Ben Hope – Up the South Flank to the Most Northerly Munro

The walk

The usual way up Ben Hope starts at Muiseal, on the single-track road through Strath More, and comes back the same way. By our map it is about 7.4 km (4½ miles) there and back, with about 900 metres of climb. Allow about 4 to 5 hours, more with stops, in poor weather or under snow. A steep path climbs beside the Allt a' Mhuiseil to a brief levelling at about 450 metres, then turns north up the broad south flank and the south ridge to the summit, 927 metres up. Other ways exist: a path climbs the whole south ridge from Alltnacaillich, and the north ridge is a harder way, a scramble with a difficult rock step. This walk takes neither.

Strath More is reached by a long single-track road with passing places, from the A838 at the north end of Loch Hope in the north or from Altnaharra in the south. The start is at Muiseal, about 2 kilometres north of Alltnacaillich, by a barn and a sign reading Way up Ben Hope. Out About Scotland gives the bay opposite the barn room for about five cars, and Scotland-Landscapes describes two grassy parking areas. OpenStreetMap maps the layby as free, and no source read gives a charge. There are no toilets, shops or fuel for miles around, and no bus: come with all you need. A storm once washed out bridges on this road and closed it, one walker reports, so check before a long drive.

Before you set off, check the mountain forecast: the Mountain Weather Information Service's Northwest Highlands forecast covers the hill, and the Met Office gives one for the summit. Conditions on the hills are often much colder and windier than down in the strath, Forestry and Land Scotland warns. Wear good walking boots and carry warm, waterproof clothing, plenty of food and drink, and a torch. Carry a map and compass and know how to use them, and do not rely only on a phone or GPS: the Ordnance Survey's Explorer 447 covers the walk. Deer stalking can take place at any time of year, Mountaineering Scotland says: the first three weeks of October are the busiest, and hinds are stalked from 21 October to 15 February. Check the Heading for the Scottish Hills website before you go and follow any signs. Leave word with someone of where you are going and when you will be back.

From the sign the path crosses a field and climbs at once, rough and very steep, up the south side of the Allt a' Mhuiseil, past its waterfalls and pools. The ground beside the burn is rocky: take care here. The path then zigzags up through small crags and escarpments and over boggy ground, in places a muddy quagmire. By our map it crosses small burns four times on this lower hill, with no bridges, and they can rise fast after rain: if they run high, do not cross. At about 450 metres, half way up, the slope eases for a while.

Above the levelling the path turns north and climbs steeply up the broad south flank onto the south ridge. Between about 500 and 750 metres it is badly eroded, and the going is hard. The views open up behind you, west across Strath More to Foinaven and Arkle. Higher up a few small cairns mark the way, and the grass gives way to bare rock and loose stones as you reach a false summit.

All the way up, the west side of the hill falls away on your left. It is very steep along its whole length, with two tiers of crags, and the higher tier forms the edge of the ridge you are climbing, Scotland.org.uk says. By our map the path passes within about 15 metres of a mapped crag below the summit. Above the false summit the path climbs steep, rocky ground close above this western escarpment. Out About Scotland calls it a mild scramble from there to the top, and 10Adventures a rocky, more technical section: neither gives it a grade, and you may need your hands in places. Keep to the path and well back from the edge, above all in wind or mist.

The summit, 927 metres, has a trig point inside a low wall of stones that gives some shelter. On a clear day the view runs east over Ben Loyal, the Kyle of Tongue and the Flow Country. Ben Hope is Scotland's most northerly Munro, and it stands a long way from the rest: Ben Klibreck, the nearest, is about 23 kilometres to the south-east. North of the summit the flat top drops away on both sides of the knife-edged north ridge. That ridge is very steep and rocky, with a difficult section where a very exposed rock step bars the way for most walkers: Scotland-Landscapes calls it a rock climb of Very Difficult grade. It is not a way down, and this walk turns back at the summit.

In mist the stony top is a hard place to find your way, and Scotland Off the Beaten Track warns that it could need careful navigation in poor visibility. Out on the hill there are no waymarks or signposts, Forestry and Land Scotland warns. Crags fall away on the west side of the top and the north ridge drops away beyond it, and a path leads on north from the summit towards that edge: it does not lead back to the road. Before you leave the summit, take a bearing south along the path you came by, and keep count of your time or paces. If the cloud comes down, the wind rises or anyone is tiring, turn back by the way you came.

Under snow Ben Hope is a winter mountain, and the days are short. Snow has fallen here as late as May. Then it needs winter skills, an ice axe and crampons that fit a rigid boot: micro spikes are not made for steeper ground where a slip could lead to a fall, Mountaineering Scotland warns. Low cloud or falling snow can cut the view to a few metres, and wind can whip up a white-out even on a sunny day. No avalanche forecast covers Ben Hope: the Scottish Avalanche Information Service forecasts for six other areas. That does not mean there is no risk here under snow.

The way down is the way you came: south along the ridge, down the steep, eroded flank to the levelling, and down beside the Allt a' Mhuiseil to the road. The rocky stretch below the summit and the steep path beside the burn need as much care going down as coming up. If someone is hurt, call 999 or 112 and ask for Police and Mountain Rescue, Mountaineering Scotland says. Give a six-figure grid reference and a named feature if you can. Mobile signal in the Highlands can be poor: to be able to text 999 where a call will not connect, register first by texting the word register to 999.