My folks are over for a long weekend and Emily and I are staying with them for two nights in the
Dalmunzie Castle. As usual, Dad was keen to bag a hill of description but we didn't want it to be the main focus of the weekend either, as we were staying in a rather nice hotel for the weekend after all!
Saturday was looking like a decent day, but it wasn't looking too good while we were having a late breakfast. However, as we headed towards Braemar, the clouds lifted completely and were replaced by a blazing sun and bright blue sky. As the weather was favourable and we didn't have much time, I set our sights on the easy round of
The Cairnwell Munros from the Glenshee Ski Centre.
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| Carn Aosda from the main Ski Centre car park, Glenshee |
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| Herbie checking out the route for the day, Glenshee |
We parked up at the Ski Centre and were soon making our way up the stoney path to the summit of Carn Aosda. It was very easy going and straightforward. Not the most interesting of summits but on such a nice day we had a great view of the hills all around us. Herbie even recognised the
An Socach ridge from earlier in this year - I was most impressed.
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| Looking Southwest towards Carn a' Gheoidh and Loch Vrotachan from the summit of Carn Aosda |
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| Herbie nearing the summit of Carn Aosda with The Cairnwell behind, Glenshee |
We pressed on quickly, as it was extremely windy on the top. The wind continued to hammer us as we made our way down to the bealach above Creag a' Choire Dhirich and past Loch Vrotachan. Here, we had a good view of the way up to The Cairnwell summit - which we would be back for later on. The landscape was more dramatic and far more scenic than I had expected, as we first headed to the top of Carn nan Sac and then on to the summit of Carn a' Gheoidh (passing a couple of
Arctic Hares).
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| Loch Vrotachan, Glenshee |
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| Heading along the top of Creag a' Choire Dhirich towards Carn a' Gheoidh |
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| The Cairnwell from Creag a' Choire Dhirich |
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| Herbie at Carn nan Sac |
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| The summit of Carn a' Gheoidh from Carn nan Sac |
We paused at the summit to slap on some more suncream before retracing our steps and heading for the ugly summit that is: The Cairnwell. It wasn't long before we were heading up the steeper scree and approaching the summit buildings. However, it was a bit of a struggle as the wind was absolutely hammering across us and made the final few metres quite challenging indeed. As soon as we reached the top, we took shelter behind the buildings and admired the view to the East across the Cairngorms.
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| Heading back towards the summit of The Cairnwell |
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| A little blustery on The Cairnwell summit! |
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| An Acrtic Hare on the side of The Cairnwell |
As we headed back down to the car over the grassy, we passed more hares darting around. Herbie was buzzing that he was able to increase his Munro tally by 3 so easily and I was really happy with how the short day had gone. The walk was actually a great deal more enjoyable and scenic than I had expected - very underrated. On the way into Braemar for some grub, we spotted a large heard of Red Deer in the heather at the side of the road - a great day.
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| Red Deer in Glen Clunie |
