Beinn Sgritheall

Beinn Sgritheall, at 974 metres — "scree mountain," anglicised as Ben Sgriol — has one of the finest situations of any Munro, towering above the tiny village of Arnisdale on the shores of Loch Hourn, its ascent unrelentingly steep but repaid with a view Sir Hugh Munro himself described as "perhaps the most beautiful I have seen in Scotland."

The route starts from a signposted path at the western end of Arnisdale, heading uphill between a house and a burn. Through woodland and over damp ground, the rough path climbs above and around the back of the village, crossing burns before following a line of fence posts steeply uphill on the obvious path above the Allt a' Mhuilinn — a genuine thigh-burner for much of the ascent. Around 500 metres, the path becomes vaguer and splits; the standard route continues towards the small lochan at Bealach Arnasdail, from where the steepest section of the climb begins in earnest, tackling the mountain's East Top before an easier ridge leads on to the true summit, marked by a shattered trig point encircled by boulders.

The view is exceptional in every direction: Loch Hourn stretching away with Ladhar Bheinn and the Knoydart mountains beyond, a fabulous outlook to Skye and the Cuillin ridge, and on the clearest days the isles of Jura, Rùm, and Mull, along with Ben Nevis and Slioch far to the east — more than 100 named peaks are said to be visible from the summit.

The finest return continues along the mountain's west ridge, rocky but manageable with a couple of easier sections, to a small lochan before turning down through the Coille Mhialairigh forest on a steep, narrow, eroded path that eventually reaches the road, making for a satisfying circular route back to Arnisdale.

The out-and-back or circular round from Arnisdale is typically five to seven hours; for the more ambitious, the mountain can be combined with the neighbouring Corbetts Beinn na h-Eaglaise and Beinn nan Caorach in a considerably longer traverse, though the ascent of Beinn na h-Eaglaise on precipitous grass requires particular care and would merit a winter grade I climb in snow.

This is considered one of the harder single Munros in Scotland given the sheer, sustained steepness from sea level — there is no drinkable water on the ridge or descent, so filling up on the ascent is essential, and full hillwalking fitness is required despite the technically straightforward nature of the standard path.

There is no parking charge at Arnisdale; there is no public transport to the village, reached only via a single-track road from Glen Shiel or Glenelg.