There are a couple of odd things about Cac Carn Beag, the summit proper of Lochnagar. The first thing is that it is higher than Cac Carn Mor by 5m, so the names appear to be the wrong way round. The second is the actual meaning of the name which, according to Wikipedia, is "small cairn of faeces". Steve Kew on the other hand translates it as "slope of the wee cairn". The question seems to hinge on what the Gaelic term "cac" means. Is there in fact some devious connection with the French term <i>caca</i> (a child's word for faeces)? Well, since <i>caca</i> actually comes from the Latin <i>cacare</i> (to defecate), it seems entirely possible. Perhaps we shall never know. I can't help wondering whether Queen Victoria ever asked her ghillie about the meaning of the name, and what her loyal and obedient servant found to say in reply. "Well, Your Majesty, it <i>could</i> be translated 'slope of the wee cairn'..."

Cac Carn Beag