Number 136 of 282 by height · Northwest Highlands
Aonach Meadhoin
3,284 ft (1,001 m)
Facts
- Grid reference
- NH 048 137
- Latitude, longitude
- 57.17305, -5.22917
- Area
- Northwest Highlands
The walk up
- Distance, one way
- 2.5 mi (4.1 km)
- Climb
- 2,881 ft (878 m)
- Estimated time up
- 2 h 15 min
- Start
- Car park near Cluanie Lodge
Route picked by computer, not yet checked on the hill
Summit conditions
From Sunday 1 November, 21:21. Not live.
- Weather
- Fair
- Temperature
- 32°F (0°C)
- Wind
- 2 mph (4 km/h) from the west
- Cloud cover
- 20%
- Rain or snow, next hour
- None
- Freezing level, rough estimate
- 3,284 ft (1,001 m)
- Sunrise, sunset
- 07:31, 16:37
The way up
From the car park near Cluanie Lodge, follow the path north-west for 2.0 mi, climbing steeply from 730 ft to 3,200 ft. It then turns west for the last 0.4 mi to the summit, climbing gently from 3,200 ft to 3,300 ft. On the way you go over Sgurr an Fhuarail. The steepest part is between 1,450 ft and 2,500 ft, about 0.6 mi from the start. The summit is at 3,284 ft (1,001 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 Cluanie Lodge. Parking charge not known. This is where the walking route starts.
Driving directions to the Aonach Meadhoin car park57.15599,-5.18301
By train
Nearest station: Stromeferry, 19 mi (31 km) from the car park. Too far to walk in from.
By bus
Nearest bus stop on the map: Inn, right by the car park. Check the times first: many Highland buses run only a few times a day.
Near the start
- Toilets by the start
- Place to eat: Cluanie Inn by the start
- Toilets by the start
- Café: Landour Bakehouse by the start
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 Meadhoin
- Means
- Middle ridge
Aonach Meadhoin stands on the north side of Glen Shiel in Kintail, about 19 miles south-east of Kyle of Lochalsh. With Saileag and Sgurr a' Bhealaich Dheirg it makes up the North Glen Shiel Ridge. The hill is shaped like a horseshoe around Coire na Cadha, with the summit ridge at its centre and the A87 just over a mile to the south.
Its north and south faces are steep, and the craggy northern face above Coire nan Eun holds snow well into summer. A ridge heads north-east to the Top of Sgurr an Fhuarail, 3,238 ft (987 m), where it splits, one spur going north to Ciste Dhubh and the other down towards the Cluanie Inn.
Though it stands only about 9 miles from Loch Duich on the west coast, all its water drains east. Coire nan Eun is the source of the River Affric, while Coire na Cadha feeds Loch Cluanie. The true summit is an embedded rock about 8 m south-south-west of the cairn, though higher ground may lie under the cairn.
Tops on Aonach Meadhoin
One lower summit in the Munro tables, not counted as separate Munros. Keen baggers tick these too.
| Top | Height | From the summit |
|---|---|---|
| Sgurr an FhuarailNH 054 139 | 3,238 ft (987 m) | 0.4 mi (0.6 km) |
Through the year
Hours of daylight on Aonach Meadhoin 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Sgurr a' Bhealaich Dheirg | 3,399 ft (1,036 m) | 0.9 mi (1.5 km) |
| Ciste Dhubh | 3,219 ft (981 m) | 2.0 mi (3.2 km) |
| Saileag | 3,136 ft (956 m) | 2.0 mi (3.3 km) |
Part of a bigger day: 3 Munros in one go, Saileag, Sgurr a' Bhealaich Dheirg.
Common questions about Aonach Meadhoin
- How high is Aonach Meadhoin?
- Aonach Meadhoin is 3,284 ft (1,001 m), number 136 of the 282 Munros by height, in the Northwest Highlands.
- How long does it take to climb Aonach Meadhoin?
- About 2 h 15 min up and 1 h back down by our route from the car park near Cluanie Lodge, before stops: 2.5 mi (4.1 km) each way with 2,881 ft (878 m) of climbing. That is one of the quicker Munros to climb. Most people take longer than these estimates.
- Where do you park for Aonach Meadhoin?
- Our route starts at the car park near Cluanie Lodge.
- Can you climb Aonach Meadhoin without a car?
- The nearest railway station is Stromeferry, 19 mi (31 km) from the start, and the nearest bus stop on the map is Inn, 0.0 mi (0.0 km) from the start. Highland trains and buses are few, so check times on Traveline Scotland before you go.
- Is Aonach Meadhoin a hard Munro?
- By time and climbing, it is one of the quicker Munros to climb, with 2,881 ft (878 m) of ascent over 2.5 mi (4.1 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.
- Can you climb other Munros with Aonach Meadhoin?
- Yes. Aonach Meadhoin can be linked with Saileag, Sgurr a' Bhealaich Dheirg along the ridge, for 3 Munros in one long day. See Big days for the full plan.
- What does Aonach Meadhoin mean?
- It is usually translated as "middle ridge".
- When is the best time to climb Aonach Meadhoin?
- 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 Northwest Highlands before you go.
Questions
Where can I get a proper mountain forecast?
Read the Mountain Weather Information Service forecast for the Northwest 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.
- Path geometry: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), Overpass API extract fetched 2026-10-24T20:03:25.525Z. Start chosen automatically: the public car park on a public road with the shortest mapped-path route to the summit (busy roads and T4 paths weighted against).
- 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 2 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 Meadhoin is hill 828 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.