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Hallelujah!

Hallelujah!


Postby weaselmaster » Sun Aug 13, 2023 10:44 pm

Corbetts included on this walk: Morven

Fionas included on this walk: Mealna Letter or Duchray Hill, Mona Gowan, Pressendye, The Buck

Sub 2000' hills included on this walk: Ladylea Hill

Date walked: 13/08/2023

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... we've finally completed our Grahams® That includes the Twelve Pretendy Ones® So a little bit of celebratory music in the form of Shaun rather than Leonard (too austere) is considered appropriate.




Actually we both had only Ladylea Hill outstanding and I'd been saving it to be my 2000th Simm, but we were in the area and thought - why not?

After last week's nice jaunt in the Fisherfields, I was keen to go somewhere nice again. But the weather wasn't looking very promising, with rain, winds and maybe thunderstorms in many parts of the country. The North East seemed to offer the best hope of keeping dry, even if it meant rather dull mountains. I'd been up most of these on my own at the start of May, but Allison needed them for her second round. We headed off after she finished work on Thursday, relieved to be only driving to Braemar rather than much further afield. I had hoped that we might get a pitch beside the Dee and right enough, there was the place I'd used earlier in the year, free and available. Apart from about a hundred bee-hive boxes that had been placed there in the interim. Hmm. Or perhaps "Bzzz". There was another spot perhaps a hundred metres away from the bees and we bravely chose to pitch there. Enough wind to keep the midges away, and perhaps the bees also, as we didn't hear a single buzz. Heavy rain overnight and midges back in the morning.

First stop was Mona Gowan, which I thought we should do from the north, as in the WH suggested route. The journey there was punctuated by messages that a winter wood delivery, that was meant to be coming sometime next week, was on its way to my home today, so a call to my wife to prepare for it and a lot of fuming at the uselessness of a delivery organisation that makes no attempt to co-ordinate the delivery of a 2 tonne shipment. Palletways - in case you have an option of not dealing with them. We arrived at Culfork in the midst of a torrential downpour - once it had abated we set off into the woods, taking the right path this time unlike my solo effort back in May. Very warm and humid. There isn't much description of this route required - there is track all the way to the summit and this time I had a good view. Across to the SE is a bigger hill. It dawned on me that this was Morven. Not more than 4km away. Had I realised they were so close I'd have looked at the options for joining the two together, but I didn't want to try and cobble a route on the cuff as it were, my itinerary wasn't flexible enough for that. So we descended by the same route, having had our lunch sheltered behind the big cairn at the top.

ImageFF4B28B6-4FD6-4D94-A7F7-11FE5460722B_1_201_a by Al, on Flickr

Image5EA31B04-B0F0-408A-819C-D6DA66FD7695_1_201_a by Al, on Flickr

ImageC0DC9E85-5C2E-41B4-934A-1FBBE9201C60_1_201_a by Al, on Flickr

Morven from Mona Gowan
Image04B42CB0-9B8E-4D18-88A3-8B4D1AB66600_1_201_a by Al, on Flickr


ladylea.gpx Open full screen  NB: Walkhighlands is not responsible for the accuracy of gpx files in users posts



Next up was Ladylea, which we'd decided to do largely because of its proximity to Mona Gowan - it's only a few miles north. I will admit I feel cross with Alan Dawson for messing up the Grahams® by changing the lower height threshold and refuse to consider doing the extra ones thrice. Ladylea isn't much of a hill, to be honest. It used to be a Graham® but was demoted for falling short of the 610m height criterion. It fell into the category of Marilyns (and Simms) between 600-610m, which I had at one point dubbed "The Weasels" but then Alan goes and changes the rules. So here we were to finally get our names back on the list of Graham® completors. (You'll have noticed that I've worked out how to get a ® sign on my keyboard 😂😂)

There's parking in an old quarry at the start of the walk, and a broad forest track much of the way up. I fact I didn't see anything to stop you driving up the forest track to the gates that open out onto "The Moor" as the signs up this way say. You'd then have only 80m ascent to the top, as opposed to a mighty 200m😊. The heather is lovely up here at this time of year and cast a purple glow on the surrounds. There's a path pretty much all of the way to the top. Yay! All 231 Grahams® now in the bag. Now let us never speak of this again - in my world (and in that of the SMC) there are 219 Grahams.

ImageB504AEB3-041C-47B3-AB84-C40A5473FEDC_1_201_a by Al, on Flickr

ImageC1C3849B-37E4-4228-BC90-21C3250DEB17_1_201_a by Al, on Flickr

Officially Grahamists® again
Image5C98BFED-D8DE-46EB-ABC0-34ECDAB35A53_1_201_a by Al, on Flickr

We descended the same way, surprise surprise and headed off to Cabrach for The Buck. When we arrived, Allison was dismayed to find that she'd lost her beloved camo hat that she's had since the dawn of time. She reckoned it must have fallen out of the car when she opened the door at the last hill to shoo out a fly. Ah well, she can borrow mine. I was planning to camp at the foot of The Buck, so we parked at the church and got our big packs on. Last time I had just walked through the track to Cabrach Lodge - although it said Private I assumed that was just for vehicles. This time there was a fancy closed gate and neither of us felt brave enough to loup it. Cursing landowners we looked for an alternate way to the hill. A little to the west there's a farm track that heads the same way, albeit on the other side of the river, but it didn't appear to add too much in the way of distance or complication. So we headed that way. There's a stream to cross before joining an ATV track over the rounded Knowe of Bracklach, which brings you out at a large abandoned farm complex. As we walked past the barn a large barn owl came down to see who was disturbing his peace. You need to ford the Allt Deveron then join the track leading to the base of The Buck.


buck.gpx Open full screen  NB: Walkhighlands is not responsible for the accuracy of gpx files in users posts



The Buck
Image47E4265D-3CE9-48DA-846D-F70DB4FF0247_1_201_a by Al, on Flickr

ImageBBF6F3C9-D554-4092-AB98-FEEEE77D13DF_1_201_a by Al, on Flickr

ImageA86F0CC7-B490-4CCD-8DCA-539C5A911673_1_201_a by Al, on Flickr

As I'd camped here myself on my last visit, I had a spot in mind. We pitched and ate our Huel, braving the midges, before setting off up the track to the summit - about 2km each way. Last time had been clag and low cloud - tonight was a lovely evening with blue sky and puffy clouds, great views over the Aberdeenshire coountryside. I sat for a while enjoying the view, Allison had already set off back downhill as it was chilly in the wind. A huge herd of deer crossing the hillside below us - at least 100 in one party and more to our left. Back to the tent about 8.30 and a bit of reading before bed - almost finished the Graham Greene book we've been on for a while now. A quite night, slept alright.

ImageED6644DF-2616-448B-98D3-CF9BB305FCE8_1_201_a by Al, on Flickr

Image53D24456-740A-4DDD-9F1E-70BF059582A3_1_201_a by Al, on Flickr

Image1278B628-188F-4C39-AE42-62400E0B0F1A_1_201_a by Al, on Flickr


Half expected to be woken at 7am by shots blasting from the gross butts nearby - this being the "Glorious 12th" and all, but we didn't see anyone. The sky was rather leaden and rain looked imminent but we got the tent down dry and made it back to the car without getting soaked. Next stop on the agenda was Morven. I had drawn up a route from the east which took in the two Simms to the south of Morven, but this was quite long at 21km, in comparison to the standard route at under 10km. I didn't feel enthusiastic enough to do the Simms on a day that seemed likely to be wet, so we settled on the standard, boring route. On the way there I drove back to the quarry at the start of Ladylea and retrieved Allison's hat, which was lying sad and neglected on the ground. 😊

We parked by another car at the parking area and watched a weasel frolic about in the wall. Then it half-heartedly chased a small rabbit into the road before running away into long grass. The rabbit sat there looking bemused, before the weasel emerged again and slunk across the road on its belly before giving a hop into the grass. Maybe they were friends...We passed the abandoned cottage at Balhennie, which has some amazing cracks in the stonework and it won't be long before it all tubes down. I thought I was taking the track up the hill, but instead I was on a sheep trail that petered out, leaving us midway between two tracks - we opted for the more gentle approach up the track from the south. Spits of rain, clag near the top. Found the visitors book in the large cairn by the summit and sat reading some amusing entries. Then down the steeper path to the car. It was coming up for 3pm by this time.

Image069539EF-4FE6-4381-B9A3-DE288B56F100_1_201_a by Al, on Flickr

Morven
Image9A63D9AC-8010-4CBA-B6A2-82B607FEEB01_1_201_a by Al, on Flickr



I didn't have much idea where we'd camp tonight. Our next hill was Pressendye, but from my last visit there the summit wasn't much cop for pitching a tent - and the forecast was for heavy rain and strong winds. I thought we should just get it done then go somewhere else to camp. My plan for going over to Geal Charn(Dorback) had withered with the amount of driving needed to get there for a poor weather forecast on Sunday - instead I was thinking of Mealna Letter. That would, at least, be on our way home.

Pressendye may be almost 15km as a circuit, but a lot of that's on road or good track, so I didn't have a worry about setting off relatively late in the day. I decided we should use the same loop I'd done previously and - after struggling initially to find a place to park in a busy Tarland - it was galaday - we set off along the quiet road to East Davoch Farm. Last time I was here, in early May, the fields were all green - today they were golden yellow or harvested. Lots of flowers in the hedgerows along with some very tasty and refreshing wild raspberries. My favourite soft fruit.

Image22CD1607-1F98-43C4-9067-8C3BCB00BF99_1_201_a by Al, on Flickr

Image562D28E2-5D7C-4411-8131-E55D0657C5EE_1_201_a by Al, on Flickr

Image543F1E6A-8379-4206-B50A-9EE12678185B_1_201_a by Al, on Flickr

Pressendye
Image5CC10CA1-9E31-4F05-8E0C-2576B352A6FA_1_201_a by Al, on Flickr

We continued along the tracked road until the road became a lane, then the lane became a forested avenue. Eventually we came out onto the heather clad hillside and started the lengthy walk along the crest from Broom Hill to Pressendye. Not a soul did we see. Maybe they were all at the galaday. Allison was flagging a bit by the time we reached the summit at 6.30pm. At least it was all downhill from here. We spotted one cyclist on the trails and many different types of mushroom in the undergrowth.

ImageB3549B3D-CE66-4F67-B28A-96A39F1BC1C7_1_201_a by Al, on Flickr

Image2FA78EBF-C6D5-45CF-A1E2-C75BDBE95A5B_1_201_a by Al, on Flickr

Image6B7B4538-68CA-4A7A-9130-DD9770DF8A2A_1_201_a by Al, on Flickr

ImageFEDE12FD-4E4A-41CC-A85E-3BAE54D25405 by Al, on Flickr

ImageDA2ACA96-0197-4443-A4BB-398BC81B9B5F_1_201_a by Al, on Flickr

Image8703F4C3-AB9A-45A0-87CB-C28D6D8BFB69_1_201_a by Al, on Flickr

ImageB2E8F2B7-D41A-430E-BD80-132604182921_1_201_a by Al, on Flickr

I brought us off the route a little early - we went down through the lovely fairytale like avenue of beeches and ended up in the grounds of Douneside Health Club - looked very nice if a little reminiscent of The Village in The Prisoner. Eventually we extricated ourselves from there, without being swallowed by a large transparent globe, and wandered down the road, noting that there's another avenue of beeches lower down, presumably the one we'd walked through on previous visits. We could hear music blaring - in fact, from about 2/3 of the way down the hill we could hear this and assumed it was part of the galaday, but it seemed to be some radio station being broadcast very loudly in someone's back garden. Music choice was well dodgy😂
imagine being the neighbours!

Who does this?
ImageD959A4F9-6230-4542-B6E7-00F97D022BCA_1_201_a by Al, on Flickr


Back at the car we pondered options. We could go to a spot we'd used before in Glen Isla, or we could try for the spot we'd used on Thursday beside the Dee, though I thought it unlikely to be free. Indeed, there were tents and vans everywhere along the river south of Braemar, possibly the busiest I've seen. We passed the spot we'd used and - although there was a tent pitched by the road, the spot we'd used was free. The other tent occupant/s was sitting in his vehicle playing rave music very loudly, which they continued to do for about an hour, before returning to the tent and being quiet. We finally got our tea at about 9.30 and settled down to sleep.

More rain overnight. The forecast had been for fog and rain, but we woke to sunshine. A drive down to Glen Isla, park beside the semi-cleared forest and Mealna Letter is on the menu. I looked at the WH route and decided to do this in reverse, heading on the Cateran Trail past Dalnaglar Castle. About halfway along I decided to use the footpath marked on the map, rather than the longer route WH uses, which goes along Loch Beanie. I remembered this as being very soggy last time, plus the new route was significantly shorter, with a more graduated ascent.


mealnaletter.gpx Open full screen  NB: Walkhighlands is not responsible for the accuracy of gpx files in users posts



Dalnaglar Castle
Image68CA9CE1-873A-4340-A010-34C7971F983A_1_201_a by Al, on Flickr

ImageE014732E-1624-43DB-8BE2-E9D568D66271_1_201_a by Al, on Flickr

This path turns off to the north just by Dunmay Farm, through a gate and over sheep fields. Although semi-imaginary in a few places, it's a descent enough track and leads to the bealach between Creag na Bruiach and Meall na Ruighe. We took a faint ATV track directly to the summit from there, having paused for lunch by some crags and being surprised by how good the weather was compared to what we'd been expecting. Summit attained we set off down the standard way. Some of the forest SW of Carn Derig has been cleared, with new plantings to the east. You arrive at a new deer fence - we opted to go around teh outside, but there's a better path inside. The final descent is pretty grim, through tussocks, holes and marsh - you might be better off making for the new extraction track you can see as you first come to the new deer fence - although you'd need to walk a short way through the new planted area, it would be better overall using this path I think. I suggested it, Allison dismissed it, just for the record😂.

Path from Dunmay
Image949EC25B-2917-43C1-85C9-2F1A8E32C2E8_1_201_a by Al, on Flickr

Image487EF30E-48FE-45AB-B31B-E8E0E89DF63A_1_201_a by Al, on Flickr

Image7E841E4B-1B9A-40CE-8F44-B872A87B6A67_1_201_a by Al, on Flickr

Image99F55B05-51C1-4ADB-B20B-B7C76BFB052E_1_201_a by Al, on Flickr

Image561056A9-3B4C-4931-B554-D970A5E1B4A5_1_201_a by Al, on Flickr

Back home by 5pm, just in tie to unload my waiting two tonnes of winter fuel into the garage before the rain caught up with me.
weaselmaster
Ambler
 
Posts: 2521
Munros:282   Corbetts:90
Fionas:219   Donalds:77+36
Sub 2000:395   Hewitts:33
Wainwrights:15   Islands:34
Joined: Aug 22, 2012
Location: Greenock

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