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Looking at the two Walkhighlands routes to these four mountains, I thought that they could be linked at their northernmost point. Not only would this take in the four Munros north of the Linn of Dee car park in one outing, but would also create an attractive heart-shaped route map. The only question was over the steepness of the slopes either side of the Lairig an Laoigh.
My plan was to follow the WH route from Linn of Dee car park up to Derry Cairngorm, then skirting Loch Etchachan before ascending to the granite tors of Beinn Mheadhoin. The eastern slopes of this mountain though steep and pathless, looked as if covered in grass and heather from the OS map, rather than the scree covered slopes of some of the nearby mountains. That was how it turned out, with only a few rocky outcrops. This would then link to the homeward path from WH Beinn a' Chaorainn route at the top of Glen Derry, going up this path to the summit, and then heading south across boggy ground to Beinn Bhreac. I had decided that doing this route clockwise would be more pleasant than clawing my way up the pathless side of Beinn Mheadhoin.
Cycling in the first 5km and leaving my bike at Derry Lodge, this left a 25km walk, and then the final 5km cycle back to the car park. The walk to Beinn Mheadhoin would have been nicer without a chill mid-July wind, but the views from the summit tors are glorious. Route finding down the slope to Lairig an Laoigh was straight-forward enough without any great issues, though obviously care is required. Once at the summit of Beinn a' Chaorainn, it rather felt like it was downhill all the way back to Derry Lodge, though rather wet underfoot for much of it.
No great problems were encountered, and from start to finish this took seven and a half hours.
- Route up through the trees on leaving Derry Lodge
- Coming down to Loch Etchachan
- Someone standing on the summit of Beinn Mheadhoin
- Looking north from Lairig an Laoigh
- The eastern slopes of Beinn Mheadhoin
- wild orchids aplenty
- Downhill all the way (if you tilt your camera a wee bit)
