Number 206 of 282 by height · Northwest Highlands
Saileag
Sàileag
3,136 ft (956 m)
Facts
- Grid reference
- NH 017 148
- Latitude, longitude
- 57.18129, -5.28133
- Area
- Northwest Highlands
The walk up
- Distance, one way
- 1.5 mi (2.5 km)
- Climb
- 2,526 ft (770 m)
- Estimated time up
- 1 h 45 min
- Start
- Car park near Druim a' Choire Reidh
Route picked by computer, not yet checked on the hill
Summit conditions
From Sunday 1 November, 17:07. Not live.
- Weather
- Fair
- Temperature
- 35°F (2°C)
- Wind chill
- 31°F (0°C)
- Wind
- 4 mph (6 km/h) from the northwest
- Cloud cover
- 24%
- Rain or snow, next hour
- None
- Freezing level, rough estimate
- 3,894 ft (1,187 m)
- Sunrise, sunset
- 07:31, 16:38
The way up
From Car park near Druim a' Choire Reidh, follow the path north for 0.8 mi, climbing very steeply from 580 ft to 2,350 ft. It then turns north-east for the last 0.5 mi to the summit, climbing very steeply from 2,350 ft to 3,150 ft. On the way you reach the bealach of Bealach an Lapain. The steepest part is between 1,100 ft and 2,350 ft, about 0.3 mi from the start. The summit is at 3,136 ft (956 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 Druim a' Choire Reidh. Free to park. This is where the walking route starts.
Driving directions to the Saileag car park57.16945,-5.29451
By train
Nearest station: Stromeferry, 16 mi (26 km) from the car park. Too far to walk in from.
By bus
Nearest bus stop on the map: Inn, 4.3 mi (6.9 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 Saileag
- In Gaelic
- Sàileag
- Means
- The little heel
Sàileag stands on the north side of Glen Shiel, about 17 miles south-east of Kyle of Lochalsh and just east of the Five Sisters of Kintail. It belongs to the North Glen Shiel Ridge along with Sgurr a' Bhealaich Dheirg and Aonach Meadhoin.
The hill is mostly grassy, but its north-west face is steep and craggy above the Allt an Lapain. Three ridges meet at the top. One runs east to Sgurr a' Bhealaich Dheirg, the nearest higher Munro at 1.1 miles. Another runs west over the Bealach an Lapain to Sgurr na Ciste Duibhe, the most easterly of the Five Sisters. The third, rocky one drops north to the head of Gleann Lichd below Beinn Fhada. The forested southern slopes above the A87 struck a traveller in 1803 as a wall that no creature would dare to climb.
A cairn marks the summit, 299 ft (91 m) above the col linking it to higher ground.
Through the year
Hours of daylight on Saileag 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Sgurr a' Bhealaich Dheirg | 3,399 ft (1,036 m) | 1.1 mi (1.8 km) |
| Aonach Meadhoin | 3,284 ft (1,001 m) | 2.0 mi (3.3 km) |
| Sgurr na Ciste Duibhe | 3,369 ft (1,027 m) | 2.1 mi (3.4 km) |
Part of a bigger day: 3 Munros in one go, Sgurr a' Bhealaich Dheirg, Aonach Meadhoin.
Common questions about Saileag
- How high is Saileag?
- Saileag is 3,136 ft (956 m), number 206 of the 282 Munros by height, in the Northwest Highlands.
- How long does it take to climb Saileag?
- About 1 h 45 min up and 30 min back down by our route from Car park near Druim a' Choire Reidh, before stops: 1.5 mi (2.5 km) each way with 2,526 ft (770 m) of climbing. That is one of the quicker Munros to climb. Most people take longer than these estimates.
- Where do you park for Saileag?
- Our route starts at Car park near Druim a' Choire Reidh. It is free to park.
- Can you climb Saileag without a car?
- The nearest railway station is Stromeferry, 16 mi (26 km) from the start, and the nearest bus stop on the map is Inn, 4.3 mi (6.9 km) from the start. Highland trains and buses are few, so check times on Traveline Scotland before you go.
- Is Saileag a hard Munro?
- By time and climbing, it is one of the quicker Munros to climb, with 2,526 ft (770 m) of ascent over 1.5 mi (2.5 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 Saileag?
- Yes. Saileag can be linked with Sgurr a' Bhealaich Dheirg, Aonach Meadhoin along the ridge, for 3 Munros in one long day. See Big days for the full plan.
- What does Saileag mean?
- In Gaelic it is Sàileag. It is usually translated as "the little heel".
- When is the best time to climb Saileag?
- 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 2026-10-24T20:03:25.525Z. 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 1 h 45 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. Saileag is hill 839 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.