Corrie Fee, Mayar & Driesh - worth the wait?

[denfinella]

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Corrie Fee is one of the places in the eastern Cairngorms which is always spoken very highly of on these forums, and the circular route connecting it with the two munros of Mayar and Driesh is supposedly one of the easier munro walks. For a first munro ascent of 2013 then, it seemed to tick all the boxes. After reading all the reports saying things like "blown away" and "better than anything you could imagine" upon reaching the view at the foot of the corrie, I'd maybe set my expectations too high. Anyway, we'd saved this walk for a sunny day and today the often cautious MWIS forecast talked of "extensive sunshine", "the air very clear" and "windless on some summits". This contrasted with the BBC which painted a cloudier picture, but ever optimistic we ignored this.

It was written, then, that it turned out to be a grey morning in Angus. Blue skies around Aberdeen faded during the drive down the A90, and so did our hopes of a pre-10am arrival time as part of the dual carriageway was closed after an accident. The drive up Glen Clova is always an exciting one, though, with the foothills slowly being placed by higher, more and more dramatic mountains and rocky corries.

At least the lack of sunshine kept it cool - shorts were still fine though. Several signboards along the forest tracks in Glen Doll provided tidbits of information about the wildlife, as well as excitement-inducing, slightly annoying comments like "You are now more than halfway to one of the best viewpoints in Scotland!" Finally we emerged from the trees. I was sure by this point that I was going to be underwhelmed by Corrie Fee. Actually, I was still impressed by the depth and scale of the corrie - you get much more of a sense of enclosure than from photos, with rocky crags almost completely encircling the corrie walls. The majestic waterfall on the back wall crowns the view, and only the presence of a lochan could better the scene. Oh, and some sunshine.

The path narrowed but was still excellent as we headed across the corrie floor and up the far end. Corrie Fee is a National Nature Reserve, and did indeed seem to have a wider variety of plants and birds than your average piece of Scottish land of this altitude. No eagles in sight, but I did get slightly excited after spotting Horsetails. I mistakenly thought these were a rare plant, before later finding out they're actually a rather common weed There are plenty of good views of the unnamed waterfall though, and a wonderful view back down Glen Doll from the head of the corrie.

All the attractive scenery meant it came as a surprise that we were already over 700 metres ASL upon peeking at the map. Finally the path faded to a damp line of flattened grass flanked by a few sizeable snow patches, but luckily it wasn't boggy at all thanks to all the recent dry weather. Mayar looked close, and indeed it was - the summit soon reached.

Looking southwest

View down Glen Prosen

The views surpassed expectations - Mayar isn't quite flat enough that the immediate surroundings spoil the longer sight lines. On a clearer day we would have taken far more photos. To the contrary, the cloud showed no sign of lifting, and in fact clag was creeping onto the plateau over near Tom Buidhe. Not welcome!

So after a quick sandwich stop, we set off due east towards Driesh, which shares an uncanny number of letters with Dreich. This section of the walk really didn't feel like Scotland - fence posts, arrow straight, flat and a wide track to follow. It certainly didn't feel like being over 800m up in the Cairngorms. Anyway, the steeper slopes of Driesh loomed ahead, with a few sections of loose rocks and a selection of paths providing some interest on the ascent. Driesh is higher than Mayar, but the views didn't seem quite so fine from the top. Back down to the bealach then, and this time off to the right - down the Shank of Drumfollow into Corrie Kilbo. Corrie Kilbo is certainly the poorer sibling of Corrie Fee, and so is its path - slightly eroded and a bit of a knee-breaker, although it is arrow-straight and provides an efficient way down. With some relief we finally reached flatter, grassier ground near the treeline.

There's still a fair way to go to get back to the car park on the valley floor. The path was great though, soon seemingly on a mission to find the most direct way back to the bottom - barreling across winding forest tracks to cut out hairpin bends and extra distance. All in all then, certainly a straightforward walk (for a munro) - but one where it's more about the journey than the destination(s). And Corrie Fee probably yields the best reward on a sunny day when you've no idea what's waiting around the corner - don't read walkhighlands and ignore all the signs!

Flowers near the Burn of Kilbo

[ScottishLeaf]

Nice report there, enjoyed reading it.
We got chased off Driesh by high winds and hail, only an hour or so after glorious sun on Mayar and in Corrie Fee. But they certainly are two munros upstaged by the corrie below them.

[bar72]

done this circuit a few times as it's a stonesthrow from the girlfriend's house. excellent day out, even in rough weather