Càrn Mairg

Càrn Mairg
Càrn Mairg seen from Meall nan Aighean, two km to the SE.
Highest point
Elevation	1,042 m (3,419 ft)
Prominence	465 m (1,526 ft)
Parent peak	Schiehallion
Listing	Munro, Marilyn
Naming
Translation	Hill of Sorrow / Hill of the Dead (Gaelic)
Pronunciation	Scottish Gaelic: [ˈkʰaːrˠn ˈmɛɾʲɛkʲ]
Geography
Location	Perth and Kinross, Scotland
Parent range	Grampians
OS grid	NN684512
Topo map	OS Landranger 51, OS Explorer 378

Càrn Mairg is a Scottish mountain located 18 km west of Aberfeldy in the Perth and Kinross council area. It stands on the northern side of Glen Lyon in a cluster of four Munros known as the Càrn Mairg group which are situated in a semi circle around the Invervar Burn.

Càrn Mairg is commonly climbed with the other three Munros of the Càrn Mairg group (Meall Garbh, Meall nan Aighean and Càrn Gorm). With a height of 1041 metres (3415 feet) it is the highest of the group and qualifies as a Munro and a Marilyn. The terrain of the Càrn Mairg range is similar to high, rolling moorland with only small depressions between the four Munros, a landscape which is suitable for ski mountaineering and has been likened to the Cairngorms, however the circuit of the hills is a long walk being almost 18 km in length.

Càrn Mairg stands on the Chesthill Estate, whose main activities are farming, fishing and deer stalking. Prior to the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003 there was some animosity between the estate and hill walkers over access to the Càrn Mairg hills. At one point the estate put a 3.5 metre high locked gate at the start of the walk at Invervar. Since the 2003 legislation, the estate has built a car park for walkers at Invervar which only holds eight cars and they request that walkers go elsewhere when the car park is full in an effort to keep a limited number of walkers on the hills. The estate have also requested that the round of the Càrn Mairg Munros is done from west to east (clockwise) to lessen disturbance to deer management.

The mountains name translates from the Scottish Gaelic language as “Hill of Sorrow” or “Hill of the Dead”, this is said to commemorate Saint Eonan turning back an outbreak of the Bubonic Plague at the farmstead of Slatich, several kilometres to the west. The nearby village of Fortingall had earlier been decimated leaving only one survivor. An alternative interpretation of the name is “Pudding Hill” from the word marag, meaning a "(meat) pudding" which could describe the hills uninspiring shape.