TUmps at Malt whisky central

[Gordon Ballantyne]

GordonC was retrieving his van from Stonehaven, so he was oot o it for the walking.

It was Speyside Malt Whisky central today - even some of the hills had whisky names !

I'd been along the A95 quite a few times, but by doing these TUmps today, I drove past quite a few distillerys that I'd hitherto, only seen signposts to.


KNOCK FRINK

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Tucked the car in at the end of the track into Frink cottage. While walking up the track, a car drove past on it's way to Frink Cottage & I got a cheery wave. ( a change from the "fermers glower" ).

A wee bit of forestry near the cottage had just been felled, but I found the entrance to the hill forest with a gate easily and with only a cleek securing it.
As a previous walker had noted, the forest tracks marked on the map were completely overgrown.but by keeping more or less on their line, we arrived at the cairn ( more like a bit of a wall) at the N end of the summit plateau. Blundered across to the highest point through the heather.

The cairn at the N end of the Knock Frink plateau

H at the top of Knock Frink

Tried to return down the "grassier" slopes to the SE of my upward route, but found overgrown rocks and previous ancient plantation tree roots. Ankle twisting, knee wrenching territory that I try to avoid when I'm on my own.
However, we made it back to the forestry gate and thence to the car.





TOM a CHAIT and CRAGGAN MORE

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A nice grassy parking bit at the side of the track-end up to the comms mast on Tom a' Chait.

Parkup for Tom a Chait and Craggan More

The track passes through pastures initially, but fortunately the livestock were elswhere today. H chased a rabbit on the grassy bit, but it was far too quick for him and he gave up after a few strides and some discouraging commands from me.
( cum oot o that ye hake - is not readily understood by cultured Harvey ! )

Soon we arrived at the comms mast for a photoshoot.

The comms mast at the top of Tom a' Chait

H at the wee cairn at the top of Tom a' Chait

From the top of Chait, I thought I could see an ATV track going across all the way to Craggan More,
It certainly went down to the bealach, but petered our in the boggy stuff then dived off to the right, so we ascended Craggan More by trying to join up animal paths, following the weathered fenceposts leading to the top. ( no wire).
The end of the fence was marked by an old iron strainer. We wandered over to the spot height for a nice pic of H with Ben Rinnes in the background.

The metal strainer at the end of the fence up Craggan More

H at the top of Craggan More with Ben Rinnes behind

Returned to the bealach down the fenceline, periodically being snared by the old rusty wire camouflaged by the heather.
Near the bottom, Harvey decided to go for a swim in a micro-lochan. What he didn't know was that the couple of centimeters of water disguised a pit of liquid mud. He entered a Fox lab and came out a Black lab !
Although I tried to explain to him that I'd get into trouble for taking him home dirty, he continued to wag his tail !

Tried to take a "shortcut" to avoid re-ascending Chait, but the "track" was an overgrown ditch, which did have some faint animal tracks on its edges, but after a while, I cut across to the Chait track gate at the top of the pasture to avoid deer fences lower down.


TOM FARCLAS

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My original plan for this hill was to attack it across the pasture, to minimise the advertised forestry thrutch to the top.
However, as I drove alongside the wood, I noticed that a harvester had entered the wood in the direction I needed to go, so I parked on the grass verge opposite and plunged into the trees after the harvester. It had also conveniently flattened the deer fence surrounding the forestry at the top.
Seems it had been working in the dense plantation near the top , so this became a trivial ascent, although the brash from the felled trees had to be negotiated with care - a small price to pay for a guided tour to the top.

H near the top of Tom Farclas

HILL OF PHONES

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Decided to attack this from Daluaine and Lockerbain.There was a nice park up area for a few cars about 100m from the end of the tarmac. Strolled into Locherbain, but the track past the steading ( now a house) disappeared into gorse. Hopped over the fence into the field then over another onto the re-emerging track, which wasn't too bad. At the point where the track turned north closest to the top, a path dived into the forest in the right direction, so it was followed until it emerged at a cluster of mature larch and pine, virtually at the top. ( the spot height was just a few metres further on )

H near the top of Hill of Phones

We quickly scuttled back to the car as the light was starting to fade. Gave H extra rations for the trip home.


Drove along the A95 into the setting sun, then stopped at Tomintouls' general store for a takeaway coffee to keep me awake on the way home. It worked - I made it, through the workie hordes retreating to their country homes.