Number 196 of 282 by height · Southeastern Highlands
Stuc an Lochain
Stuchd an Lochain
Also written Stuchd an Lochain
3,150 ft (960 m)
Facts
- Grid reference
- NN 483 448
- Latitude, longitude
- 56.57092, -4.47061
- Area
- Southeastern Highlands
The walk up
- Distance, one way
- 2.7 mi (4.4 km)
- Climb
- 1,998 ft (609 m)
- Estimated time up
- 1 h 55 min
- Start
- Giorra Dam Car Park
Route picked by computer, not yet checked on the hill
Summit conditions
From Sunday 1 November, 17:07. Not live.
- Weather
- Partly cloudy
- Temperature
- 37°F (3°C)
- Wind chill
- 33°F (1°C)
- Wind
- 5 mph (8 km/h) from the northwest
- Cloud cover
- 86%
- Rain or snow, next hour
- None
- Freezing level, rough estimate
- 4,665 ft (1,422 m)
- Sunrise, sunset
- 07:25, 16:37
The way up
From Giorra Dam Car Park, follow the track south-west for 0.4 mi, climbing gently from 1,350 ft to 1,450 ft. On the way you cross the Allt Conait and pass Loch an Daimh on your right. Then follow the path south-west for the last 2.2 mi to the summit, climbing steadily from 1,450 ft to 3,150 ft. The steepest part is between 1,700 ft and 2,750 ft, about 0.7 mi from the start. The summit is at 3,150 ft (960 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
Giorra Dam Car Park. Parking charge not known. This is where the walking route starts.
Driving directions to the Stuc an Lochain car park56.58560,-4.42462
By train
Nearest station: Rannoch, 9.0 mi (15 km) from the car park.
By bus
No bus stop on the map within 5 miles of the car park. The nearest is Station Road Turning Circle, 9.0 mi (15 km) away. Check the times first: many Highland buses run only a few times a day.
Public transport directionsBus and train times on Traveline Scotland
About Stuc an Lochain
- In Gaelic
- Stuchd an Lochain
- Means
- Peak of the little lake
Stuc an Lochain stands in Breadalbane in the southern Highlands and forms the southern side of Loch an Daimh. Sron Chona Choirein, on the ridge leading to the summit, is listed as its top. Further round the loch stand the Corbett Sròn a' Choire Chnapanich and the Munro Meall Buidhe, 3.3 miles away.
It rises 1,578 ft (481 m) above the col that links it to higher ground, making it a Marilyn, and the nearest higher Munro, Meall Ghaordaidh, is 3.7 miles away. The highest point is an embedded rock about 3 m south of the cairn.
Tops on Stuc an Lochain
One lower summit in the Munro tables, not counted as separate Munros. Keen baggers tick these too.
| Top | Height | From the summit |
|---|---|---|
| Sron Chona ChoireinNN 493 445 | 3,041 ft (927 m) | 0.7 mi (1.1 km) |
Through the year
Hours of daylight on Stuc an Lochain 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Meall Buidhe | 3,058 ft (932 m) | 3.3 mi (5.3 km) |
| Meall Ghaordaidh | 3,411 ft (1,040 m) | 3.7 mi (6.0 km) |
| Beinn Sheasgarnaich | 3,535 ft (1,077 m) | 5.9 mi (9.5 km) |
Common questions about Stuc an Lochain
- How high is Stuc an Lochain?
- Stuc an Lochain is 3,150 ft (960 m), number 196 of the 282 Munros by height, in the Southeastern Highlands.
- How long does it take to climb Stuc an Lochain?
- About 1 h 55 min up and 1 h back down by our route from Giorra Dam Car Park, before stops: 2.7 mi (4.4 km) each way with 1,998 ft (609 m) of climbing. That is one of the quicker Munros to climb. Most people take longer than these estimates.
- Where do you park for Stuc an Lochain?
- Our route starts at Giorra Dam Car Park.
- Can you climb Stuc an Lochain without a car?
- The nearest railway station is Rannoch, 9.0 mi (15 km) from the start. Highland trains and buses are few, so check times on Traveline Scotland before you go.
- Is Stuc an Lochain a hard Munro?
- By time and climbing, it is one of the quicker Munros to climb, with 1,998 ft (609 m) of ascent over 2.7 mi (4.4 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 Stuc an Lochain mean?
- In Gaelic it is Stuchd an Lochain. It is usually translated as "peak of the little lake".
- When is the best time to climb Stuc an Lochain?
- 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 1 h 55 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. Stuc an Lochain is hill 120 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.