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I decided to make the most of my week off work and went to climb Pressendye and Craiglich to finish off the year. It was a frosty start to the day and very calm and still, even on the summits. I parked at the car park on the outskirts of Tarland and went up and down Pressendye by the same way, rather than making the circular route over Broom hill, just to make sure I left plenty time to climb Craiglich too. As it turned out, I had plenty of time and took just over 2 and a half hours to do Pressendye. Saw a group of deer just after setting off and black and red grouse on the hill.
Excellent views of Lochnagar, Morven and the other surrounding hills especially as the sun was just rising.
- Distant Lochnagar
- Morven
The views from Craiglich were also brilliant and it only took about an hour to do the walk so this is a great option for shorter winter days. I haven’t done much winter hillwalking before and think these smaller hills have a lot to offer for the shorter days and it also means a bit less travelling compared to Munros since I live in the North East.