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We had a few days, a short break if you like. I was keen to head up to Sutherland and involve Foinaven in my plans, but the weather forecast was outrageously bad. Like how can we manage in a tent with torrential rain and gale force winds for 5 days. Not going to happen. In the end I booked 4 nights in a cottage in Tomintoul as a sop to survivability.
We headed up on Thursday afternoon, Allison having taken a half day. Very pretty little cottage right in The Square in Tomintoul.
Friday was supposed to be the coldest day, with snow to remind us that we were still actually in winter despite all the mild weather recently. I chose the Cromdale hills as an easy start- plus I wanted to be back in town to get to the Whisky Castle before it shut at 4pm. We’d done these hills from the west previously, so we chose an eastern route from Balanon, just past the Tomintoul distillery. Parking place by the anglers’ shack. Walked along the road a wee bit to Knock, passed by a farmer who looked at us as if we were slightly cracked. Why? It was a lovely morning at this point.
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Al, on Flickr
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Al, on Flickr
Track up for a while then it kinda disappears near the top and tussocks are to be navigated. Several large white reindeer on the hillside who started to come towards us, maybe wanting food, or to devour us… Up to Carn a Ghillie charr first, as the weather closes in and the blizzard starts. Visibility not great, neither was the path. Trig column achieved and we turn around to head for Creagan na Chaise. I remembered this as being largely on track, but the track is sketchy and boggy. We plodded on, stopping for a bite of lunch along the way. Disappointed when we reached the cairn to find that the visitors book is no longer there, nor the bottle of whisky I recalled from last time. We headed down to the east, on reasonable path which joined with track nearer the bottom.
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Al, on Flickr
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Al, on Flickr
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Al, on Flickr
Carn a'Ghillie Chearr
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Al, on Flickr
Creagan a'Chaise
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Al, on Flickr
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Al, on Flickr
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Al, on Flickr
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Al, on Flickr
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Al, on Flickr
Back to the cottage and a trip along the road to The Whisky Castle- Tomintoul’s best shop. Over 600 malts in stock and Callum behind the counter gives us a tremendous variety of Speysides in reply to my queries. We leave the shop with a nice box and glowing inside from the many tasting samples
Saturday is supposed to be quite windy.
Snow is on the ground outside the cottage and we drive carefully along to the Glen Livet memorial at Allanreid. We’ll do one Graham, one Corbett - Cooks Cairn and Corryhabbie Hill. A longish walk but on track, so not a very challenging outing. I leave the car about half a km before the car park, not wanting to get stuck at the very end of the road if the snow worsens later in the day. We walk along the River Livet, the track snow covered. Wind is on our backs walking in. We ford the river rather than loop round to the bridge beside the bothy and walk up past the abandoned buildings at Suie. Continuing on track which slowly rises up to Cooks Cairn, with wind turbines to our right. We cut down into Glen Suie, making for the zigzag track up Corryhabbie, finding a sheltered spot at the lowest point to have lunch.
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Al, on Flickr
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Al, on Flickr
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Al, on Flickr
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Al, on Flickr
Cooks Cairn
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Al, on Flickr
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Al, on Flickr
The track takes you easily up the 300m to the summit. The wind rises as we climb and the last 100 metres of ascent are in blizzard conditions. The wall round the summit cairn provides scant shelter from the gale blowing at us and we decide to go back down the track rather than keep high on the summit plateau of Corryhabbie and get blasted to bits. A wise move, and it doesn’t add that much distance onto our day. Snow showers alternate with some almost sunny spells as we walk down the Glen, past the Queen’s Cairn and join with our incoming track.
Corryhabbie
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Al, on Flickr
Queens Cairn
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Al, on Flickr
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Al, on Flickr
It was nice to be able to come back to a warm house and, indulgently, take a hot bath before dinner.
We woke on Sunday to find several inches of new snow lying outside and intermittent blizzards lashing the Square outside our window. I didn’t fancy driving anywhere given that it was forecast to snow all day, so we decided to do a Graham from the house - Cnap Chaochan Aitinn. I’d had bigger plans for this one, having drawn up a circuit of 34k taking in 6 Simms but conditions determined what was possible…just like the last time we’d done this hill. How can you not want to climb a hill called “Big Garvoun” ?
Anyway we retrieved our kit from the car, where it had frozen overnight and set off along the Main Street towards Queens Cairn car park which would be the normal beginning of the walk. A Landy had been along the road, meaning we could walk in the tyre tracks rather than plough through the snow. Not a soul about however. We followed the Avon down to the bridge at Easter Gaulrig farm, after which it was all farm track. Through a pretty section of birch trees then onto a bulldozed track that ultimately leads to Glen Loin. A spur cuts off to the summit of our hill, servicing a weather station at the top.
Streets of Tomintoul
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Al, on Flickr
The best shop in town
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Al, on Flickr
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Al, on Flickr
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Al, on Flickr
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Al, on Flickr
Cnap Chaochan Aitinn
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Al, on Flickr
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Al, on Flickr
Ben Avon
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Al, on Flickr
We’d been up here previously in a blizzard with no visibility, so we were grateful that the sky cleared to show us lovely views of Ben Avon/Beinn a’Bhuirdh which are really close from here. We could see the northern Tops of Ben Avon we’d visited a few months back. We hunkered down behind a metal container to have lunch, spindrift still finding its way into every crevice. The wind was really cold walking back from the summit, freezing my eyeballs and flaying the snow from the surrounding hillside. The wind chill on Ben Avon was given as -17 today, and I'm not sure we were much less than that. Once the track dipped down and had some shelter from the wind we were able to luxuriate in the warm sun on our backs- til the next blizzard came along.
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Al, on Flickr
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Al, on Flickr
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Al, on Flickr
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Al, on Flickr
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Al, on Flickr
A pretty walk this - I’m determined to come back for the Simms one day.
Monday we had to leave the cottage, so tidied up in the early morning whis=lst the dawn lazed a fiery red over the town square. Ben Rinnes was first on the agenda - been up twice before with no views so was hoping we might see something today. Snow still lying from yesterday, but the roads were fine.Parked in the car park, with two other vehicles there before us. Up the track - wind had mostly blown the snow away from the lower reaches, although there were deeper drifts as we gained height. The wind was strong as we climbed the summit cone, although no-where near as chill as yesterday. The summit boulders were nicely patterned in hoar frost and rime. Good views today for a welcome change. We descended stopping for lunch on the lower track then set off for Chapeltown of Glenlivet.
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Al, on Flickr
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Al, on Flickr
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Al, on Flickr
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Al, on Flickr
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Al, on Flickr
Corryhabbie
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Al, on Flickr
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Al, on Flickr
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Al, on Flickr
Carn Mor is a hill we've done as part os the Ladder Circuit, in WH and from the Lecht. I decided we'd just do a there and back from Auchavaich today - although the WH circuit is much the same length, it was best not to be up high in the strong wind for longer than necessary. We walked through the farm, setting off a demented chorus of sheepdogs. Along the track and up the path by the Ladder burn, most of the snow hab=ving departed. We reached the top of The Ladder and were delighted to find the massed battalions of peat hags were frozen over and therefore walkable upon. It had turned out a beautiful sunny day, warm when you were sheltered from the wind. Up to the summit trig then back the way we'd come up, back at the car by 5pm.
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Al, on Flickr
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Al, on Flickr
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Al, on Flickr
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Al, on Flickr
Corryhabbie & Cooks Cairn
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Al, on Flickr
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Al, on Flickr
Now we had to go and camp somewhere - after 4 nights of comfort this was going to be a bit of a blow...and I'd only brought the small tent as I'd thought we'd be backpacking. We headed along to Mine of the Lecht, to a spot we've used before. Fortunately still light when we arrived, but not much shelter from the wind. made use of some boulders from the stream to weight the pegs down and settled in for a loud night. Back to Huel for tea - though we had half a bottle of red wine left over from our decadent week and had that along with the Huel, which was interesting. The wind did die down and we had a fair - if cold - night.
It had rained overnight but was dry in the morning, with clear skies. We drove a short way up the road to The Lecht, where a couple of works were trying to prepare a postage stamp sized bit of snow for skiing. We headed up the heathery hillside making for Beinn a'Chruinnich, from where we'd head to Carn Ealasaid. I made the mistake of cutting over the hillside before the summit - this took me through terrible peat hags - best avoided! We eventually made for a path up to the summit of Ealasiad - I have to say there are nicer ways of climbing this hill - do it from Cockbridge using the track.
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Al, on Flickr
Ealasaid
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Al, on Flickr
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Al, on Flickr
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Al, on Flickr
One more hill on our way home - we headed over to Gairnshiel Bridge and out along the B976 (currently with a "road closed" sign up). We were only going as far as Braenaloin Farm, where there's a track up to the summit of Geallaig Hill. Just shy of 400m ascent, easy walking and some good views of the rather lush countryside around the River Gairn. Windy still, no hanging about at the top. Back down and a cup of coffee in the car before driving home.
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Al, on Flickr
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Al, on Flickr
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Al, on Flickr
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Al, on Flickr
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Al, on Flickr
So a fair haul from our few days away, the weather better than I'd feared it would be although the wind was challenging at times. Nice place, Tomintoul.
