by Milo12 » Mon Jul 04, 2022 9:31 pm
Date walked: 03/07/2022
Time taken: 4 hours
Distance: 16.5 km
Ascent: 770m
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We were sooo ready for it - nice and early start, weather forecast with no rain, up at the ski station in Glenmore... and realised that we had left the extra layer at home that we would be needing to brave the 2 degrees it was likely going to be up on Ben Macdui. Oh well - nothing quite like having a good Plan B.
So, down we drove to Glenmore Lodge to use what was supposed to become a nice July day with 12 degrees in the Cairngorms. The trail up the forest road from Glenmore Lodge quickly turns into a beautiful woodland walk with lots of up and down on a narrow trail. The views are stunning and now that the sun was coming out. The walk up the the little lake was sure worth it already.
From the lake it is only a short stretch up to the bothy where the trail turns off to Meall a'Bhuachaile. We met a lovely group of cyclist at the bothy and the chat made for a nice short break before we were off to the uphill. The views from the trail are just stunning and since the best parts are behind you, they give a good excuse to catch the breath on the uphill. The trail is never really steep steep, but does come with some steeper sections. But all doable and before you know it you are up at the cairn.
By the time we had reached the cairn, the wind had picked up considerably and we were grateful that the cairn is big enough to hide behind it to be out of the wind for a bit. By now we were certainly glad that we did not do Ben Macdui!
From the top, a broad trail leads down to the crossing that leads back to Glenmore Lodge. The ridge ahead of us looked too inviting however and we deciced to follow the ridge instead. It comes with quite a number of tops and quite varied walking. Most of the trail is rocky, with the one or other boggy section, especially towards the end of the ridge. The views from the ridge are stunning, particularly towards Ben Macdui and over towards Kingussie. With the exception of one big boulder half way along the ridge there wasn't much of a break to be hand from the wind. We soldiered on however and thoroughly enjoyed the changing weather and the sun that was coming through every now and then. All the showers around seemed to take a pity on us and avoided our ridge - we were grateful!
At the end of the ridge, the trail down gets very boggy very quickly. There are lots of mountainbike tracks and the trail is quite worn out from these. In a few places the trail is so worn out that it gets lost in the bogs, especially just before you enter the wooods again. Once you enter the woods, it is quite beautiful and the section before you hit the forestry road is a lovely change. Being out of the wind was an added bonus in any case!
While the map shows that the forestry road should be changing into a woodland trail again, this is not the case in reality and the whole way back to Glenmore Lodge is forestry road. While the views are quite nice in places, espcially the closer you get to Glenmore Lodge, the sections with cut trees on the forestry road are truly soul-destroying. Unfortunately, there is no other option and we just had to think back of the great walk across the ridge to keep us going.
A lovely cup of coffee to warm up again after the walk did make up for it though. A great day out altogether:-)
- Attachments
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2022-07-03_829753917_Meall aBhuachaille circuit, Glenmore, Cairngorms.gpx
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- View back into the valley just before you enter the narrow woodland path
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- Quick stop at the lake - the water is turguoise when the sun shines onto the lake
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- The Ryvoan bothy
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- View back towards the bothy
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- View back towards Ben Macdui and Cairngorm
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- The last stretch up to Meall a'Bhuacaille
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- This big boulder halfway through the ridge is a lifesaver on a windy day...
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- There are mutliple tops along the ridge - all with a nice little cairn...
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- As lovely as the feathergrass looks - it does indicate just how boggy it is in places
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- Last view from the edge of the ridge over towards Carrbridge
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- View on the way down
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- Back in the woodlands and nicely out of the wind for a bit