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A wider landscape view of Schiehallion above a calm loch, white houses among the shoreline trees and wooded hills rising to the right.
Perthshire

Schiehallion

The shapely peak between Loch Tay and Loch Rannoch, 1,083 metres high, where Nevil Maskelyne weighed the Earth in 1774 and contour lines were first drawn.

Welcome

Seen from Loch Rannoch or from Queen's View, Schiehallion is the perfect mountain: a lone, shapely peak rising to 1,083 metres between Loch Tay and Loch Rannoch, a steep cone from the side and a long whaleback ridge from end to end.

Its Gaelic name is often said to mean the fairy hill of the Caledonians.

In 1774 it became the most famous mountain in science. The Astronomer Royal, Nevil Maskelyne, chose it because it stood alone and was so regular in shape, and camped on its slopes for months, measuring how the mountain's mass pulled his plumb lines aside. From that pull the density, and so the weight, of the whole Earth was worked out. To map the hill's shape, the surveyors joined points of equal height, and so drew the first contour lines.

The usual climb starts at Braes of Foss on the east side, following a good path and then a long, bouldery ridge to the summit, with views across half of Scotland.

Before you go

Free, at any time.

It is a hill day, needing boots, warm clothing and a map.

Height
1,083 metres.
Where
Between Loch Tay and Loch Rannoch, south-east of Kinloch Rannoch.

Did you know

Schiehallion's cone rises under heavy grey cloud above a calm loch and a wooded shore, in an upright frame with leafy branches in front.
Did you know

Weighing the world.

In 1774 Nevil Maskelyne used Schiehallion's pull on a plumb line to work out the density of the Earth.

Schiehallion's cone rises beyond birch woods above a winding farm track and a timber hut with a metal roof, a child tucked among the rocks.
Did you know

The first contours.

The surveyors mapping the mountain joined points of equal height, drawing the first contour lines.

A helmeted boy on a mountain bike comes closer down the gravel farm track, Schiehallion standing under a wide blue sky behind.
Did you know

Chosen for its shape.

The mountain was picked because it stood alone and was so regular in shape.

Graeme Johncock

In 1774, Schiehallion was used to weigh the world. Its steep, symmetrical sides and isolation from other hills made it a perfect candidate for scientists to record the mountain’s volume, density, how strong its gravitational pull was and therefore the mass of Earth.

Read more
What is on

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New places, news and stories, as we find them.

What is on in Perthshire
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Where it is

Between Loch Tay and Loch Rannoch, in Highland Perthshire.

Close byRannoch and Tummel.
  1. The CornerstoneThe Cornerstone5 miles7 min by road
  2. Kinloch RannochKinloch RannochThe Highland village below the mountain's northern side.5 miles7 min by road
  3. The Shed GalleryThe Shed Gallery5 miles7 min by road
  4. The Black Wood of RannochThe Black Wood of Rannoch8 miles9 min by road
  5. Loch RannochLoch RannochA long Highland loch below the mountain.10 miles13 min by road
  6. Loch Tummel stretches between wooded hills, framed by autumn leaves at Queen's ViewQueen’s ViewThe view along Loch Tummel to Schiehallion.15 miles21 min by road
Directions
A sign reading "Garden Cottage" hangs on a white gate before a gravel drive, the white cottage and hills visible beyond.PerthshireGarden CottageSleeps 2 · 2.5 miles
A small stone bothy joined to a stone steading, seen across long grass under a Scots pine bough, a corrugated shed to the right.PerthshireLassintullich BothySleeps 2 · 2.9 miles
A white harled house with a slated roof sits among woodland below a hill, a track winding up to it through fields.PerthshireLassintullich HouseSleeps 16 · 2.9 miles
A stone steading with a slated roof and an arched green door stands beside a gravel courtyard, daffodils growing at its base.PerthshireWest Tempar BothySleeps 2 · 2.9 miles
AttractionsGlen Lyon4.6 miles over the water
Rannoch from across the clearing: a black cabin with a larch end, a rope-railed deck and a mossy drystone dyke, tall pines behind.Kinloch RannochRannoch at Redhill RetreatSleeps 2 · 7.4 miles
A landscape view of Loch on the crest of its grassy bank, the glass front reflecting the birches and a rusted screen by an old stump.Kinloch RannochLoch at Redhill RetreatSleeps 2 · 7.4 miles
A landscape view of Kin between two birch trunks, its black boards and rusted panels above the blaeberry, spruce behind.Kinloch RannochKin at Redhill RetreatSleeps 2 · 7.4 miles
Kin, PerthshirePerthshireKinSleeps 2 · 7.4 miles
Stay nearby

Places to stay near the mountain, and when each is next free.

A sign reading "Garden Cottage" hangs on a white gate before a gravel drive, the white cottage and hills visible beyond.Garden Cottage
  • Sleeps 2
  • In Perthshire
  • 2 miles from Schiehallion
Free 14–16 NovA stone steading with a slated roof and an arched green door stands beside a gravel courtyard, daffodils growing at its base.West Tempar Bothy
  • Sleeps 2
  • In Perthshire
  • 2 miles from Schiehallion
Free 4–6 NovA white harled house with a slated roof sits among woodland below a hill, a track winding up to it through fields.Lassintullich House
  • Sleeps 16
  • In Perthshire
  • 2 miles from Schiehallion
Free 16–18 OctA small stone bothy joined to a stone steading, seen across long grass under a Scots pine bough, a corrugated shed to the right.Lassintullich Bothy
  • Sleeps 2
  • In Perthshire
  • 2 miles from Schiehallion
Check datesPlaces to stayEvery stay in PerthshireAll our places to stay nearby, to search by date and by who is coming.See them all
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