Suilven the Magnificent

Rising out of the boggy wilderness in the Inverpolly National Nature Reserve in Assynt, Scotland, is the unmistakable Suilven. No other British mountain (or, technically, monadnock) evokes the emotions in the way Suilven does. In his poem “Climbing Suilven”, Norman MacCaig describes the tortuous ascent up the vertical face: “I nod and nod to my own shadow and thrust”. It’s an 8-mile slog to the summit – with kit if you’re wild camping. With each mile closer, Suilven gets steeper, higher and its outline more preposterous. One half is a witch’s hat, the other half a dome, which gives it the look of a cartoon whale. The reward for the toil, however, is the best view in Britain and - if you’re lucky - a sunset and sunrise to do it justice.

I. Suilven the Magnificent

II. Daybreaker

III. The Glow

IV. The Whale

V. Fire Mountain

VI. Pink Hour

VII. Sunriser