Beinn Mheadhoin & Derry Cairngorm from Deeside

1. Park at the large National Trust car park at the Linn of Dee; there is a charge. Take the Glen Lui footpath which heads north from the car park. This path through the forest has a 'boardwalk' surface in parts, and soon curves east and passes through a gate to join the main landrover track heading up the glen. Turn left up this track, which soon crosses the Lui Water, leaves the forest and continues up the more empty glen, eventually reaching the disused Derry Lodge.

2. Immediately after Derry Lodge, just before the footbridge across Derry Burn, turn right and follow the path as it leads up through the woods. As the path rises it offers some terrific views through the woods up Glen Derry, including the peaks of Beinn Mheadhoin and Derry Cairngorm, all offset by the meandering of Derry Burn. Continue on the well built National Trust path up Glen Derry passing through the staggered planting of Scots Pine. The path gradually, but very gently, rises, offering ever more expansive views back down Glen Derry with the sentinel 'Barns of Beinn Mheadhoin' appearing to guard the Lairig an Laoigh. The crossing of the Glas Allt Mor has no bridge and could be a problem (or even impossible) if the water is high.

3. Around 6km from Derry Lodge the path forks with the main track heading towards the Lairig an Laoigh and the other, the left fork, framed by the pointed peak of Stob Coire Etchachan, going towards the Hutchison Memorial Hut and then up to the bealach that provides the jumping point for the final ascent of Beinn Mheadhoin. After a few hundred metres a small footbridge offers an easy way across Coire Etchachan burn and soon the small and seemingly out of place bothy comes into view, completely dwarfed by the massive cliffs of Creagan a' Choire Etchachan.

4. A fairly short ascent to Loch Etchachan is made relatively easy by the fine and well-used path to the bealach. The track up Beinn Mheadhoin to the right quickly steepens for the final push towards the summit of the first munro of the day. Looking back the way you came up from the bealach brings the eye to the path that leads to the enormous bulk of the mighty Ben Macdui which dominates the skyline to the west. After around 300 metres the summit plateau of Beinn Mheadhoin is reached and the intriguing Barns, somehow misplaced on the stony tundra, come into full view. An easy path leads directly to the highest of these and a very simple scramble allows the munro to be truly bagged.

5. Return to the bealach via the same route then take the surprisingly easy path towards Ben Macdui. Just as this path veers right towards Ben Macdui itself, strike uphill to the left through some slightly boggy ground. Although initially pathless a faint track begins to emerge as more height is gained. The aim is to cross the western shoulder of Creagan a' Choire Etchachan and pick up the path that exists between Derry Cairngorm and Ben Macdui. Follow this path as it rises in a somewhat patchy fashion through the large boulder field that marks the upper section of Derry Cairngorm before quickly gaining the summit plateau where the ground although levelling out, retains it's pace-slowing boulder field. Two cairns mark the summit.

6. Continue past the second of these cairns and pick a path through the boulder fields as the track works its way to Carn Crom, the summit of which can be bypassed by following the path as it heads left, although extreme care is required in adverse weather as this is flanked to the east by some sheers drops. Head towards Creag Bad an t-Seabhaig and follow the path as it skirts and descends the eastern side of this minor summit and continues to Derry Lodge. Cross the footbridge over Derry Burn and return to the Linn of Dee.

This walk was researched and photographed by Jim Fox.

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