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Map and time/distance/ascent stats are for a start/finish at Derry Lodge. Cycling approach from the Linn of Dee carpark to Derry Lodge was about 5.5 km each way, 25 minutes up and 20 minutes back.
Another trip to the Cairngorms for the last day of February. This time I was approaching from the Linn of Dee to revisit Bheinn Bhreac, Beinn A’ Chaorainn and Beinn Mheadhoin as well as making a round of all the associated subsidiary tops for the first time. I got up to the Linn of Dee carpark by about 7:30 am. As usual there were a few cars already there with a couple of groups preparing to set off. I assembled the bike and made good speed up to Derry Lodge taking about 25 minutes. I had intended to leave the bike there, but the path up Glen Derry on the east side of the Derry Burn is not too bad, so I pedalled on, all the way to the point where the route to Beinn Bhreac heads northeast up through the pine forest. This is just under 2km from Derry Lodge and doesn’t save much time on the way up, but it was nice to reach the bike that little bit earlier on the return journey.
- Looking up the track beyond the point where I left the bike and headed towards Beinn Bhreac
After leaving the bike, I followed the slightly boggy path through the trees onto the open hillside, climbing gradually to the bealach between Meall an Lundain and Beinn Bhreac. This is just as described in the WH route description for Beinn Bhreac.
- Derry Cairngorm from the lower slops of Bheinn Bhreac
Once clear of the trees, the ground was mostly frozen which negated the bogginess and made it easy to maintain a good pace. I was overtaken by a chap out running in shorts. We had a quick chat, and he sped off. Respect! Despite a forecast for clear skies, low cloud was clinging on to most of the tops. I plodded on up into this, following the path due north then heading northeast towards the easterly top at 931m which is the Munro summit of Bheinn Bhreac.
- The summit of Bheinn Bhreac - not much to see here
Just a little bit too much mist for any views unfortunately, so I headed west over stoney and frozen terrain losing only 24m before climbing up to the West Top, a subsidiary of Bheinn Bhreac.
- West Top of Bheinn Bhreac - a very similar view
When I last visited Beinn Bhreac in 1989 I neglected to bag the sub-top despite only needing a minor detour. Oh well, it gave me a reason to revisit an otherwise rather dull hill.
Next, the trek across the Mòine Bhealaidh to Beinn a’ Chaorainn. This was over very mixed terrain – some easy short heather and stones, and some boggier sections. There was a path for most of the route, occasionally disappearing in the bogs. Fortunately, most of the bog was frozen hard which made the going a lot easier. The Mòine Bhealaidh is flat and featureless, but impressive in its own way given the area covered by this plateau at 850m elevation.
- Looking north over the Mòine Bhealaidh to Beinn a’ Chaorainn and Beinn a’ Chaorainn Beag
- View west from the Mòine Bhealaidh with Derry Cairngorm on the left and Coire Etchachan on the right
By this time the mist had cleared the adjacent tops with Beinn a’ Chaorainn and Beinn a’ Chaorainn Beag standing out clearly at the northern end of the plateau. I made a beeline for Beinn a’ Chaorainn Beag, leaving the intermittent path behind and climbing over easy frozen ground and making my way through the boulders of the summit cone.
- On Beinn a’ Chaorainn Beag looking west towards Beinn a’ Chaorainn
Beinn a’ Chaorainn Beag although a bit lower than Beinn a’ Chaorainn is probably the more shapely of the two. I descended west, initially over a pile of boulders, passing just north of the frozen Lochan Beinn a’ Chaorainn before climbing up Beinn a’ Chaorainn’s east ridge.
- Barns of Bynack from the east ridge of Beinn a’ Chaorainn
The summit of Beinn a’ Chaorainn is marked by a good sized and well-built cairn.
- On Beinn a’ Chaorainn looking south towards Beinn Bhreac
- On Beinn a’ Chaorainn looking west towards Derry Cairngorm and Bheinn Mheadhoin. Ben Macdui behind remained in cloud all day
There are excellent views from here across to Beinn Mheadoin and the Barns of Bynack on Bynack More look particularly impressive from this angle. There was still a fair bit of cloud around, covering Beinn a’Bhuird to the east and the Cairngorm plateau to the west. Cold too, with a stiff southerly breeze.
I didn’t wait around long and continued my route southwest descending through boulders and then mixed sand, grass and heather. There is a path which is easy enough to follow once below the boulders. This is the route given in WH. The path follows the edge of the steep drop into the Lairig an Laoigh to around 820m where it then turns west dropping steeply into the bealach at 740m. Although steep and eroded, the path was fine to descend on, with mainly gritty sand underfoot which by this time had mostly thawed.
At this point I had a decision to make – continue up the steep eastern face of Beinn Mheadhoin or head back to Derry Lodge on the path as per the WH route. It was only 11:30am so although the climb ahead didn’t look too pleasant, I still had plenty time to continue the day. I crossed the Lairig an Laoigh and set off up the steep slope on the far side. This was the hardest part of the day. There were a few snow patches but nothing extensive enough to allow a crampon climb (this turned out to be another outing where the crampons stayed in the bag). Instead, I plodded up through deep heather and occasional boulders. The first 200m were steepest, after this the slope lessened.
- On the east face of Bheinn Mheadhoin looking back across the Lairig an Laoigh to Beinn a'Chaorainn
The wind had dropped here, so I stopped and had lunch before continuing the climb up to the summit of Stob Coire Etchachan, the southern sub-top of Beinn Mheadhoin, which is perched on the cliffs above the Hutchinson Memorial Hut.
- On Stob Coire Etchachan looking west over a frozen Loch Etchachan to the Cairngorm Plateau
- On Stob Coire Etchachan looking north towards Beinn Mheadhoin
- On Stob Coire Etchachan looking southeast towards Beinn Bhreac
- On Stob Coire Etchachan looking south towards Derry Cairngorm
From here I headed north, dropping only 26m before climbing up onto the summit plateau of Beinn Mheadhoin.
- Eroded tor on Bheinn Mheadhoin plateau
- Looking north over plateau towards Bheinn Mheadhoin summit
I made my way past the eroded tors to the summit Barn which added some variety with a nice easy scramble to get to the highest point of the day at 1182m atop the granite outcrop.
- Bheinn Mheadhoin summit barn
- On Bheinn Mheadhoin summit barn looking southwest towards Ben Macdui
It suddenly got quite busy with a number of parties approaching the summit just as I was departing. I headed southwest, stopping for some photos on the unlisted 1163m top which gave some great views over Loch Avon and down Strath Nethy.
- On Bheinn Mheadhoin 1163m top looking directly north down Strath Nethy
- On Bheinn Mheadhoin 1163m top looking west over Loch Avon to the Cairngorm Plateau
I think that it was probably this top that looked so prominent as I toiled up Strath Nethy last week rather than Stacan Dubha. I continued west down moderately steep and occasionally bouldery slopes before turning to the northwest across a wide flat grassy col to the rocky outcrop of Stacan Dubha, the western sub-top of Beinn Mheadhoin. This is a good bit lower than its parent Munro at 1013m, with very little prominence, but is nonetheless a fine little peak with great views over Loch Avon and Loch Etchachan and the surrounding cliffs that form the edge of the main Cairngorms plateau.
- On Stacan Dubha looking north over Loch Avon
- On Stacan Dubha looking south over Loch Etchachan - 250m higher than Loch Avon and much more frozen
From Stacan Dubha I headed due south, descending gradually over pathless but easy ground to reach the path that comes up from the Shelter Stone to the outflow of Loch Etchachan. The weather started closing in a bit at this point, with some snow flurries on the wind. This never amounted to much though, and visibility was never really affected.
- Looking west to the cliffs above the Shelter Stone on descent from Stacan Dubha - weather closing in slightly
From here I simply followed the excellent path down into Coire Etchachan and on to Glen Derry.
- Cliffs of Creagan a'Choire Etchachan viewed from path down to the Hutchison Memorial Hut
- The Hutchison Memorial Hut from path down into Coire Etchachan
I stopped off at the Hutchinson Memorial Hut and sat outside to have the last of my tea and chocolate.
The path down Glen Derry has a few washed out and boggy patches, but in general is pretty good. There were no issues fording the Glas Allt Mor as the river levels were greatly reduced compared to a week ago. It felt like quite a long trek from the Hut to Derry Lodge, although it only took me 90 minutes. It was certainly nice to be reunited with the bike for that final downhill 2kms.
All that was left was the familiar pedal back down the track from Derry Lodge to the car at the Linn of Dee.
Including the bike approach, this was getting on for a 9 hour day, with plenty daylight left. It does feel like we are coming out of the dark days. I have to admit that Bheinn Bhreac and Beinn A’ Chaorainn are not terribly exciting, but adding Beinn Mheadhoin and its sub-tops to the itinerary made it a decent outing.
