The Sow of Atholl  The Sow of Atholl () is a Scottish hill which is situated 27 kilometres west-northwest of the town of Blair Atholl in Perth and Kinross council area. It stands on the western side of the Pass of Drumochter in a group of hills which lie around Coire Dhomhain. The Sow is a steep conical hill which reaches a height of 803 metres (2634 feet); it qualifies as a Corbett and a Marilyn. It throws down its least precipitous slopes to the SE in a broad ridge to Dalnaspidal Lodge from where the hill is often climbed. It stands immediately next to the A9 and the Highland Main Line as they pass the highest point of the Drumochter Pass and the hill is well seen from the road and railway. The hill's strange Anglicised name is believed to be a "more recent and fanciful name", a response to match the hill known as the Boar of Badenoch which lies 2.5 km to the north. Its more ancient and correct name is Meall an Dobharchain which translates from the Scottish Gaelic as Watercress Hill and this refers to the marshy ground on the lower SE flanks of the hill where watercress would have grown in the past. Although Watercress Hill is the accepted translation today, in 1854 "The New Statistical Account Of Scotland" referred to the hill as Carnan Dóbhrain which can be translated as Small Cairn of the Otters. The Sow of Atholl is not a hill rich in geographical highlights, its steep slopes are covered in heather interspersed with grass and the occasional boulder. Its one noteworthy feature is the steep valley to the west of the hill which prevents a straightforward walk to the adjoining Munro of Sgairneach Mhòr which lies three km to the SW. The nameless steep glen has been cited as a fine example of a Parabolic glacial valley. It drops 200 metres from the summit plateau of the Sow in a short distance and although the slopes are not unmanageable for a walker, most will contour round the head of the valley when traversing between The Sow and Sgairneach Mhòr rather than take a direct route. The presence of this steep valley gives The Sow its required prominence to give it the status of a separate mountain. All rainfall on the hill goes south to join the drainage basin of the River Tay and reaches the east coast of Scotland at the Firth of Tay.