Number 93 of 282 by height · Southeastern Highlands
Meall Ghaordaidh
3,411 ft (1,040 m)
Facts
- Grid reference
- NN 514 397
- Latitude, longitude
- 56.52582, -4.41667
- Area
- Southeastern Highlands
The walk up
- Distance, one way
- 2.9 mi (4.7 km)
- Climb
- 2,927 ft (892 m)
- Estimated time up
- 2 h 25 min
- Start
- Car park near Tullich
Route picked by computer, not yet checked on the hill
Summit conditions
From Sunday 1 November, 17:07. Not live.
- Weather
- Cloudy
- Temperature
- 36°F (2°C)
- Wind chill
- 32°F (0°C)
- Wind
- 5 mph (8 km/h) from the northwest
- Cloud cover
- 100%
- Rain or snow, next hour
- None
- Freezing level, rough estimate
- 4,521 ft (1,378 m)
- Sunrise, sunset
- 07:25, 16:36
The way up
From Car park near Tullich, follow the track north-east for 0.9 mi, climbing steadily from 480 ft to 1,050 ft. Then follow the path north-west for the last 1.9 mi to the summit, climbing steeply from 1,050 ft to 3,400 ft. The steepest part is between 2,800 ft and 3,400 ft, about 2.5 mi from the start. The summit is at 3,411 ft (1,040 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 Tullich. Free to park. This is where the walking route starts.
Driving directions to the Meall Ghaordaidh car park56.49599,-4.39534
By train
Nearest station: Crianlarich, 11 mi (18 km) from the car park. Too far to walk in from.
By bus
Nearest bus stop on the map: Station Road Turning Circle, 3.6 mi (5.7 km) from the car park. Check the times first: many Highland buses run only a few times a day.
Public transport directionsBus and train times on Traveline Scotland
About Meall Ghaordaidh
Meall Ghaordaidh lies in the southern Highlands about 6 miles north-west of Killin, between Glen Lochay and Glen Lyon. It is recorded in the Munro tables as Meall Ghaordie. Two spurs, Creag an Tulabhain and Creag Laoghain, run down from the summit towards Glen Lyon.
It stands well apart, rising 1,614 ft (492 m) above the col linking it to higher ground, and the nearest higher Munro, Meall nan Tarmachan, is 4.4 miles away. It has no subsidiary tops.
Through the year
Hours of daylight on Meall Ghaordaidh 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Stuc an Lochain | 3,150 ft (960 m) | 3.7 mi (6.0 km) |
| Meall nan Tarmachan | 3,424 ft (1,044 m) | 4.4 mi (7.1 km) |
| Sgiath Chuil | 3,019 ft (920 m) | 5.9 mi (9.4 km) |
Common questions about Meall Ghaordaidh
- How high is Meall Ghaordaidh?
- Meall Ghaordaidh is 3,411 ft (1,040 m), number 93 of the 282 Munros by height, in the Southeastern Highlands.
- How long does it take to climb Meall Ghaordaidh?
- About 2 h 25 min up and 55 min back down by our route from Car park near Tullich, before stops: 2.9 mi (4.7 km) each way with 2,927 ft (892 m) of climbing. That is about average for a Munro. Most people take longer than these estimates.
- Where do you park for Meall Ghaordaidh?
- Our route starts at Car park near Tullich. It is free to park.
- Can you climb Meall Ghaordaidh without a car?
- The nearest railway station is Crianlarich, 11 mi (18 km) from the start, and the nearest bus stop on the map is Station Road Turning Circle, 3.6 mi (5.7 km) from the start. Highland trains and buses are few, so check times on Traveline Scotland before you go.
- Is Meall Ghaordaidh a hard Munro?
- By time and climbing, it is about average for a Munro, with 2,927 ft (892 m) of ascent over 2.9 mi (4.7 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.
- When is the best time to climb Meall Ghaordaidh?
- 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 Southeastern Highlands before you go.
Questions
Where can I get a proper mountain forecast?
Read the Mountain Weather Information Service forecast for the Southeastern 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 2026-10-24T19:57:04.412Z. 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 25 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. Meall Ghaordaidh is hill 150 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.