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Grahams: Ladylea Hill.
Sub 2k Marilyns: Ben Newe.
Date: 24/12/2024.
Distance: 16.5 + 2.5km.
Ascent: 650 + 70m.
Time taken: 4 hours 55 minutes + 1 hour 10 minutes.
Weather: Breezy but with sunny spells.
We finally had a Christmas to ourselves but where Jackie was also healthy and able to go up hills, so we fancied a getaway this year. Would the weather play ball?
Not exactly - the ultimate prize would have been able to spend Christmas Day on a big hill on the west coast, but December weather doesn't usually allow that without some misery. We could see an alternative in the east though - NE of the Cairngorms, Aberdeenshire was looking pretty good. So we got up early on Christmas Eve and drove over to Strathdon - I think if we had been 24 hours earlier then the Lecht would have been shut due to snow but the big thaw was on and it was no trouble. I had come up with a slightly odd circuit taking in Ladylea Hill (a Graham which Jackie hadn't been up) and Ben Newe (which neither of us had been up). There was plenty of forest walking to minimise our exposure to the gusty forecast.
Parking on the shortcut road over to Glen Buchat, we immediately hit the steep flank of Ben Newe, ending up on a mountain bike trail. A maze of forestry tracks, paths and bike trails led us to the final cone of Ben Newe which was rockier and more shapely than I had realised. A nice summit.
On the Hill of Greenstile 
South from Ben Newe 
Ben Newe summit 
Jackie on Ben Newe 
Ben Newe summit outcrop We initially dropped down a different route before ending up back on our outward path briefly, then following a more obvious track back towards the carpark. Before we got there, we escaped the forest at Eastertown and wandered through a field to get on the road slightly further north than where we had parked. We followed the road for a km or so before turning left onto a major forestry track.
Looking back to Ben Newe from above Newton The track wasn't exactly pretty but as a lot of felling had taken place, we had good views over Glen Buchat. 4km of easy track walking took us to a fire break which would lead us to the edge of the trees. Initially we were concerned - there were a few trees down and I had visions of us disappearing into a maze of windblown timber as we had done a few years earlier on Innerdouny Hill. Fortunately it was nowhere near as bad as that.
Forest ride to Ladylea Hill Once at the forest edge, a stile took us over a new deer fence and we were on a path. Higher up Ladylea Hill, the path joined a track before leaving us to do the final few minutes over a carpet of heather. Again not bad views, and a more satisfying approach than the super-quick up-and-down I had previously done from Torrancroy (not that this would even work now due to new plantations).
After I nearly led us in the wrong direction, we regained the track and stopped for lunch. Our way ahead was over Clashenteple Hill, Mid Hill and Hill of Cummerton, which it appeared we should be able to do on tracks of some sort the whole way.
Clashenteple Hill from Ladylea Hill 
Clashenteple Hill and across Strathdon 
Morven and Mona Gowan from Ladylea Hill 
East end of Ben Avon 
Pressendye and Morven 
Flying saucers 
On the SE ridge of Ladylea Hill 
Looking back to Ladylea Hill For some reason I decided to squeeze through the fence at the summit of Clashenteple hill...then back again. The walking turned out to be easy the whole way across the higher moorland with tracks to follow, although much of it had been planted with new trees. Views across Strathdon to Morven and Mona Gowan were good, as well as to the high Cairngorms.
Clashenteple Hill - tricky summit 
Ben Newe from Clashenteple Hill 
Creag an Sgor with the Buck behind Unfortunately, as soon as we got back into the mature trees, there was more wind damage. After some climbing over and shimmying under, we opted to take a shortcut down the edge of a felled area to the proper forestry track - crap but nowhere near as bad as dodging trees on the path! This soon landed us back at the carpark.
Fun final descent As we had some daylight to spare, Jackie was keen for a swim (as usual). There are probably a reasonable number of options around here if you know it well but not like on the west coast. So we decided to drive south to the Burn o' Vat. I wasn't sure if it would provide a decent swimming opportunity but it was somewhere I was interested to see.
We had about an hour's daylight left when we parked up - fortunately the Vat itself is only 10 minutes or so from the carpark. It was an interesting squeeze through a passage. The burn itself is a mere dribble, which makes the waterfall all the more impressive considering how little water there actually is. After exploring above the falls, Jackie decided to get in the water anyway, regardless of the amount. I didn't bother. She ended up having a shower in the waterfall and discovering a cave behind it.
Burn o Vat entrance 
Burn o Vat waterfalls 
Jackie in Burn o Vat 
Looking back down on the Vat 
Cave behind the falls We wandered further up the burn before turning round so we'd be back before dark - a really lovely area that we'll need to come back to with more time.
Across the Vat Burn 
Sunset 
View across Loch Kinord 
Last light at the carparkBennachie was now the plan for Christmas Day, so we set off in that direction to find somewhere to stay overnight.
