View source for Bennachie

{{Short description|Range of hills in Aberdeenshire, Scotland}}
{{For|the [[Ben Line]] ships|SS Bennachie}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox mountain
| name = Bennachie
| photo = Mither Tap from the South - geograph.org.uk - 55769.jpg
| photo_caption = Mither Tap from the south
| elevation_ft = 1732
| elevation_ref = 
| prominence_ft = 1037
| prominence_ref = 
| parent_peak = 
| range = 
| highest = Oxen Craig
| listing = [[Marilyn (geography)|Marilyn]]
| translation = Hill of the breast
| language = [[Scottish Gaelic language|Gaelic]]
| pronunciation = {{IPAc-en|lang|b|ɛ|n|æ|ˈ|h|iː}}
| location = [[Aberdeenshire (traditional)|Aberdeenshire]], [[Scotland]]
| map = Scotland
| coordinates = {{coord|57.29275|-2.56244|type:mountain_region:GB_source:enwiki-osgb36(NJ662226)|display=inline,title}}
| coordinates_ref = 
| grid_ref_UK = NJ662226
| topo = [[Ordnance Survey|OS]] ''Landranger'' 38
| type = 
| age = 
| first_ascent = 
| easiest_route = 
}}

'''Bennachie''' ({{IPAc-en|b|ɛ|n|ə|ˈ|x|iː}} {{respell|ben-ə|HEE|'}}; [[Scottish Gaelic]]: ''Beinn na Cìche'')<ref>G.M. Miller, ''BBC Pronouncing Dictionary of British Names'' (Oxford UP, 1971), p. 13.</ref> is a range of hills in [[Aberdeenshire (historic)|Aberdeenshire]], [[Scotland]].<ref name=whitely>Whiteley, A.W.M. (Ed.) (1976). ''The Book of Bennachie''. The Bailies of Bennachie. {{ISBN|0-900323-21-3}}. Mostly anecdotes and verse about the mountain and its surroundings.</ref>  It has several tops, the highest of which, '''Oxen Craig''', has a height of {{convert|528|m|ft|0}}. Though not particularly high, compared to other peaks within Scotland, the mountain is very prominent, owing to its isolation and the relative flatness of the surrounding terrain, and dominates the skyline from several viewpoints.

The peak that stands out the most visually is '''Mither Tap''' (518&nbsp;m, 1699&nbsp;feet) and from its top there are good views of the county to the north and east. Most of the tops lie along an east / west [[ridge]], with the exception of '''Millstone Hill''' (409 m) an outlier or spur which is separated from and to the south of the main ridge. Mither Tap has an [[Iron Age]] [[fort]] on its summit. Unlike with many other hilltop forts in the area, there are no signs of [[Glass transition|vitrification]] in the stone.<ref name=whitely /> Bennachie is visible from a number of distant points; to the north it is visible from [[Longman Hill]], a point considerably to the north.<ref>Michael Hogan, C. [http://www.themodernantiquarian.com/site/11228/longman_hill.html#fieldnotes "Longman Hill"], ''Longman Hill'', 2008, Modern Antiquarian</ref>

== Etymology ==
The etymology of Bennachie is uncertain. Suggestions include "Initially ''Beinn a Cioch'', the hill of the nipple or pap."<ref>{{cite book |last1=McHardy |first1=Stuart |title=Scotland's Future Culture: Recalibrating a Nation's Identity |date=26 September 2017 |publisher=Luath Press Ltd |isbn=978-1-912387-11-3 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3Go3DwAAQBAJ&dq=(%27%27Beinn+na+Ciche%27%27:+%27hill+of+the+breast%27&pg=PT47 |access-date=14 January 2024 |language=en}}</ref>  It has also been translated as the "‘Mountain of Ce’" , a king mentioned in the [[List of legendary kings of Pictland]].<ref>{{cite book |title=The Pictish Chronicle |date=15 June 2014 |url=http://www.kjhskj75z.talktalk.net/pictish.html#second |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140615163653/http://www.kjhskj75z.talktalk.net/pictish.html#second |access-date=14 January 2024|archive-date=15 June 2014 }}</ref><ref name="Problem with Picts">{{cite journal |title=The problem with the Picts |journal=Current Archaeology |date=4 June 2020 |url=https://archaeology.co.uk/articles/features/the-problem-of-the-picts.htm |access-date=14 January 2024}}</ref>

== History of the area ==

From 1800 to 1859 common land on the east side of Bennachie was home to a community of squatters known locally as the [[The Colony (Bennachie)|Colony]].<ref>Fagen, J. [http://www.leopardmag.co.uk/feats/251/echoes-of-the-bennachie-colonists "Echoes of the Bennachie Colonists"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100925025629/http://www.leopardmag.co.uk/feats/251/echoes-of-the-bennachie-colonists |date=2010-09-25 }}, ''Leopard Magazine'', Retrieved on 2009-08-11</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Campsie|first=Alison|date=21 October 2020|title=The crofters who 'colonised' a famous Scottish hill for 100 years|work=Scotsman|url=https://www.scotsman.com/heritage-and-retro/heritage/crofters-who-colonised-famous-scottish-hill-100-years-3010958|access-date=30 May 2021}}</ref> A small number of families led a [[crofting]] life often doing skilled work, such as dyking and quarrying, for local landowners. After 1859 the Colony dwindled as the common land was broken up and divided amongst the local estates. However, the last of the original colonists, George Esson, lived on the hill until his death in the 1930s. Visitors to Bennachie can explore the remains of the Colony and extensive work is being done on site and amongst local parish records to determine the history of the Colonists.

===Mither Tap ===

In the 1870s [[Christian Maclagan]], an early Scottish archaeologist, surveyed and conducted excavations at Mither Tap in 1876 and 1881.<ref>{{cite web |title=Mither Tap Of Bennachie |url=https://canmore.org.uk/site/85507/mither-tap-of-bennachie |website=Canmore |publisher=Historic Environment Scotland |access-date=6 July 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=2.1 Antiquarian work and early syntheses |url=https://www.scottishheritagehub.com/content/21-antiquarian-work-and-early-syntheses |website=Scottish Archaeological Research Framework |access-date=6 July 2018 |archive-date=6 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180706193221/https://www.scottishheritagehub.com/content/21-antiquarian-work-and-early-syntheses |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In 2019 the [[University of Aberdeen]] Northern Picts Project conducted an excavation at Mither Tap.<ref name="Problem with Picts"/>

It has been suggested as a possible site of the battle of [[Mons Graupius]].<ref name="Breeze">{{cite journal |last1=Breeze |first1=Andrew |title=Philology on Tacitus's Graupian Hill and Trucculan Harbour |journal=Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland |date=2002 |pages=305–311 |url=https://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/archiveDS/archiveDownload?t=arch-352-1/dissemination/pdf/vol_132/132_305_311.pdf |access-date=13 January 2024}}</ref>

== Paths and environment ==

The range of hills is a popular destination for walkers since it is relatively close to [[Aberdeen]]. The [[Gordon Way]] is a waymarked trail that traverses the Southern flank of Bennachie between the Visitors Centre in the East and Suie Car Park to the West. Most of the Bennachie range is owned by [[Forestry and Land Scotland]], which maintains a network of paths on and around the hills, several car parks and a [[visitor centre]] located at the eastern foot of the range. A volunteer conservation charity, the [http://www.bailiesofbennachie.co.uk/ Bailies of Bennachie], founded in 1973, helps with this work and with other environmental and archaeological activities on the hill.<ref name=bbn2013>{{cite news|title=2013 Newsletter|newspaper=Bailies of Bennachie Newsletter|year=2013}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Andonova|first=Denny|date=10 April 2021|title=Rubbish views: New campaign launched to tackle litter issues on Bennachie|work=Press and Journal|url=https://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/news/aberdeenshire/3039928/campaign-launched-to-tackle-litter-issues-at-bennachie/|access-date=30 May 2021}}</ref> There are several marked paths, including fairly easy ascents of Oxen Craig and Mither Tap that start from the centre.

In 2023, the Bailies of Bennachie received the Community Initiative Award at [[Royal Society for the Protection of Birds|RSPB]] Scotland's Nature of Scotland Awards 2023.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hebditch |first=Jon |date=2023-11-28 |title=Bennachie conservation group pick up top RSPB award on 50th anniversary year |url=https://www.aberdeenlive.news/news/aberdeen-news/bennachie-conservation-group-pick-up-8938306 |access-date=2023-12-04 |website=Aberdeen Live |language=en}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[Macaulayite]], a mineral known from only one place in the world, at the foot of Bennachie.
*[[Breast-shaped hill]]
*[[Christian Maclagan]]
*[[Tap o' Noth]] Pictish hillfort

==Gallery==
<gallery mode="packed" widths="300" heights="120">
File:Bennachie from the North.jpg|Bennachie from the North. Peaks are from left to right: Mither Tap, Craigshannoch, Bruntwood Tap, Oxen Craig, Watch Craig.
File:Oxen craig.jpg|Oxen Craig from Mither Tap
File:Mither tap view north.jpg|View north from Mither Tap
File:Bennachie panorama by Bruce McAdam.jpg|Bennachie viewed from the South, with the peak of Mither Tap to the right.
File:Mither tap summit.jpg|View from the summit of Mither Tap
</gallery>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Bennachie}}
* Computer-generated virtual panoramas [http://www.viewfinderpanoramas.org/panoramas/GRE/BenahiOX.gif Oxen Craig] [http://www.viewfinderpanoramas.org/panoramas.html Index]
* Flickr Group devoted to Bennachie photos [https://www.flickr.com/groups/bennachie/ Flickr Bennachie Group]
* [http://www.forestry.gov.uk/Website/recreation.nsf/LUWebDocsByKey/ScotlandAberdeenshireNoForestBennachie Forestry Commission Website for Bennachie] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090804175842/http://www.forestry.gov.uk/website/recreation.nsf/LUWebDocsByKey/ScotlandAberdeenshireNoForestBennachie |date=4 August 2009 }}
* Bailies of Bennachie a Bennachie Voluntary Conservation Society [https://www.bailiesofbennachie.co.uk]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20110529153618/http://www.goddessalive.co.uk/issue16/scotland.html Stuart McHardy, ''The Goddess in the Landscape of Scotland'']
*[https://www.360routes.com/2020/10/22/mither-tap-bennachie/  Virtual Tour of Mither Tap] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210221032143/https://www.360routes.com/2020/10/22/mither-tap-bennachie/ |date=21 February 2021 }}

{{Prehistoric Scotland}}
{{Garioch, Aberdeenshire places|state = collapsed}}
{{Hillforts in Scotland}}

[[Category:Marilyns of Scotland]]
[[Category:Mountains and hills of the Eastern Highlands]]
[[Category:Mountains and hills of Aberdeenshire]]
[[Category:Archaeological sites in Aberdeenshire]]
[[Category:Hillforts in Scotland]]
[[Category:Bronze Age sites in Scotland]]
[[Category:Iron Age sites in Scotland]]
[[Category:Mountains and hills of the United Kingdom with toposcopes]]
[[Category:Pictish sites in Scotland]]