Mayar

Absolutely fresh terrain as far as our hillwalking experience in Scotland is concerned awaited us this day. This in more than one sense. First the drive from Braemar to Glen Clova/Glen Doll was uncharted terrain for us as soon as we left the A93 to drive to Kirriemuir (Munro!). Then we had never been in the Angus Glens. And last of course we had never set an eye on these Munros or at least we had never identified them from afar let’s say form Broad Cairn or Lochnagar or Tom Buidhe (only about six or seven kilometres away from Mayar as the cow flies).

We left the car at the end of the public road where there is big parking lot by the river and a visitor centre. Via forest roads we made good progress towards Corrie Fee. Where the road ends the last stretch of the hike in the forest was on a broad path. When the trees end a number of big boulders are reached which make for great place to stop and take in the beauty of this absolute highlight of the tour: The cliffs, waterfalls and ice-age-formed floor of Corrie Fee. With us was family of Indian or Pakistani origin who like us took photos and soaked in the views.

We carried on into the corrie and soon reached the place where the flat section ends and the climb up the corrie headwall starts. The path crossed some quite precipitous terrain and weaved its way up and up. The waterfall of the Fee burn is great in the splendid Highland setting. Then the cliffs were behind us and a disappearing and reappearing path on the uniform slope led us over mostly wet grass and a few remaining snow fields to the flat summit of Mayar. Again, this Munro is a great view point of terrain never seen before. Glen Prosen the Kilbo path and of course the summit of Driesh not too far away.

After a lunch break on Mayar this is where we directed our feet. The distance … [Read More]

2018-09-06T08:43:13+02:00May 19th, 2013|2013, 2019 - 2010, Glen Shee to Mount Keen|

Driesh

Absolutely fresh terrain as far as our hillwalking experience in Scotland is concerned awaited us this day. This in more than one sense. First the drive from Braemar to Glen Clova/Glen Doll was uncharted terrain for us as soon as we left the A93 to drive to Kirriemuir (Munro!). Then we had never been in the Angus Glens. And last of course we had never set an eye on these Munros or at least we had never identified them from afar let’s say form Broad Cairn or Lochnagar or Tom Buidhe (only about six or seven kilometres away from Mayar as the cow flies).

We left the car at the end of the public road where there is big parking lot by the river and a visitor centre. Via forest roads we made good progress towards Corrie Fee. Where the road ends the last stretch of the hike in the forest was on a broad path. When the trees end a number of big boulders are reached which make for great place to stop and take in the beauty of this absolute highlight of the tour: The cliffs, waterfalls and ice-age-formed floor of Corrie Fee. With us was family of Indian or Pakistani origin who like us took photos and soaked in the views.

We carried on into the corrie and soon reached the place where the flat section ends and the climb up the corrie headwall starts. The path crossed some quite precipitous terrain and weaved its way up and up. The waterfall of the Fee burn is great in the splendid Highland setting. Then the cliffs were behind us and a disappearing and reappearing path on the uniform slope led us over mostly wet grass and a few remaining snow fields to the flat summit of Mayar. Again, this Munro is a great view point of terrain never seen before. Glen Prosen the Kilbo path and of course the summit of Driesh not too far away.

After a lunch break on Mayar this is where we directed our feet. The distance … [Read More]

2017-09-19T14:15:04+02:00May 19th, 2013|2013, 2019 - 2010, Glen Shee to Mount Keen|

Broad Cairn

Apart from being a very economical way of adding almost two percent of the total tally of 284 Munros to our tick list this tour is also an interesting and entertaining long plateau walk. Since we wanted to do them all in one go we started our tour at the Spittal of Glen Muick. As described in my tour of spring 2001 we climbed the landrover track beside the Allt-na-giubhsaich in fine weather.

At the col above Glen Gelder we took the well engineered path which within maybe half an hour brought us to the col between the Ladder and Meikle Pap. There Frank and I sat on some rocks and looked at the cliffs of Lochnagar. As said before by many people: Great cliffs and a beautiful Loch. Then we and quite a few other people climbed the boulders of the Ladder, crossed some flatter terrain, climbed the final steepening and reached the wide summit plateau. At the summit tor we took a break and checked the indicator.

After having bagged this first Munro we turned south west, descended form the summit and headed for the rounded lump of the White Mounth aka Carn a’Choire Bhoidheach whose summit is marked by a small cairn. Easy walking but nothing exciting. From the top of this second Munro we descended more steeply to regain the path leading over from the Stuic. It skirts Carn an t-Sagairt Beag and in due time lead us to the path that climbs Carn an t-Sagairt Mor our third Munro. At the cairn we sat in the sunshine and in strong wind and took another well-deserved break.

Soon the wind chill drove us on and we retraced our steps heading south east over the grass and moss to Cairn Bannoch. This summit is not much more than some fairly big rocks in a sea of grass. With another Munro ticked our last top of the day was Braod Cairn visible a few kilometres away. With a little descending and re-ascending this hill was finally reached. Five … [Read More]

2021-12-15T02:46:34+01:00May 9th, 2008|2008, 2009 - 2000, Glen Shee to Mount Keen|

Carn a’Choire Bhoidheach

Apart from being a very economical way of adding almost two percent of the total tally of 284 Munros to our tick list this tour is also an interesting and entertaining long plateau walk. Since we wanted to do them all in one go we started our tour at the Spittal of Glen Muick. As described in my tour of spring 2001 we climbed the landrover track beside the Allt-na-giubhsaich in fine weather.

At the col above Glen Gelder we took the well engineered path which within maybe half an hour brought us to the col between the Ladder and Meikle Pap. There Frank and I sat on some rocks and looked at the cliffs of Lochnagar. As said before by many people: Great cliffs and a beautiful Loch. Then we and quite a few other people climbed the boulders of the Ladder, crossed some flatter terrain, climbed the final steepening and reached the wide summit plateau. At the summit tor we took a break and checked the indicator.

After having bagged this first Munro we turned south west, descended form the summit and headed for the rounded lump of the White Mounth aka Carn a’Choire Bhoidheach whose summit is marked by a small cairn. Easy walking but nothing exciting. From the top of this second Munro we descended more steeply to regain the path leading over from the Stuic. It skirts Carn an t-Sagairt Beag and in due time lead us to the path that climbs Carn an t-Sagairt Mor our third Munro. At the cairn we sat in the sunshine and in strong wind and took another well-deserved break.

Soon the wind chill drove us on and we retraced our steps heading south east over the grass and moss to Cairn Bannoch. This summit is not much more than some fairly big rocks in a sea of grass. With another Munro ticked our last top of the day was Braod Cairn visible a few kilometres away. With a little descending and re-ascending this hill was finally reached. Five … [Read More]

2017-09-19T14:17:07+02:00May 9th, 2008|2008, 2009 - 2000, Glen Shee to Mount Keen|

Carn an t-Sagairt Mor

Apart from being a very economical way of adding almost two percent of the total tally of 284 Munros to our tick list this tour is also an interesting and entertaining long plateau walk. Since we wanted to do them all in one go we started our tour at the Spittal of Glen Muick. As described in my tour of spring 2001 we climbed the landrover track beside the Allt-na-giubhsaich in fine weather.

At the col above Glen Gelder we took the well engineered path which within maybe half an hour brought us to the col between the Ladder and Meikle Pap. There Frank and I sat on some rocks and looked at the cliffs of Lochnagar. As said before by many people: Great cliffs and a beautiful Loch. Then we and quite a few other people climbed the boulders of the Ladder, crossed some flatter terrain, climbed the final steepening and reached the wide summit plateau. At the summit tor we took a break and checked the indicator.

After having bagged this first Munro we turned south west, descended form the summit and headed for the rounded lump of the White Mounth aka Carn a’Choire Bhoidheach whose summit is marked by a small cairn. Easy walking but nothing exciting. From the top of this second Munro we descended more steeply to regain the path leading over from the Stuic. It skirts Carn an t-Sagairt Beag and in due time lead us to the path that climbs Carn an t-Sagairt Mor our third Munro. At the cairn we sat in the sunshine and in strong wind and took another well-deserved break.

Soon the wind chill drove us on and we retraced our steps heading south east over the grass and moss to Cairn Bannoch. This summit is not much more than some fairly big rocks in a sea of grass. With another Munro ticked our last top of the day was Braod Cairn visible a few kilometres away. With a little descending and re-ascending this hill was finally reached. Five … [Read More]

2017-09-19T14:17:07+02:00May 9th, 2008|2008, 2009 - 2000, Glen Shee to Mount Keen|

Cairn Bannoch

Apart from being a very economical way of adding almost two percent of the totally of 284 Munros to our tick list this tour is also an interesting and entertaining long plateau walk. Since we wanted to do them all in one go we started our tour at the Spittal of Glen Muick. As described in my tour of spring 2001 we climbed the landrover track beside the Allt-na-giubhsaich in fine weather.

At the col above Glen Gelder we took the well engineered path which within maybe half an hour brought us to the col between the Ladder and Meikle Pap. There Frank and I sat on some rocks and looked at the cliffs of Lochnagar. As said before by many people: Great cliffs and a beautiful Loch. Then we and quite a few other people climbed the boulders of the Ladder, crossed some flatter terrain, climbed the final steepening and reached the wide summit plateau. At the summit tor we took a break and checked the indicator.

After having bagged this first Munro we turned south west, descended form the summit and headed for the rounded lump of the White Mounth aka Carn a’Choire Bhoidheach whose summit is marked by a small cairn. Easy walking but nothing exciting. From the top of this second Munro we descended more steeply to regain the path leading over from the Stuic. It skirts Carn an t-Sagairt Beag and in due time lead us to the path that climbs Carn an t-Sagairt Mor our third Munro. At the cairn we sat in the sunshine and in strong wind and took another well-deserved break.

Soon the wind chill drove us on and we retraced our steps heading south east over the grass and moss to Cairn Bannoch. This summit is not much more than some fairly big rocks in a sea of grass. With another Munro ticked our last top of the day was Braod Cairn visible a few kilometres away. With a little descending and re-ascending this hill was finally reached. Five in … [Read More]

2022-01-09T03:20:15+01:00May 9th, 2008|2008, 2009 - 2000, Glen Shee to Mount Keen|

Mount Keen

One of those hills that do not conjure up the idea of adventure when climbing it. But special it is, nonetheless, due to the fact that it is the most easterly Munro of all. The approach Alex, Frank and I took was via Glen Tanar, starting the walk at Glen Tanar House.

From the house we followed the landrover track through beautiful forrest. Soon the track joined the Water of Tanar which was to be our faithful companion for much of the way. On the tarmac we made very good progress and soon reached the Half Way Hut. A few minutes later the track leaves the forrest and the hills and their mostly grassy slopes came into view. Close to Etnach we crossed the river by a bridge and continued our tramp on the right-hand side of the Water of Tanar. At the next bridge where the track changes back to the other side of the Water we paused for a while. The weather, which had been quite nice until then, seemed to have some surprises in store for us when looking up the glen. Nonetheless we continued our little expedition and finally reached the spot where the drove road starts climbing up Mount Keen. We plodded on and gained height quite quickly. With a few short stops to catch our breath strewn in we steadily climbed until we reached the shoulder of the hill at 700 m. On the left hand side the outcops of the Corrach in the corrie below us attracted our attention. Then things became foggy, wet and cold. We continued uphill on a well-worn path which levels off soon before the summit cairn and trig point is reached. Our stop in the summit shelter was long enough to eat a few cookies and drink some very welcome cups of hot tea. But with rain, clouds and strong wind this was no place to stay for long and we embarked on the home leg of the hike. Back on the Mounth road we met a … [Read More]

2017-09-19T14:17:48+02:00May 4th, 2008|2008, 2009 - 2000, Glen Shee to Mount Keen|

Cairn of Claise

From our cottage in Braemar we drove up the road in Glen Clunie to a spot by the Clunie Water where there were already a number of cars parked when we arrived. From the parking we took the path, crossed the Water and headed due east beside a burn which tumbles down the valley. We looked at the waterfalls which we reached after 20 or 30 minutes of walking.

When the terrain steepened we headed directly for the north-east face of Carn an Tuirc and climbed that steep-sided hill using traces of a track. Gras, stones and some scree were the order of the day. Further up some boulder fields announced the arrival at summit altitude. We walked the few metres to the cairn and rested in the sunshine. However, it was not warm since the wind was blowing quite heavily and soon we needed to protect our bodies against the cold. Form the summit of Carn an Tuirc we followed the scar aka track on the plateau which leads in a long arc towards the second Munro of the day: Carn of Claise. We got to this summit by following the track until it met a stone wall which we followed for a hundred metres to the summit cairn. Again the wind was strong and we paused in the lee of the wall which offered us some respite. Then, refreshened by tea and sweets we headed due east into the wide and shallow corrie below. We crossed this somewhat boggy terrain and headed for drier ground up to the ridge which soon leads to the summit of Tolmount. There we sat and took in the views of the White Mounth. Tolmount is a great view point perched high above Glen Callater. After some time we let go and retraced our steps down the ridge which then led down to the col between this Munro and Tom Buidhe, our last hill of the day. Soon we climbed up onto the ridge which after a final short steepening deposited us at … [Read More]

2017-09-19T14:17:48+02:00May 3rd, 2008|2008, 2009 - 2000, Glen Shee to Mount Keen|

Carn an Tuirc

From our cottage in Braemar we drove up the road in Glen Clunie to a spot by the Clunie Water where there were already a number of cars parked when we arrived. From the parking we took the path, crossed the Water and headed due east beside a burn which tumbles down the valley. We looked at the waterfalls which we reached after 20 or 30 minutes of walking.

When the terrain steepened we headed directly for the north-east face of Carn an Tuirc and climbed that steep-sided hill using traces of a track. Gras, stones and some scree were the order of the day. Further up some boulder fields announced the arrival at summit altitude. We walked the few metres to the cairn and rested in the sunshine. However, it was not warm since the wind was blowing quite heavily and soon we needed to protect our bodies against the cold.

From the summit of Carn an Tuirc we followed the scar aka track on the plateau which leads in a long arc towards the second Munro of the day: Carn of Claise. We got to this summit by following the track until it met a stone wall which we followed for a hundred metres to the summit cairn. Again the wind was strong and we paused in the lee of the wall which offered us some respite. Then, refreshened by tea and sweets we headed due east into the wide and shallow corrie below. We crossed this somewhat boggy terrain and headed for drier ground up to the ridge which soon leads to the summit of Tolmount. There we sat and took in the views of the White Mounth. Tolmount is a great view point perched high above Glen Callater. After some time we let go and retraced our steps down the ridge which then led down to the col between this Munro and Tom Buidhe, our last hill of the day.

Soon we climbed up onto the ridge which after a final short steepening deposited us at … [Read More]

2022-01-13T05:27:57+01:00May 3rd, 2008|2008, 2009 - 2000, Glen Shee to Mount Keen|

Tolmount

From our cottage in Braemar we drove up the road in Glen Clunie to a spot by the Clunie Water where there were already a number of cars parked when we arrived. From the parking we took the path, crossed the Water and headed due east beside a burn which tumbles down the valley. We looked at the waterfalls which we reached after 20 or 30 minutes of walking.

When the terrain steepened we headed directly for the north-east face of Carn an Tuirc and climbed that steep-sided hill using traces of a track. Gras, stones and some scree were the order of the day. Further up some boulder fields announced the arrival at summit altitude. We walked the few metres to the cairn and rested in the sunshine. However, it was not warm since the wind was blowing quite heavily and soon we needed to protect our bodies against the cold. Form the summit of Carn an Tuirc we followed the scar aka track on the plateau which leads in a long arc towards the second Munro of the day: Carn of Claise. We got to this summit by following the track until it met a stone wall which we followed for a hundred metres to the summit cairn. Again the wind was strong and we paused in the lee of the wall which offered us some respite. Then, refreshened by tea and sweets we headed due east into the wide and shallow corrie below. We crossed this somewhat boggy terrain and headed for drier ground up to the ridge which soon leads to the summit of Tolmount. There we sat and took in the views of the White Mounth. Tolmount is a great view point perched high above Glen Callater.

After some time we let go and retraced our steps down the ridge which then led down to the col between this Munro and Tom Buidhe, our last hill of the day. Soon we climbed up onto the ridge which after a final short steepening deposited us at the summit … [Read More]

2017-09-19T14:17:49+02:00May 3rd, 2008|2008, 2009 - 2000, Glen Shee to Mount Keen|
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