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Home   Glossary
Ben Hope
Quick Facts
This is the summed total of all the climbing within a route and is a good indicator of the strenuousness of a route.
Total Ascent
934 m

An estimate of the time taken based on a derivation of Naismiths rules. Our calculation is based on the horizontal and ascent components of a climb, we do not make a reduction for descent.

Registered users can customise these walking times by specifying their own walking and ascending speeds. They can also add a fixed time period for stoppages.

Route Time
4 hrs
The horizontal distance of the route.
Route Distance
11.67 km
 

The UK is covered by 204 Ordnance Survey Landranger 1:50,000 scale maps. Maps numbered 1 to 86 cover Scotland but for the highest mountains (Munros) only 23 maps are required. The name given roughly describes the area covered by the map.

You can click on the map name to purchase the map for £6.29 including postage which is one of the cheapest prices we have found.

OS Landranger Maps Required
  9   Cape Wrath, Durness & Scourie
Only £6.29  (£11.69 Laminated) from  

A brief summary of this route.

Our summary will always contain one of easy, moderate or hard to indicate the severity of the route.

 Notes
Short route with ascent through crags, but little scrambling required.

Here we provide the nearest town to the start of the route where you will find basic services.

We then give directions from that location to the route start. Your approach route may differ.

 Travel Information

Head to: Durness

From Durness (A838) travel SE 32km to junction with minor road (NC475601), then S 14km along east shore of Loch Hope to start of path.

Route Waypoint Map

The total ascent is 934 metres. Allow 4 hours to complete this 11.67 km route.

In winter months please check the local snow conditions at sais.gov.uk.

The hillphones service can inform you of stalking activities in the area.

Usually the shortest way to climb the mountain, making best use of tracks and paths to gain altitude. Route navigation requires map reading skills and an ability to navigate with a compass.

The information given here will enable you to annotate your map and plan your route. We do not give anecdotal descriptions on where to find the paths, worn by the feet of previous mountaineers.

Where the access routes are few or the ridge is narrow, paths are generally obvious. On open ground, following paths without using your compass may get you lost in poor visibility.

 Route Information
Waypoint Detail
  Start from road at Alltnacaillich, in Strath More
  NC45794561 Distance
Altitude
15 m
1
Follow path E to above waterfall
NC46524549 Distance
0.99 km
Altitude
215 m
2
Bear NNE on Leitir Mhuiseil and continue NNE to summit of Ben Hope
NC47765017 Distance
4.85 km
Altitude
927 m
3
Return by same route
  NC45794561 Distance
5.84 km
Altitude
15 m

A selection of weather forecasts local to this route.

 Weather
North West Highlands
by MWIS (PDF format)
Ben Hope Area (Sutherland)
by Accuweather
West Highlands
by Met Office
Ben Hope
by Metcheck
Images of Ben Hope
Route Area Map
Legend  Munro  Corbett  Graham  English/Welsh Top  Accommodation

A selection of local accommodation options who advertise with Munromagic.com.

 Where to Stay
Results by distance from the route start.
15.2 km
The Bed and Breakfast
1 Macleod Crescent, Altnaharra, nr Lairg
15.3 km
Altnaharra Hotel
Altnaharra, Sutherland, Scotland
25.7 km
Unapool House Cottages
Unapool House, Kylesku, Sutherland
32.1 km
Inchnadamph Lodge Hostel / B&B
Inchnadamph, Loch Assynt, Lochinver, Sutherland
41.7 km
Arkle Cottage (Self Catering)
Lairg, Lairg
43.7 km
Achness Hotel
Rosehall
66.5 km
Badrallach B&B, Bothy, cottage & campsite.
Croft 9, Badrallach, Dundonnell, Rossshire
69.5 km
Easter Badbea B&B
Easter Badbea, Badbea, Dundonnell
69.7 km
Forest Way B&B and Bunkhouse
4 Lael, Lochbroom, Nr Ullapool
84.2 km
Garve Cottages
RoseMount Cottage Garve Ross-shire
84.6 km
Birch Cottage
7 Station Road, Garve
92.7 km
Walkers Lodge, Ledgowan Lodge Hotel
Achnasheen, Achnasheen
96.9 km
Caolas Beag
2 Big Sand, Big Sand, Gairloch, Wester Ross
For information on camping visit
ScottishCamping.com who also produce
a map of scottish camp grounds.
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Rating & Reviews

 Rating & Reviews
Rated:
 from 11 votes
Click Stars to Vote
Your Rating
Written by Rodger Moffet on 25 Aug 2007:
If you are climbing this on a weekend or in the high tourist season then the best advice is get to this mountain as early as you can. I arrived at about 7.45am and only met one walker on the way up - on the way down I passed 50 plus! and they were queuing up on the slow parts. This was a magnificent climb in glorious weather with a fantastic view - very easy for someone out of climbing for several years like me - the route is very simple too.
 
Written by Craig Dunderdale on 19 Aug 2006:
With poor weather forecast we opted for the shorter route that started & finished at the farm sheds 2km North or MM route NC462477 the "Way Up Ben Hope" sign was the best clue! An obvious track/path all the way up, if you veer right at the obvious fork towards the bealach it's the steeper more direct route. Nothing technically difficult. I scored it so highly because it is the first Munro my girlfriend has ever climbed and despite the 500m cloud we were the proud owners of our very own cloud inversion, now she thinks they happen all the time!
 
Written by Fiona Masson on 17 Apr 2006:
11.4.06 Set off from Alltnacaillich Farm up good path/track. Due to amount of melting snow had difficulty crossing Allt na Caillich as it was very fast flowing and deep. Followed it for about 20mins before finding safe place to cross. Didn,t put us off track too much. Rest of walk was easy enough, unfortunately the top 200m was in cloud but once out of cloud great views with the added snow lines to give it that different look. Came down onto the road about 2km north of starting point. Nice circular route.
 
Written by John Walker on 19 Feb 2005:
I gave it this rating as my pal and I have just done it in 60mph winds and hail storms, interspersed with great, snatched views. Left the ice gear in the car as the day before on Klibreck had not required them - We certainly ought to have had them to anchor ourselves down yesterday! I'll warrant it'd be even lovelier in good weather.........
 
Written by Andrew Palmer on 28 May 2004:
An excellent day. The ascent is steep and boggy in parts on the lower slopes, but this is a straightforward climb with no scrambling. My only problem was the fact that the summit was covered in clouds, but the views were excellent once under the cloud cover. A totally unspolit landscape and a place where you feel good to be alive.
 
Disclaimer. The details provided above are an aid to planning an expedition, but all distances, altitudes and bearings must be considered approximate. You must navigate with the appropriate map, a compass, your navigation skills and common sense, MunroMagic.com accept no responsibility for your interpretation of our route information.
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