Number 152 of 282 by height · Northwest Highlands
Spidean Coire nan Clach (Beinn Eighe)
3,258 ft (993 m)
Facts
- Grid reference
- NG 966 597
- Latitude, longitude
- 57.58212, -5.40371
- Area
- Northwest Highlands
The walk up
- Distance, one way
- 2.1 mi (3.4 km)
- Climb
- 2,835 ft (864 m)
- Estimated time up
- 2 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, 17:07. Not live.
- Weather
- Partly cloudy
- Temperature
- 36°F (2°C)
- Wind chill
- 32°F (0°C)
- Wind
- 4 mph (6 km/h) from the west
- Cloud cover
- 77%
- Rain or snow, next hour
- None
- Freezing level, rough estimate
- 4,268 ft (1,301 m)
- Sunrise, sunset
- 07:33, 16:37
Spidean Coire nan Clach (Beinn Eighe) weather: the forecast page
The way up
From 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 north-west for the last 0.8 mi to the summit, climbing very steeply from 1,700 ft to 3,250 ft. The steepest part is between 2,000 ft and 3,150 ft, about 1.2 mi from the start. The summit is at 3,258 ft (993 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 Spidean Coire nan Clach (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 Spidean Coire nan Clach (Beinn Eighe)
- Means
- Peak of the corrie of stones
Spidean Coire nan Clach is the highest point on the main ridge of Beinn Eighe, the long massif between Loch Maree and Glen Torridon. The ridge runs from near Kinlochewe in the north-east to the narrow glen of Coire Dubh Mòr, which separates it from Liathach. The south slopes into Glen Torridon are steep, plain and covered in white quartzite scree, while the north side has four big corries divided by spurs. The higher Munro, Ruadh-stac Mòr, lies out on one of those spurs, 1.2 miles away.
Beinn Eighe's summit ridge is capped with white Cambrian quartzite, unlike the sandstone tops of the other Torridon hills. The eastern half of the massif is owned by NatureScot and run as a national nature reserve, and much of the southern side, owned by the National Trust for Scotland, is managed as part of it. Four tops are listed with this Munro: Sail Mhor, Coinneach Mhor, Sgurr Ban and Sgurr nan Fhir Duibhe.
A cairn marks the summit, which rises 564 ft (172 m) above the col linking it to higher ground.
Tops on Spidean Coire nan Clach (Beinn Eighe)
4 lower summits in the Munro tables, not counted as separate Munros. Keen baggers tick these too.
| Top | Height | From the summit |
|---|---|---|
| Sail MhorNG 938 605 | 3,215 ft (980 m) | 1.8 mi (2.9 km) |
| Coinneach MhorNG 944 600 | 3,202 ft (976 m) | 1.4 mi (2.2 km) |
| Sgurr BanNG 974 600 | 3,182 ft (970 m) | 0.5 mi (0.9 km) |
| Sgurr nan Fhir DuibheNG 981 600 | 3,159 ft (963 m) | 1.0 mi (1.6 km) |
Through the year
Hours of daylight on Spidean Coire nan Clach (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 |
|---|---|---|
| Ruadh-stac Mor (Beinn Eighe) | 3,314 ft (1,010 m) | 1.2 mi (2.0 km) |
| Spidean a' Choire Leith (Liathach) | 3,461 ft (1,055 m) | 2.5 mi (4.1 km) |
| Mullach an Rathain (Liathach) | 3,359 ft (1,024 m) | 3.6 mi (5.8 km) |
Common questions about Spidean Coire nan Clach (Beinn Eighe)
- How high is Spidean Coire nan Clach (Beinn Eighe)?
- Spidean Coire nan Clach (Beinn Eighe) is 3,258 ft (993 m), number 152 of the 282 Munros by height, in the Northwest Highlands.
- How long does it take to climb Spidean Coire nan Clach (Beinn Eighe)?
- About 2 h 5 min up and 40 min back down by our route from Car park near Stuc Coire an Laoigh, before stops: 2.1 mi (3.4 km) each way with 2,835 ft (864 m) of climbing. That is one of the quicker Munros to climb. Most people take longer than these estimates.
- Where do you park for Spidean Coire nan Clach (Beinn Eighe)?
- Our route starts at Car park near Stuc Coire an Laoigh.
- Can you climb Spidean Coire nan Clach (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 Spidean Coire nan Clach (Beinn Eighe) a hard Munro?
- By time and climbing, it is one of the quicker Munros to climb, with 2,835 ft (864 m) of ascent over 2.1 mi (3.4 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 Spidean Coire nan Clach (Beinn Eighe) mean?
- It is usually translated as "peak of the corrie of stones".
- When is the best time to climb Spidean Coire nan Clach (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 2 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. Spidean Coire nan Clach (Beinn Eighe) is hill 956 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.