Ben Nevis is the highest mountain peak in the British Isles. It’s 4,409 feet high (1,344 metres).
It’s located at the western end of the Grampian Mountains in the Scottish Highlands.
In Scotland, mountain peaks higher than 3,000 feet are called Munros. They got the name Munro from the Munros Tables, a list of the tall mountains compiled by Sir Hugh Munro (1846-1919) in 1891.
Ben Nevis is an English version of the Gaelic name Beinn Nibheis. Beinn is a word for “mountain.” Nibheis is usually translated as “malicious” or “venomous.” According to a Wikipedia note, an alternate interpretation
is that “Beinn Nibheis” derives from “beinn nèamh-bhathais”, from “nèamh” “heavens, clouds” and “bathais” “top of a man’s head”. A literal translation would therefore be “the mountain with its head in the clouds”, though “mountain of Heaven” is also frequently given.
Ben Nevis is commonly called “The Ben.” About 100,000 climbers ascend it every year.
