Number 200 of 282 by height · Northwest Highlands
Bruach na Frithe
Bruach na Frìthe
3,146 ft (959 m)
Facts
- Grid reference
- NG 460 251
- Latitude, longitude
- 57.24677, -6.21080
- Area
- Northwest Highlands
The walk up
- Distance, one way
- 3.6 mi (5.8 km)
- Climb
- 2,808 ft (856 m)
- Estimated time up
- 2 h 35 min
- Start
- Fairy Pools Parking
Route picked by computer, not yet checked on the hill
Summit conditions
From Sunday 1 November, 20:25. Not live.
- Weather
- Clear sky
- Temperature
- 35°F (2°C)
- Wind chill
- 30°F (−1°C)
- Wind
- 6 mph (10 km/h) from the northwest
- Cloud cover
- 10%
- Rain or snow, next hour
- None
- Freezing level, rough estimate
- 4,003 ft (1,220 m)
- Sunrise, sunset
- 07:35, 16:41
The way up
From Fairy Pools Parking, follow the path north-east for 1.9 mi, climbing gently from 400 ft to 1,150 ft. On the way you cross the Allt a' Mhàim. It then turns south-east for the last 1.5 mi to the summit, climbing steeply from 1,150 ft to 3,150 ft. On the way you reach the bealach of Bealach a' Mhàim and cross the Allt Mòr an Fhinn Choire. The steepest part is between 1,650 ft and 2,500 ft, about 2.5 mi from the start. The summit is at 3,146 ft (959 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
Fairy Pools Parking. Pay to park. This is where the walking route starts.
Driving directions to the Bruach na Frithe car park57.24916,-6.27443
By train
Nearest station: Kyle of Lochalsh, 21 mi (34 km) from the car park. Too far to walk in from.
By bus
Nearest bus stop on the map: Campsite, 3.2 mi (5.1 km) from the car park. Check the times first: many Highland buses run only a few times a day.
Near the start
- Toilets 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 Bruach na Frithe
- In Gaelic
- Bruach na Frìthe
Bruach na Frithe is one of the principal summits of the Black Cuillin ridge on Skye. Like the rest of the range it is built of gabbro, a rock with excellent grip. It cannot be seen in the popular view from Sligachan, where the right-hand peak often taken for it is actually the lower Sgurr a' Bhasteir. It is probably the most climbed of the main Black Cuillin peaks.
Am Basteir lies just 0.3 miles away and Sgurr nan Gillean, its nearest higher neighbour, 0.7 miles. It rises 413 ft (126 m) above the col that links it to higher ground, and Sgurr a' Fionn Choire is its subsidiary Top. The true summit is a rock about 4 m south of the trig point, and an outcrop 100 m north-east is 2 m lower.
Tops on Bruach na Frithe
One lower summit in the Munro tables, not counted as separate Munros. Keen baggers tick these too.
| Top | Height | From the summit |
|---|---|---|
| Sgurr a' Fionn ChoireNG 464 252 | 3,071 ft (936 m) | 0.2 mi (0.3 km) |
Through the year
Hours of daylight on Bruach na Frithe 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Am Basteir | 3,064 ft (934 m) | 0.3 mi (0.5 km) |
| Sgurr nan Gillean | 3,170 ft (966 m) | 0.7 mi (1.1 km) |
| Sgurr a' Mhadaidh | 3,012 ft (918 m) | 1.4 mi (2.2 km) |
Part of a bigger day: 3 Munros in one go, Am Basteir, Sgurr nan Gillean.
Common questions about Bruach na Frithe
- How high is Bruach na Frithe?
- Bruach na Frithe is 3,146 ft (959 m), number 200 of the 282 Munros by height, in the Northwest Highlands.
- How long does it take to climb Bruach na Frithe?
- About 2 h 35 min up and 1 h 15 min back down by our route from Fairy Pools Parking, before stops: 3.6 mi (5.8 km) each way with 2,808 ft (856 m) of climbing. That is about average for a Munro. Most people take longer than these estimates.
- Where do you park for Bruach na Frithe?
- Our route starts at Fairy Pools Parking. There is a parking charge.
- Can you climb Bruach na Frithe without a car?
- The nearest railway station is Kyle of Lochalsh, 21 mi (34 km) from the start, and the nearest bus stop on the map is Campsite, 3.2 mi (5.1 km) from the start. Highland trains and buses are few, so check times on Traveline Scotland before you go.
- Is Bruach na Frithe a hard Munro?
- By time and climbing, it is about average for a Munro, with 2,808 ft (856 m) of ascent over 3.6 mi (5.8 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 Bruach na Frithe?
- Yes. Bruach na Frithe can be linked with Am Basteir, Sgurr nan Gillean along the ridge, for 3 Munros in one long day. See Big days for the full plan.
- When is the best time to climb Bruach na Frithe?
- 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 2026-10-24T20:07:29.136Z. 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 35 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. Bruach na Frithe is hill 1247 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.