Number 216 of 282 by height · West Highlands
Beinn Bhuidhe
3,112 ft (949 m)
Facts
- Grid reference
- NN 203 187
- Latitude, longitude
- 56.32667, -4.90674
- Area
- West Highlands
The walk up
- Distance, one way
- 5.9 mi (9.4 km)
- Climb
- 3,189 ft (972 m)
- Estimated time up
- 3 h 30 min
- Start
- Walkers Car Park
Route picked by computer, not yet checked on the hill
Summit conditions
From Sunday 1 November, 17:07. Not live.
- Weather
- Fair
- Temperature
- 36°F (2°C)
- Wind chill
- 32°F (0°C)
- Wind
- 4 mph (7 km/h) from the northwest
- Cloud cover
- 21%
- Rain or snow, next hour
- None
- Freezing level, rough estimate
- 4,173 ft (1,272 m)
- Sunrise, sunset
- 07:26, 16:39
The way up
From Walkers Car Park, follow the road north for 0.4 mi, almost level. Then follow the track north-east for 3.5 mi, climbing gently from 30 ft to 1,450 ft. On the way you cross the Eas Callich. It then turns north-west for 0.8 mi, climbing steadily from 1,450 ft to 1,950 ft. Then follow the path west for the last 1.0 mi to the summit, climbing steeply from 1,950 ft to 3,100 ft. The steepest part is between 1,950 ft and 2,700 ft, about 4.7 mi from the start. The summit is at 3,112 ft (949 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
Walkers Car Park. Pay to park. This is where the walking route starts.
Driving directions to the Beinn Bhuidhe car park56.27292,-4.91938
By train
Nearest station: Ardlui, 7.8 mi (13 km) from the car park.
By bus
Nearest bus stop on the map: Cairndow, At Lochfyne Oyster Bar On A83, 0.3 mi (0.5 km) from the car park. Check the times first: many Highland buses run only a few times a day.
Near the start
- Place to eat: Loch Fyne Oyster Bar 0.3 mi (0.5 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 Beinn Bhuidhe
Beinn Bhuidhe lies north of the head of Loch Fyne in Argyll, between the upper reaches of Glen Fyne and Glen Shira, set apart from the main Arrochar Alps. It is remote and little visited, partly because of a walk-in of about 4.5 miles along a private road. It rises 1,942 ft (592 m) above the col that links it to higher ground, and its nearest higher Munro, Ben Lui, is 6.1 miles away.
Of its three ridges, the southern one is the longest, running out to Clachan Hill, 2,159 ft (658 m), and the northern one is the shortest, ending at Beinn an t-Sidhein, 2,277 ft (694 m). The main ridge between them runs about 3.5 miles from Tom a' Phiobaire in the south-west to Ceann Garbh, 2,635 ft (803 m), in the north-east, and carries three tops. The summit is roughly midway along it, where the base of a damaged trig point stands beside the cairn.
Through the year
Hours of daylight on Beinn Bhuidhe 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Beinn a' Chleibh | 3,006 ft (916 m) | 5.2 mi (8.3 km) |
| Ben Lui | 3,712 ft (1,131 m) | 6.1 mi (9.8 km) |
| Ben Oss | 3,376 ft (1,029 m) | 6.6 mi (11 km) |
Common questions about Beinn Bhuidhe
- How high is Beinn Bhuidhe?
- Beinn Bhuidhe is 3,112 ft (949 m), number 216 of the 282 Munros by height, in the West Highlands.
- How long does it take to climb Beinn Bhuidhe?
- About 3 h 30 min up and 1 h 55 min back down by our route from Walkers Car Park, before stops: 5.9 mi (9.4 km) each way with 3,189 ft (972 m) of climbing. That is about average for a Munro. Most people take longer than these estimates.
- Where do you park for Beinn Bhuidhe?
- Our route starts at Walkers Car Park. There is a parking charge.
- Can you climb Beinn Bhuidhe without a car?
- The nearest railway station is Ardlui, 7.8 mi (13 km) from the start, and the nearest bus stop on the map is Cairndow, At Lochfyne Oyster Bar On A83, 0.3 mi (0.5 km) from the start. Highland trains and buses are few, so check times on Traveline Scotland before you go.
- Is Beinn Bhuidhe a hard Munro?
- It involves scrambling: part of the route is graded alpine hiking on OpenStreetMap, with exposed or rocky ground where you use your hands. It is not a walk for beginners, and in winter it needs mountaineering skills.
- When is the best time to climb Beinn Bhuidhe?
- 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.
- About 0.1 mi of the path is graded alpine hiking (T4) in OpenStreetMap: expect scrambling or exposed ground.
- Path geometry: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), Overpass API extract fetched 2026-10-24T19:56:08.831Z. 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 3 h 30 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. Beinn Bhuidhe is hill 70 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.