Sexy Mountain Names

Thanks to Armin Grewe for his comment on outdoor frolics - he suggests the Paps of Jura as an appropriate location for oudoor romance. With it being Valentines day I got round thinking that this game could go on a long time. Mountains regularly have names with a sexual meaning, most often as a simple description of their shape.

So I dug out my copy of Scottish Hill and Mountain Names by Peter Drummond, by far the best reference book on the meaning of Scottish  Mountain Names, to do a little bit more research. He explains that Gaelic society was not prudish in naming hills with the words for nipple and breast featuring regularly. Cioch, ciche and mam are widely used with the latter refering to rounded hills, the others to mountains that come to a point or have nipple like torrs. Examples are Sgurr na Ciche, Mam Sodhail, A'Chioch on Beinn a' Bhuird and on Mull's Ben More. Similarly in Scots there is the Pap of Glencoe and the Paps of Jura, amongst others.

The male anatomy also features - the gaelic word for penis is bod - and the best known hill is the Devils Point in the Cairngorms. This name was introduced by prudish Victorians who were offended by the gaelic name - Bod an Deamhain - the demon's penis! Drummond also points out that there are a number of vertical sea stacks known euphemistically as the Old Man- of Hoy, of Stoer.

A happy and romantic Valentines day to all mountain lovers