Number 101 of 282 by height · West Highlands
Ben Oss
Beinn Ois
3,376 ft (1,029 m)
Facts
- Grid reference
- NN 287 253
- Latitude, longitude
- 56.38929, -4.77551
- Area
- West Highlands
The walk up
- Distance, one way
- 5.1 mi (8.2 km)
- Climb
- 3,245 ft (989 m)
- Estimated time up
- 3 h 15 min
- Start
- Car park near Ardormie
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
- 5 mph (8 km/h) from the north
- Cloud cover
- 34%
- Rain or snow, next hour
- None
- Freezing level, rough estimate
- 4,436 ft (1,352 m)
- Sunrise, sunset
- 07:26, 16:38
The way up
From Car park near Ardormie, follow the track south-west for 0.8 mi, almost level. On the way you cross the River Fillan and pass lochan nan arm on your right. Then follow the path south-west for the last 4.1 mi to the summit, climbing steadily from 660 ft to 3,400 ft. On the way you cross the Allt Gleann Achrioch and reach the bealach of Bealach Buidhe. The steepest part is between 2,150 ft and 2,950 ft, about 3.1 mi from the start. The summit is at 3,376 ft (1,029 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 Ardormie. Parking charge not known. This is where the walking route starts.
Driving directions to the Ben Oss car park56.42500,-4.68645
By train
Nearest station: Upper Tyndrum, 1.0 mi (1.5 km) from the car park.
By bus
Nearest bus stop on the map: Pine Trees Leisure Park, 1.1 mi (1.7 km) from the car park. Check the times first: many Highland buses run only a few times a day.
Near the start
- Café: Artisan Café & Deli 0.4 mi (0.6 km)
- Toilets 0.6 mi (1.0 km)
- Shop: Reception & Shop 1.0 mi (1.7 km)
- Campsite: By the Way 1.2 mi (1.9 km)
- Toilets 1.2 mi (1.9 km)
- Place to eat: The Real Food Cafe 1.2 mi (1.9 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 Ben Oss
- In Gaelic
- Beinn Ois
- Means
- Uncertain, os can mean elk or loch outlet
Ben Oss stands on the Argyll and Perthshire border, south-west of Tyndrum, in the Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park. Its northern face is especially craggy, falling steeply to the Cononish glen.
Two ridges lead to the top. One curves round Coire Garbh, with Loch Oss in its hollow, to the Bealach Buidhe, 2,556 ft (779 m), and Beinn Dubhchraig, 1.2 miles away. The other runs south-west to a col at the head of Coire Laoigh and on to Ben Lui, its nearest higher neighbour 1.4 miles off. The hill sits on Scotland's drainage divide: rain on the north side feeds the headwaters of the Tay, while the south side drains by Glen Falloch and Loch Lomond to the Firth of Clyde.
The flattish summit has a medium-sized cairn on large slabby rocks and grass, but the true top is a rock about 30 m south-east of the cairn. The hill rises 1,119 ft (341 m) above the col that links it to higher ground.
Through the year
Hours of daylight on Ben Oss 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 Dubhchraig | 3,209 ft (978 m) | 1.2 mi (2.0 km) |
| Ben Lui | 3,712 ft (1,131 m) | 1.4 mi (2.3 km) |
| Beinn a' Chleibh | 3,006 ft (916 m) | 2.3 mi (3.7 km) |
Common questions about Ben Oss
- How high is Ben Oss?
- Ben Oss is 3,376 ft (1,029 m), number 101 of the 282 Munros by height, in the West Highlands.
- How long does it take to climb Ben Oss?
- About 3 h 15 min up and 1 h 55 min back down by our route from Car park near Ardormie, before stops: 5.1 mi (8.2 km) each way with 3,245 ft (989 m) of climbing. That is about average for a Munro. Most people take longer than these estimates.
- Where do you park for Ben Oss?
- Our route starts at Car park near Ardormie.
- Can you climb Ben Oss without a car?
- The nearest railway station is Upper Tyndrum, 1.0 mi (1.5 km) from the start, and the nearest bus stop on the map is Pine Trees Leisure Park, 1.1 mi (1.7 km) from the start. Highland trains and buses are few, so check times on Traveline Scotland before you go.
- Is Ben Oss a hard Munro?
- By time and climbing, it is about average for a Munro, with 3,245 ft (989 m) of ascent over 5.1 mi (8.2 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 Ben Oss mean?
- In Gaelic it is Beinn Ois. The meaning is uncertain: os can mean elk or loch outlet.
- When is the best time to climb Ben Oss?
- 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.
- Path geometry: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), Overpass API extract fetched 2026-10-24T19:54:56.481Z. Start: the public car park nearest the usual start named on Wikipedia (Dalrigh, found by grid reference NN343292) 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 3 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. Ben Oss is hill 67 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.