The Sow of Atholl

The Sow is a steep conical hill which reaches a height of 803 metres (2634 feet); it qualifies as a Corbett and a Marilyn. It throws down its least precipitous slopes to the SE in a broad ridge to Dalnaspidal Lodge from where the hill is often climbed. It stands immediately next to the A9 and the Highland Main Line as they pass the highest point of the Drumochter Pass and the hill is well seen from the road and railway. The hill's strange Anglicised name is believed to be a "more recent and fanciful name", a response to match the hill known as the Boar of Badenoch which lies 2.5 km to the north. Its more ancient and correct name is Meall an Dobharchain which translates from the Scottish…