park to the summit, with heights from Copernicus elevation data. A computer picked the start as the car park with the quickest mapped way up, counting the climbing as well as the distance. Nobody has checked it on the hill yet, so it may not be the usual way up, and the path may be faint or missing on the ground. A line on a map is not a description of the ground.
- Drops 1,664 ft on the way up, so it may cross another top or a bealach first.
- Goes over Carn Mor Dearg on the way.
- Path geometry: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), Overpass API extract fetched 2026-10-24T19:57:37.957Z. Start: the public car park nearest the usual start named on Wikipedia (Glen Nevis, found by "Glen Nevis" on OpenStreetMap) with the shortest mapped-path route to the summit.
- Elevation: Copernicus DEM GLO-30 (© DLR e.V. 2010-2014 and © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH 2014-2018, provided under COPERNICUS by the European Union and ESA), sampled every 50 m, 3-sample median, 5 m hysteresis on ascent.
- Summit position: Database of British and Irish Hills v18 (CC BY 4.0).
Built 2026-10-25.
How is the time up worked out?
With Naismith's rule, the standard hill-walking estimate: an hour for every 3.1 miles (5 km), plus an hour for every 1,969 ft (600 m) of climbing, with no stops. For this route that gives about 5 h 15 min, one way. It ignores rough ground, weather, stops and the walk back down, so most people take longer.
Where do the car parks and bus stops come from?
From OpenStreetMap. Distances are straight lines, not the way you would walk or drive. A bus stop on the map says nothing about how often a bus calls: many Highland buses run a few times a day, some only on school days or by booking, so check Traveline Scotland first. The map cannot tell whether a car park is on a public road, so a remote one may only be reachable on foot or by train.
Where do the Gaelic names and stories come from?
From the hill's article on English Wikipedia and its Wikidata entry, put into a few words of our own. Meanings and pronunciations are only given where the article states them; many Gaelic hill names are old and their meaning is uncertain. Read the full article.
Where do the height and grid reference come from?
From the Database of British and Irish Hills, the surveyed list most baggers use. Aonach Beag is hill 279 there.
Sources: Database of British and Irish Hills (CC BY 4.0), OpenStreetMap (ODbL), MET Norway (CC BY 4.0), Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0) and Wikidata, Copernicus elevation data, Sentinel-2 cloudless imagery by EOX. All credits and licences.