Number 123 of 282 by height · Northwest Highlands
Ruadh-stac Mor (Beinn Eighe)
Ruadh-stac Mòr
3,314 ft (1,010 m)
Facts
- Grid reference
- NG 951 611
- Latitude, longitude
- 57.59376, -5.42946
- Area
- Northwest Highlands
The walk up
- Distance, one way
- 3.8 mi (6.2 km)
- Climb
- 3,694 ft (1,126 m)
- Estimated time up
- 3 h 5 min
- Start
- Car park near Stuc Coire an Laoigh
Route picked by computer, not yet checked on the hill
Summit conditions
From Sunday 1 November, 21:21. Not live.
- Weather
- Partly cloudy
- Temperature
- 34°F (1°C)
- Wind
- 2 mph (4 km/h) from the west
- Cloud cover
- 63%
- Rain or snow, next hour
- None
- Freezing level, rough estimate
- 3,819 ft (1,164 m)
- Sunrise, sunset
- 07:33, 16:37
The way up
From the car park near Stuc Coire an Laoigh, follow the path north for 1.0 mi, climbing very steeply from 370 ft to 1,700 ft. It then turns west for 1.6 mi, climbing steadily from 1,700 ft to 2,950 ft. It then turns north for the last 0.9 mi to the summit, climbing gently from 2,950 ft to 3,300 ft. The steepest part is between 1,950 ft and 3,100 ft, about 1.1 mi from the start. The summit is at 3,314 ft (1,010 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 Stuc Coire an Laoigh. Parking charge not known. This is where the walking route starts.
Driving directions to the Ruadh-stac Mor (Beinn Eighe) car park57.56548,-5.38357
By train
Nearest station: Achnashellach, 6.1 mi (9.8 km) from the car park.
By bus
Nearest bus stop on the map: Kinlochewe, Post Office, 4.0 mi (6.5 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 Ruadh-stac Mor (Beinn Eighe)
- In Gaelic
- Ruadh-stac Mòr
- Means
- Big red stack
Ruadh-stac Mòr is the highest point of Beinn Eighe, the long massif of spurs and summits between Loch Maree and Glen Torridon in Wester Ross. It does not sit on the main ridge itself but on one of the spurs branching from it. Beinn Eighe has two Munros. The other, Spidean Coire nan Clach, was added to the list in 1997 and lies 1.2 miles away as the high point of the main ridge. East of Ruadh-stac Mòr, on another spur, stands Ruadh-stac Beag, a Corbett.
Most of the Torridon hills are built of Torridonian sandstone resting on ancient Lewisian gneiss, but Beinn Eighe's summit ridge is capped with hard, brittle Cambrian quartzite, which gives its peaks their pale colour. The north side holds four big corries, the best known being Coire Mhic Fhearchair with its three great buttresses, a favourite with rock climbers.
A cairn marks the summit. With 2,073 ft (632 m) of drop to the col that links it to higher ground, it is a Marilyn as well as a Munro.
Through the year
Hours of daylight on Ruadh-stac Mor (Beinn Eighe) 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Spidean Coire nan Clach (Beinn Eighe) | 3,258 ft (993 m) | 1.2 mi (2.0 km) |
| Spidean a' Choire Leith (Liathach) | 3,461 ft (1,055 m) | 2.4 mi (3.9 km) |
| Mullach an Rathain (Liathach) | 3,359 ft (1,024 m) | 3.3 mi (5.2 km) |
Common questions about Ruadh-stac Mor (Beinn Eighe)
- How high is Ruadh-stac Mor (Beinn Eighe)?
- Ruadh-stac Mor (Beinn Eighe) is 3,314 ft (1,010 m), number 123 of the 282 Munros by height, in the Northwest Highlands.
- How long does it take to climb Ruadh-stac Mor (Beinn Eighe)?
- About 3 h 5 min up and 1 h 40 min back down by our route from the car park near Stuc Coire an Laoigh, before stops: 3.8 mi (6.2 km) each way with 3,694 ft (1,126 m) of climbing. That is about average for a Munro. Most people take longer than these estimates.
- Where do you park for Ruadh-stac Mor (Beinn Eighe)?
- Our route starts at the car park near Stuc Coire an Laoigh.
- Can you climb Ruadh-stac Mor (Beinn Eighe) without a car?
- The nearest railway station is Achnashellach, 6.1 mi (9.8 km) from the start, and the nearest bus stop on the map is Kinlochewe, Post Office, 4.0 mi (6.5 km) from the start. Highland trains and buses are few, so check times on Traveline Scotland before you go.
- Is Ruadh-stac Mor (Beinn Eighe) a hard Munro?
- By time and climbing, it is about average for a Munro, with 3,694 ft (1,126 m) of ascent over 3.8 mi (6.2 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 Ruadh-stac Mor (Beinn Eighe) mean?
- In Gaelic it is Ruadh-stac Mòr. It is usually translated as "big red stack".
- When is the best time to climb Ruadh-stac Mor (Beinn Eighe)?
- 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 2026-10-24T20:04:01.699Z. 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 5 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. Ruadh-stac Mor (Beinn Eighe) is hill 955 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.