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The Noths and Cat Craigs

The Noths and Cat Craigs


Postby Gordon Ballantyne » Thu Apr 22, 2021 7:29 pm

Date walked: 22/04/2021

Time taken: 5 hours

Distance: 10 km

Ascent: 495m

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First real walk after lockdown restrictions eased. Jist a wee walk to check if the legs still worked.
Parked up at the Tap o Noth car park. The first bit of the path up to the double kissing gate had been re-surfaced nicely.
A bit dubbie at bits on the path to the comms mast before heading up to the fort.


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The first kissing gate at the back of the Tap o Noth car park.JPG
The first kissing gate at the back of the Tap o Noth car park


Stopped for a pic at the trig. We'd both done Tap o Noth before and were only using it to get across to Hill o Noth more easily.

Tap o Noth.JPG
GordonB at the Tap o Noth Trig wi Harvey


There was a chilly breeze on top so we picked up a path at the SE end of the fort to the ENE down to the bealach through a broken down fence, followed it SE for a bit then broke off to the top of Hill of Noth through the heather. as there didn't seem to be a path.

The path from Tap o Noth towards Hill of Noth.jpg
The path across to Hill o Noth


The broken fence on the way to Hill o Noth.jpg
The broken fence on the way across to Hill o Noth



The top was marked by a paltry cain, but we continued to the fence strainer a wee bit further on.

The strainer at Hill o Noth.jpg
The fence strainer near the top of Hill o Noth - Tap o Noth behind


The wy across to Cat Craigs.JPG
The way across to Cat Craigs ( CC on Left)


Scoping out the route to Cats Creag, we altered our original plan and descended along the fence line from the top of Noth to avoid a deer fence enclosing a bit of new forestry. A bit steep and heathery, but the route up the other side was grassy with an animal path alongside the deer fence.

The deer fence below Hill o Noth.jpg
The deer fence below Hill o Noth


At the top of the fence we cut up and over to the top of Cat Craigs, passing the very overgrown track on the way.
Good job we didn't follow the original plan, as the track didn't exist and the heather we descended from Cat Craigs was quite deep and would've been a toil ascending it
Near the top GordonC found a warm bit o moss to lay our weary selves on for a piece.
H fairly woofed down his bonio snack ( he's on a diet ) and bits o GC's apple.

Comfy seat on Cat Craig Tap o Noth behind.jpg
GordonC's comfy moss seat at the top of Cat Craigs


Headed straight down to the track, then along the edge of the deer fence until we came to a track in the forest formed by a harvester. It was a bit trashy, but not too difficult.

The Harvester track on the way home.jpg
The harvester track through the forest on the way home


As usual, when we intersected the track used to service the comms mast, we could see a good track disappearing back into the forest parallel to the harvester track we'd just followed and about 50m away !

The parallel track back into the forest.jpg
The parallel track through the forest that we should've taken...


Och well, we followed the track back to the comms mast, with its diesel PSU thrumming away, then down the Tap o Noth path to the car.
We lucked out this time at Alford - the cafe was open, so we had our coffee and bacon roll sitting outside, before heading home.
A great day in blazing sunshine to ease us back into our weekly walks. - what not to like ?
Gordon Ballantyne
Munro compleatist
 
Posts: 396
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Joined: Jan 30, 2011
Location: Westhill, Aberdeenshire

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