Torridon: Liathach and Beinn Eighe, mountains that don't care
Some glens ease you in. Torridon doesn't. You come down off the moor at Kinlochewe and the mountains are just there, close enough to touch, old enough to make almost everything around it feel recent. Liathach runs for nearly five miles along one side of the glen like a wall someone forgot to finish softening. Beinn Eighe answers it from the other side, its quartzite scree catching the light like snow in any season. You don't need to climb either one to feel what they're doing to the scale of the place. But if you do want to climb, know exactly what you're taking on first.
🧭 At a glance
Route: Gairloch or Kinlochewe → Glen Torridon → Torridon village → on to Shieldaig and Applecross
Time: half a day through the glen, or two nights if the mountains are the reason you came
Best for: anyone who wants scale without committing to a summit, and serious hillwalkers who came for exactly that summit
Skip the ridges if: you're not an experienced scrambler with a head for exposure — Liathach and Beinn Eighe are not places to improvise
📶 Before you set off. Signal is patchy through the glen and gone completely on the higher ground. On Wi-Fi, open Google Maps, tap your profile icon, choose Offline maps, then Select your own map, and drag the box to cover Torridon, Kinlochewe and Applecross. Save this page to your phone too.
1. The road in: Loch Maree and the A832
The drive from Gairloch shadows Loch Maree with Slioch rising across the water, then drops through the glacial valley into Torridon proper. It's a remarkable meeting of mountain, loch and sea, and it asks for your attention while it gives it to you.
⚠️ Route warning. The A832 runs unfenced through open mountain territory for long stretches. Sheep and deer often sleep on the warm tarmac. Be ready to brake suddenly, especially at dusk.
The Midge Bite Cafe, Achnasheen
An unassuming roadside café at the Achnasheen junction, good for coffee, homemade soup and rolls. It sits at the natural halfway point between the east and west coasts, which makes it a sensible place to stop whichever direction you're driving.
Facebook page · Navigate · Google Maps
2. The mountains: Liathach and Beinn Eighe
Liathach, the Grey One, runs almost five miles along the north side of the glen and stands 1,054 metres at its highest point, Spidean a' Chòire Lèith. Many hillwalkers rate it Scotland's finest mountain, challenged only by An Teallach and the Cuillin on Skye. The full traverse crosses the Am Fasarinen pinnacles, a section of exposed, awkward scrambling with a bypass path that is itself steep and precipitous if you slip off it. It's graded at the top of the difficulty scale, takes most parties eight to ten hours, and is not a route to learn on. If you're unsure of your scrambling head, hire a qualified mountain guide rather than find out on the ridge.
Beinn Eighe, opposite, tops out at 993 metres and is famous for its quartzite scree slopes, which can look like a dusting of snow from a distance even in August. Between them, the two mountains are made of some of the oldest rock in Europe: Torridonian sandstone laid down around 750 million years ago, sitting on Lewisian gneiss more than 2.6 billion years old. You are driving through geological time, not just a glen.
💡 Insider tip. If neither summit is on your list this trip, drive slowly along the single-track glen road between Kinlochewe and Torridon anyway. The view of Liathach's northern wall from the roadside pull-ins needs no boots at all.
Walkhighlands: Liathach route guide · Navigate · Google Maps
3. For the rest of us: Beinn Eighe National Nature Reserve
Scotland's oldest national nature reserve protects one of the last fragments of ancient Caledonian pine forest, and its woodland trails are genuinely walkable by anyone, not just the ridge crowd. It's a good half-day if the mountains themselves are staying on the to-do list for a future trip.
Time needed: 1.5 to 2 hours.
💡 Insider tip. The Pine Tree Trail, marked in red, gives the best effort-to-reward ratio: proper mountain views without a strenuous climb.
NatureScot website · Navigate · Google Maps
4. Torridon village
The village itself is small: a handful of houses, a shop, and the National Trust for Scotland's countryside centre, which manages the estate's five Munros, 18 miles of paths, and its population of pine marten, golden eagle and otter along the loch. The estate was recently designated Scotland's newest National Nature Reserve.
💡 Insider tip. The countryside centre and deer museum are currently closed while the Trust reviews future plans for the site — check the NTS page before building a stop around it. The walking, the loch and the mountains are all still fully open regardless.
National Trust for Scotland: Torridon · Navigate · Google Maps
5. Where to stay tonight
The Torridon for five-star luxury in an 1887 shooting lodge at the head of the loch, with award-winning dining and a whisky bar running to hundreds of malts. Book · hotel website · Navigate · Google Maps
Kinlochewe Club Campsite for a spotless Caravan and Motorhome Club site below Slioch at the foot of the glen. Non-members welcome. Book · Caravan Club · Navigate · Google Maps
6. Onward: the peninsula
From Torridon the road runs on to Shieldaig and Applecross, a shorter and gentler drive than the glen you've just done, with its own coffee stop and waterfront village on the way. Read the full feature on Applecross and the Bealach na Bà if that's the next stop on your route.
What to avoid
Attempting Liathach or Beinn Eighe without scrambling experience. Both are serious mountains with real consequences for a wrong step. Hire a guide if you're unsure.
Building your day around the deer museum. It's currently closed — check before you plan around it.
Driving the glen road at speed. It's single track with blind crests, and it's also the best view in the chapter. Slow down for both reasons.
Assuming signal. Download offline maps before you leave Gairloch or Kinlochewe.
Next step
Heading onward? Read our feature on Applecross and the Bealach na Bà: the road that is the destination.
Free Torridon guide. The drive past Loch Maree, a walk below the mountains and places to eat and stay in the glen, in a PDF for your phone. Get the free Torridon guide
For the trailhead. The Route500 Scotland Travel Mug is 20 oz of double-wall vacuum insulated stainless steel in Highland Navy, with a slide-lock lid, and it comes with free tracked worldwide shipping. See the Travel Mug
