Mayar and Driesh

[HalfManHalfTitanium]

The drive from Forfar was pleasant, with rising anticipation as I crossed the Vale of Strathmore on a maze of (well signposted) minor roads, and then entered the increasingly impressive trench of Glen Clova, with tantalising glimpses of the higher hills ahead. Glen Doll car park and information centre is a first-class facility, and the daily parking charge of £2 would probably be £10+ if this was in the English Lake District.

The Scorrie towered high above Glen Doll.

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The approach walk through the woods was very enjoyable.

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At this stage, there was a promise (mostly unfulfilled, as it turned out) of a sunny day.

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Ice-split boulder alongside the path.

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The track through the trees gained height effortlessly, and then entered the imposing portals of Corrie Fee alongside a beautiful stream.

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Craig Rennet was one of the most impressive of the many crags surrounding the corrie.

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There were many fine scenes all around.

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The tree-clad crags. A couple of walkers in the bottom right corner give scale to the scene. Even the less continuous crags would, I imagine, provide fine winter climbing in a cold spell.

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Looking back down the corrie, with its glacial moraines.

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A closer view of the crags.

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The path ingeniously avoids all the steepest places, and it was a delight to follow it, as it wound its way up the back wall of the corrie.

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The main waterfall.

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A closer view - one of the falls visible through a natural tunnel.

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Another view down into Corrie Fee.

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A side view of the falls from a higher section of the path.

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The path emerged onto the undulating floor of a shallow hanging valley above the corrie.

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The hanging valley has some fine waterfalls of its own.

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A last look back to the crags.

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Above here, an easy uphill walk led me to the cairn on Mayar, where the wide horizons were a sudden contrast after the the close-up scenery of my ascent route. The most prominent hill in the distance is I think Cat Law, and Backwater Reservoir is visible over on the right.

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Other summit views. This is a squall approaching across the plateau from the direction of Glen Shee. The skyline is, I think, Creag Leacach, Glas Maol and Cairn of Claise.

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A sunnier view south-west across the ridges of South Craig and Bawhelps, with Mount Blair prominent in the distance.

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Bad weather on the White Mounth.

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The route onwards to Driesh.

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The cloud moved in, and showers fell as I walked along the ridge. But the rain petered out as I walked up the eroded section on Little Driesh. Five minutes later I was at the summit, which gave a wide view to the south.

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Sunshine on lower Glen Prosen. At the time I prosaically assumed the odd-shaped tower above the distant trees was some kind of telecoms construction. Later, I realised that it's the Gothic extravaganza of the Airlie Monument.

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The squall returned and had a last blast at me as I descended to the bealach, then the sun came out as I started to descend the path into Corrie Kilbo alongside the Shank of Drumfollow.

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Driesh and Little Driesh from the Corrie Kilbo path.

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Lower down, the path entered the forest. Among the branches I spotted what might have been a crossbill, but I didn't manage to get a photo. From the edge of the trees there was a last view back up the corrie.

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The Burn of Kilbo.

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After descending through some woods, the path emerged in a bleak, clear-felled area, where these boulders made an odd sight.

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I liked the way that the boulders' outline paralleled the skyline. However they did seem a bit starkly alien without the usual coatings of lichens and moss. Have they been sand-blasted?

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A few surviving trees among the carnage. Although the Forestry Commission have done good work in Glen Doll, it would be even nicer, I think, if they could introduce more mixed woodland and a higher proportion of native species. I found this area a great contrast to the magical scenes I saw in Coire Ardair on Creag Meagaidh, following the last few years' regeneration of the native woodland there.

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Craig Mellon from the edge of the felled area.

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The White Water among the trees.

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The Scorrie now in shadow, from Acharn Farm

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A last look back up the glen, from the road near the Glen Clova Hotel.

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Early morning the next day. It's not the Glen Doll forest, it's taken from the window of my room at the Travelodge in Dundee.

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