File:Tom na h-Airidh summit cairn (from the south) - geograph.org.uk - 981515.jpg

English: Tom na h-Airidh summit cairn (from the south). This cairn marks the summit of Tom na h-Airidh, which stands at a height of 354m. The photo shows a view northwards looking over the cairn.

The name Tom na h-Airidh means "Knoll of the Shieling"; the name incorporates the Gaelic word "àiridh" (shieling), and describes a way in which this land was once used: shielings were summer residences (with groups of huts) on high pasture ground. Cattle and goats were moved to such high pastures in the summer months in order to rest their home pastures; in the days before large numbers of sheep were introduced to our hills, such high pasture ground offered much richer grazing than it does today. The word "àiridh" originally applied to the whole upland grazing area, and not just the dwelling huts. [John Mitchell, "The Shielings and Drove Ways of Loch Lomondside"]

The shape of Auchengaich Hill (NS2890) fills much of the background (from left to centre). It forms one of the "arms" of a horseshoe-like range of hills; Balcnock (to the extreme right, but almost entirely obscured by haze) forms the other arm, while the taller peak of Beinn Tharsuinn (a dark shape in the background, just right of centre, with its summit lost in bright cloud) stands at its head.

Much closer, between that distant hill and the cairn, a small rocky outcrop is visible (more or less above the centre of the cairn in the photo); for a closer look at that outcrop, see: 981442 and 981456.