For sale: Plots on Ben Nevis for just £25

If you've ever wanted to own part of the UK's highest mountain, now's your chance.

Ben Nevis, with Loch Eil in the foreground. Picture: Contributed

The John Muir Trust is selling off parts of Ben Nevis, Schiehallion in Perth and Kinross and the Skye peak of Blà Bheinn for 12-month periods in a bid to raise money for conservation work.

In a scheme similar to Edinburgh Zoo’s adopt-an-animal programme, interested parties can buy plots of land on the three peaks and will receive a certificate of adoption, personalised message and information about the preservation and conservation work towards which their money is contributing.

The charity hopes to raise in excess of £450,000 through the Adopt An Acre scheme, which will help to improve the environment for wildlife and plants, and will also help to restore native woodland.

People who buy plots of land on the mountains won’t be able to visit an exact plot but are encouraged by the John Muir Trust to get involved in volunteer work to help the charity’s work.

Daisy Clark of the John Muir Trust said: “Each gift will care for an acre of mountain landscape for a year, helping to protect and restore native habitats for wildlife and plants, and keep paths in tip-top condition.”

Ben Nevis, or Beinn Nibheis in Gaelic, loosely translates as ‘mountain with its head in the clouds’. The peak, overlooking Fort William in the Highlands, stands at 4411ft high, and attracts around 100,000 ascents every year. The summit is the collapsed dome of an historic volcano.

The Munro Schiehallion, located in Perth and Kinross, stands at 3553ft tall. Its name is an anglicised form of the Gaelic name Sidh Chailleann, which translates as ‘Fairy Hill of the Caledonians’. Often referred to as the centre of Scotland, Schiehallion was home to an eponymous experiment in 1774, that eventually led to the creation of what we know today as contour lines on maps.

Blà Bheinn, on the isle of Skye. Picture: Contributed

Around 20,000 people climb Schiehallion annually.

Blà Bheinn, or Blaven, is located on the Isle of Skye, in the Cuillin range. Reaching 3045ft at its highest point, Blà Bheinn - thought to come from a combination of Norse and Gaelic and meaning ‘blue mountain’ - can be found in the Strathaird Estate, between Loch Slapin and Loch Scavaig.