Number 135 of 282 by height · West Highlands
Sgorr Dhonuill (Beinn a' Bheithir)
Sgòrr Dhòmhnaill
3,284 ft (1,001 m)
Facts
- Grid reference
- NN 040 555
- Latitude, longitude
- 56.65051, -5.19777
- Area
- West Highlands
The walk up
- Distance, one way
- 3.2 mi (5.1 km)
- Climb
- 3,091 ft (942 m)
- Estimated time up
- 2 h 35 min
- Start
- Gleann a' Chaolais
Route picked by computer, not yet checked on the hill
Summit conditions
From Sunday 1 November, 17:07. Not live.
- Weather
- Clear sky
- Temperature
- 35°F (2°C)
- Wind chill
- 32°F (0°C)
- Wind
- 4 mph (7 km/h) from the northwest
- Cloud cover
- 9%
- Rain or snow, next hour
- None
- Freezing level, rough estimate
- 4,242 ft (1,293 m)
- Sunrise, sunset
- 07:29, 16:39
Sgorr Dhonuill (Beinn a' Bheithir) weather: the forecast page
The way up
From Gleann a' Chaolais, follow the track south for 0.4 mi, climbing gently from 170 ft to 340 ft. Then follow the path south for 0.5 mi, climbing steadily from 340 ft to 620 ft. On the way you cross the Abhainn Greadhain. It then turns south-east for 0.6 mi, climbing steeply from 620 ft to 1,300 ft. It then turns south for 0.9 mi, climbing steeply from 1,300 ft to 2,100 ft. It then turns west for the last 0.7 mi to the summit, climbing very steeply from 2,100 ft to 3,300 ft. The steepest part is between 1,950 ft and 3,000 ft, about 2.4 mi from the start. The summit is at 3,284 ft (1,001 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
Gleann a' Chaolais. Parking charge not known. This is where the walking route starts.
Driving directions to the Sgorr Dhonuill (Beinn a' Bheithir) car park56.68085,-5.18977
By train
Nearest station: Fort William, 10 mi (16 km) from the car park. Too far to walk in from.
By bus
Nearest bus stop on the map: Ballachulish Hotel, 0.5 mi (0.8 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 Sgorr Dhonuill (Beinn a' Bheithir)
- In Gaelic
- Sgòrr Dhòmhnaill
- Means
- Donald's peak
Sgorr Dhonuill is one of the two Munro summits of Beinn a' Bheithir, the hill south of Ballachulish and Loch Leven, with the higher Sgorr Dhearg 1 mile away. It rises 804 ft (245 m) above the col that links it to higher ground, enough to make it a Marilyn in its own right. The hill forms a horseshoe, its ridges pointing north around the corrie of Gleann a' Chaolais, whose lower slopes are planted with conifers. To the south a steep ridge forms the northern wall of Glen Duror, also forested.
The hill was once called Beinn Ghuilbin. Tradition says its present name comes from a dragon that lived in Corrie Liath, high above Ballachulish Pier, and attacked travellers on the path below. A skipper named Charles lured her down with the smell of meat burning on his ship, and she was torn apart on the spiked barrels laid between ship and shore.
The highest point is an embedded rock about 8 m west-north-west of the cairn, higher than any rock visible in the cairn.
Through the year
Hours of daylight on Sgorr Dhonuill (Beinn a' Bheithir) 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Sgorr Dhearg (Beinn a' Bheithir) | 3,360 ft (1,024 m) | 1.0 mi (1.6 km) |
| Beinn Fhionnlaidh | 3,146 ft (959 m) | 4.9 mi (7.9 km) |
| Sgurr na h-Ulaidh | 3,261 ft (994 m) | 4.9 mi (8.0 km) |
Common questions about Sgorr Dhonuill (Beinn a' Bheithir)
- How high is Sgorr Dhonuill (Beinn a' Bheithir)?
- Sgorr Dhonuill (Beinn a' Bheithir) is 3,284 ft (1,001 m), number 135 of the 282 Munros by height, in the West Highlands.
- How long does it take to climb Sgorr Dhonuill (Beinn a' Bheithir)?
- About 2 h 35 min up and 1 h back down by our route from Gleann a' Chaolais, before stops: 3.2 mi (5.1 km) each way with 3,091 ft (942 m) of climbing. That is about average for a Munro. Most people take longer than these estimates.
- Where do you park for Sgorr Dhonuill (Beinn a' Bheithir)?
- Our route starts at Gleann a' Chaolais.
- Can you climb Sgorr Dhonuill (Beinn a' Bheithir) without a car?
- The nearest railway station is Fort William, 10 mi (16 km) from the start, and the nearest bus stop on the map is Ballachulish Hotel, 0.5 mi (0.8 km) from the start. Highland trains and buses are few, so check times on Traveline Scotland before you go.
- Is Sgorr Dhonuill (Beinn a' Bheithir) a hard Munro?
- By time and climbing, it is about average for a Munro, with 3,091 ft (942 m) of ascent over 3.2 mi (5.1 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 Sgorr Dhonuill (Beinn a' Bheithir) mean?
- In Gaelic it is Sgòrr Dhòmhnaill. It is usually translated as "Donald's peak".
- When is the best time to climb Sgorr Dhonuill (Beinn a' Bheithir)?
- 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 2026-10-24T19:57:37.957Z. 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. Sgorr Dhonuill (Beinn a' Bheithir) is hill 198 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.