Ben Tee
| Ben Tee | |||
| Inverness-shire | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Ben Tee from the cairn on Sròn a' Choire Ghairbh | |||
| Range: | Loch Lochy Hills | ||
| Summit: | 2,966 feet NN240971 57°1’57"N, 4°53’57"W | ||
Ben Tee is a mountain situated in Inverness-shire, some 9 miles north of Spean Bridge.
This is rated as one of the best of Scotland’s smaller mountains with Hamish Brown saying:
| “ | Ben Tee is such a shapely cone that it is instantly recognisable from anywhere around the Great Glen or along the Garry. Its isolated situation makes it one of Scotland’s finest summit viewpoints.[1] | ” |
Overview
Ben Tee forms part of the Loch Lochy Hills along with the Munros of Sròn a' Choire Ghairbh and Meall na Teanga which lie to the south west. It has a height of 2,966 feet and qualifies as a 'Corbett' and a 'Marilyn'. It is just 33 feet short of being a Munro and it is one of the most recognisable hills in the area with its symmetrical cone making it conspicuous in views for many miles around.
The hill lies to the north of Loch Lochy where Glen Garry intersects with the Great Glen.
Name
The origins of the name Ben Tee is not entirely clear. The most widely accepted translation is "Fairy Hill" from Gaelic Beinn an t-Sìthidh. Ben Tee’s conical shape is very similar to that of Schiehallion, also a conical "fairy hill", which gives extra credibility to that translation.[2][3]
More fanciful suggestions include a derivation from Beinn an Taighe meaning "mountain of the house" or Beinn Dhè, meaning "mountain of God", a number of years ago leading somebone to paint the name of God on the summit rocks.
Local significance
An informal local name for Ben Tee is "Glengarry’s Bowling Green",[4] a rather sardonic name because there is hardly any grass on the rocky summit.
Local legend says that nearby Invergarry Castle on the northern shores of Loch Oich was built from stone from Ben Tee's summit, with workers passing stone hand to hand down the mountain.[5]
There is an annual Ben Tee Hill Race, a 9.0 miles event starting and finishing at Invergarry shinty club with 2,950 feet of ascent.[6] The winning runner usually takes about 80 minutes to complete the course to the summit and back.
Geography
Ben Tee is a hill with few outstanding geographical features, it has a broad grassy eastern ridge which sweeps down to the northern end of Loch Lochy and the Laggan lochs and gives one of the most popular approaches to the mountain. The southern slopes of the mountain drop very steeply to the valley of the Allt a' Choire Ghlais, a stream which drains eastwards entering a steeply wooded gorge where it changes its name to the Kilfinnan Burn. The gorge contains the Kilfillan Falls, a series of waterfalls, as the burn drains to the Great Glen at the north end of Loch Lochy.
To the north, the mountain descends to Glen Garry with the trees of the Glengarry forest appearing on the slopes below the 350 metre contour. There are steep slopes to the east which go down to the Bealach Easain, a col with a height of 1,798 feet which connects to the adjacent Munro of Sròn a' Choire Ghairbh, the col contains a small lochan at its highest point.
All drainage from Ben Tee reaches the Great Glen but interestingly goes to both the west and east coast: rainfall on the northern part of the hill goes by way of Glen Garry and the River Garry to reach Loch Oich from where it flows north east through Loch Ness to reach the east coast at the Moray Firth, while rainfall on the southern slopes goes by way of the Kilfinnan Burn to reach Loch Lochy, whence it flows southwest to reach the sea loch Loch Linnhe on the west coast.
Ascents
The most popular ascent of Ben Tee starts at the Laggan locks on the Caledonian Canal at grid reference NN287963 where there is a car park.
The minor road to Kilfinnan on the north side of Loch Lochy is taken and left about 200 yards before the Kilfinnan Burn is reached to strike northwest up the steep slopes of Ben Tee. Do not take the path to the Kilfinnan Falls as it is not possible to exit the gorge further up, however the falls are worth visiting but steps will have to be retraced.
The route continues across moorland which steepens to reach the broad eastern ridge and then the summit. Approaches are possible from the north and the east, one starts at the bridge over Loch Garry (grid reference NH195022), while another starts at the Forestry Commission’s Alt na Cailliche car park near Invergarry (grid reference NH282006). Both these routes are longer than the Kilfinnan approach.[7]
References
- ↑ "Scotland Coast to Coast" Page 54
- ↑ "Hamish‘s Mountain Walk" Page 249 Gives information on translation.
- ↑ "The Call of the Corbetts" Page 76 Gives information on translation.
- ↑ "The Call of the Corbetts" Page 76
- ↑ "Adventure Guide to Scotland" Page 373
- ↑ Scottish Hill Racing
- ↑ "The Corbetts and other Scottish Hills" Page 143 Gives routes of ascent.
- Climbing the Corbetts, Hamish Brown, ISBN 1-898573-08-5
- The Call of the Corbetts, Irvine Butterfield, ISBN 0-7153-2754-2
- The Corbetts and Other Scottish Hills, Scott Johnstone (Editor) et al., ISBN 0-907521-29-0
- The Corbett Almanac, Cameron McNeish, Neil Wilson Publishing, ISBN 1-897784-14-7
- 100 Best Routes on Scottish Mountains, Ralph Storer, ISBN 0-7515-0300-2