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Starting from Keiloch nudged memories of parking here in June 2015 to climb Ben Avon when we'd forgotten to take money, meaning a dash back to our holiday cottage so we could park legally. This time we both had the money ready! It was also helpful to have a functioning toilet block at the car park, unlike the one at the Crathie car park last July which was unhelpfully closed.
We set off along the tarmac lane passing the estate houses and Highland cattle.
Cattle in dappled shade
One curious enough to come over to inspect us
Passing the gardens of Invercauld house you could just make out a slightly unexpected sculpture adorning the well kept lawns.
Zoomed to the sculpture of mighty thighs
Once level with the house we took a track to the right which led up through tall, established pines. This was now new territory as the Ben Avon route had taken us straight on.
Pinewoods above Invercauld House
It's a very pleasant walk through trees with the distant bulk of Beinn a' Bhuird visible, still holding on to patches of snow.
West to Beinn a' Bhuird
Mixed woodland
After passing through a gate in the deer fence we joined another track coming in from the south.
Other track ahead
Our hill straight ahead
Zoomed to Culardoch
We had chosen this hill as it was Moira's first of the year and although she had done lots of level walking she wasn't sure how she'd cope with ascent. So a gradually rising undulating track that went near to the top sounded a good option. We had agreed not to include Creag an Dail Bheag so we could take a leisurely pace and be home earlier rather than later.
The long and winding road
Shady spot for elevenses and no midges
South to Lochnagar
West to Ben Avon
I didn't register seeing the concrete base of a former hut but there was no mistaking the vegetation monitoring experiment going on over to the right, with rows of mesh and plastic cloches.
To the untrained eye it didn't mean much at all
A little beyond the botany experiment the track reaches a junction where we took the rough track on the right which contours round to the northern flanks of Cullardoch.
Follow rough track
North to Loch Builg
When the track fizzled out we took a faint path to the right heading for the summit. Any notion of a path soon disappeared but it was easy walking on grass and low heather.
During the ascent I noticed another track which would have been more direct. We used it on the way down.
Track we took on descent
Culardoch summit with Ben Avon backdrop
Which we had all to ourselves, as so often happens with Corbetts
South to Braemar and beyond
SE to Lochnagar
Zoomed north to Loch Builg
West to the tor-studded expanse of Ben Avon
When we got back to the junction with the main track we met a couple of cyclists having a rest there. They were from the USA and were following a long distance cycle route from north to south. I can't remember where it had originally started from but that day they'd cycled from Tomintoul and were heading for Braemar. We wished them all the best and continued on our slower way knowing they would pass us at some point. During that day we saw about a dozen cyclists, some whizzing past us on the downhill sections. They all had helmets but most had no protection for elbows and knees and we thought how unforgiving the track would be if they were to take a tumble. We didn't see anyone else walking, apart from a couple near Keiloch. For this neck of the woods cycling seems to be the preferred way to go.
On main track and heading back in direction of Lochnagar
Bridge over the Allt Cul
Back into the forest
Fertile area around the River Dee and Braemar
Nearing Keiloch with profile of Lochnagar still visible
We were back at the car in very good time and broke the drive home with food at the Glenavon, Tomintoul, followed by ice cream from the shop in the square.
No prizes for working out which were the big two.