Aonach Beag
4 classifications here — Marilyn, HuMP, Simm and Murdo — belong to lists OpenFell holds only part of, so they have no list page. See how far the coverage goes.
- Height
- 1234 m · 4,049 ft
- Prominence
- 404 m
- Grid reference
- NN 19709 71493
- Coordinates
- 56.80000, -4.95414
- County / area
- Highland
- OS Landranger
- 41
- OS Explorer
- 392
- Summit feature
- small cairn
- Key col
- NN186722 (830 m)
About Aonach Beag
Aonach Beag lies roughly 3 km east of Ben Nevis on the north side of Glen Nevis, near Fort William. Setting Ben Nevis aside, it is the highest summit in the British Isles outside the Cairngorms.
Its name translates as 'small ridge' against Aonach Mòr's 'big ridge' to the north, to which it is joined by a high bealach — but Aonach Beag is in fact the higher of the two. The names describe the bulk of the hills, not their altitude. Walkers reach it either by the Nevis Range gondola onto Aonach Mòr at 650 m and then along the connecting ridge, or more traditionally from Glen Nevis to the south.
Background written from facts in the Wikipedia article on Aonach Beag (CC BY-SA 4.0). Heights, prominence and grid references come from the Database of British & Irish Hills, not from Wikipedia.
Access rights here
Yes Right to roam: Statutory right of responsible access to most land and inland water.
Yes Wild camping: Wild camping is broadly lawful under the 2003 Act.
General position for Scotland — local byelaws, seasonal restrictions and closures can override it. Full details: access rights in Scotland · check another location.
Daylight at this summit today
- Sunrise
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- Sunset
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- Daylight
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- Civil twilight ends
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Computed astronomically for 56.800, -4.954. Plan your finish with the daylight safety planner.
Summit weather live
Loading forecast for the summit (1234 m)…
Forecast adjusted to summit altitude. Weather data from MET Norway (CC BY 4.0).
The Aonach Beag group
5 other listed summits sit in the same prominence group, with Aonach Beag as the independent hill at its head.
| Summit | Height | Drop |
|---|---|---|
| Aonach Mor | 1,220 m | 133 m |
| Stob Coire Bhealaich | 1,101 m | 17 m |
| Stob an Chul-Choire | 1,070 m | 69 m |
| Sgurr a' Bhuic | 963 m | 65 m |
| Tom na Sroine | 919 m | 34 m |
Grouping is by prominence alone: a summit belongs to the nearest higher Marilyn it connects to without a deeper intervening col. Over a large massif that can gather hills no one would walk in a single day, and which few would describe as parts of the same mountain — it is a measure of independence, not a suggested route.
Nearest listed peaks
| Peak | Height | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Stob Coire Bhealaich | 1101 m | 0.7 km |
| Aonach Mor | 1220.4 m | 1.5 km |
| Sgurr a' Bhuic | 963 m | 1.5 km |
| Stob an Chul-Choire | 1070.1 m | 1.7 km |
| Carn Mor Dearg | 1220 m | 2.1 km |
| Carn Dearg Meadhonach | 1179 m | 2.4 km |