Guardian Travel
October 7 2008
Highland clan chief Diarmid MacAulay walks us through his favourite landscapes in Scotland
1. Quinag, SutherlandThis remote, ice-scoured peak overlooks Diarmid's home in Assynt. For walkers, the steep cliffs and spineback ridge prove spectacular (if relatively easy) sport. The fact that the car park is already at 250m helps with the romp up the grassy lower slopes to the 808m summit. "From the top, you look across a very ancient landscape," says Diarmid. "It's 3.5 billion years old and fascinating geologically." The name of the mountain means "milking stool" in Gaelic, he says, while the corrie's name translates as "byre". "The name of the lower slopes, Airigh na Beinne, means 'summer grazing'." The whole mountain was once a pasture for "Scottish transhumance", he explains. "Until the people were cleared from the land, of course."
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