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Sub 2000 Marilyns: Millstone Hill, Oxen Craig.
Date: 07/12/2013.
Distance: 25km.
Ascent: 920m.
Time taken: 7 hours.
Weather: Cold and grey.
I had a day of walking arranged with my sister Laura this weekend. As her partner works for Scotrail, she wanted to make use of some cheap train travel (free for her, £5 return anywhere for me). She was pretty keen on going back to Strathcarron, either to climb some hills or to do a circuit of the stalkers paths around Coire Lair and Coire Fionnaraich. The weather was looking hideous in the west, but fortunately I had come up with a plan for going east as well.
I had fancied Bennachie for a while now, and had a feeling it would work well approached by train from Insch. Laura was OK with this, so we were leaving the train at Insch shortly before 11am. While it was rather grey and overcast, the hills were clear of cloud and the wind was down.
Bennachie from the Insch road:
The B9002 was a little busy, so not the most fun to walk along, but after 50 minutes or so, we reached Bogend and the minor road to the Back o' Bennachie car park. Laura was more observant than me and spotted some out of season apples left on a branch.
Last remaining apples of the season at Oyne:
A good, well signposted path led up through the woods and out onto the moorland below Oxen Craig. It was very grey, but there was hardly any snow about in Aberdeenshire, compared to quite a bit around Inverness. A bit novel, as things are usually the other way around. In fact I had visions of us wading through knee-deep drifts and just about managing to reach Oxen Craig in the time available. There were good views right across northern Aberdeenshire, with Waughton Hill in the extreme NE identifiable by its masts.
Hill of Foundland:
Strathbogie and Tap o’ Noth:
Little Oxen Craig:
We decided to skirt Oxen Craig for the time being, and head for Mither Tap by way of Craigshannoch. This granite outcrop was worth a quick diversion for the views.
Oxen Craig from Craigshannoch:
South across the Dee to Clachnaben:
Hills of Foundland and Tillymorgan with Knock Hill in the background:
Bennachie is probably the most impressive hill in Aberdeenshire away from the Cairngorms/Lochnagar, and is pretty popular, so it isn't that surprising that it has a good network of paths across it. What is surprising is just how well made and signposted they are. It made for enjoyably easy walking, although not something you would want to find on all of the hills.
Finally we were closing in on Mither Tap, which grew more impressive as we got closer. The mixture of moorland and outcrops reminded me of Stiperstones in Shropshire, but in granite rather than quartzite.
Mither Tap:
Mount Keen and Lochnagar:
Getting closer:
A quick lunch stop (which was rather cold) before we pushed on up the final cone. It was fairly busy around the summit area - no surprise considering how close to Aberdeen we were.
Laura on the walls of the hillfort on Mither Tap:
Across Millstone Hill and Cairn William to Mount Battock:
We descended to the south, dropping down under the summit crags for a closer look before hitting another good path. At the speed we were moving, I didn't think we would have time to include Millstone Hill together, but Laura didn't mind me running off to do it before catching her up.
Crags on Mither Tap:
As we weren't going to make the 4pm train without a serious rush, I decided we would drop down the southern slopes of Bennachie before picking up the Gordon Way as it traversed up the back of Oxen Craig. It would lengthen the walk (and shorten the amount of sitting around at Insch before the 6pm train) and give me the chance to do a quick out-and-back to Millstone Hill. Again the path was good, but there were a few trees down on the path which we had to climb around.
Looking back to Mither Tap from the south:
The path up Millstone Hill was also good, although a little icy in places. It was only 3pm on the summit, but getting noticeably darker. A nice little hill to lounge around on, with short heather and pavements of granite, not to mention nice views over the Don. Unfortunately I had no time for that, so made my way rapidly back the way I'd come.
Mither Tap from Millstone Hill:
Cairn William from Millstone Hill:
There were more fallen trees on the Gordon Way, including some rather awkward ones to negotiate. The sunset was not the most spectacular, but provided some colour to a rather grey day, making this section of the walk the most atmospheric of the day.
I caught Laura up just before the turn-off to Oxen Craig, and we made our way to the summit in the gathering dusk. Despite the light, there were still other people up here as well. We enjoyed the views of the remainder of the sunset and the lights of the surrounding towns before heading down to rejoin our outward route. We needed to take care of a couple of icy sections on the path down.
Sunset from Oxen Craig:
Laura on Oxen Craig:
Looking down to Insch:
Mither Tap was unsurprisingly the most impressive summit of the day, but Oxen Craig was just as good in the last light, and all in all it was a much more enjoyable day than crashing around Coire Lair in the rain and clag. I only have a couple more 2000ft+ hills to do on this side of the country but I'm looking forward to exploring some of the lower ones, as there seems to be a lot of variety.
The walk back along the B9002 was a bit of a downer, but not too difficult, and without rushing, we arrived in Insch with 10 minutes to spare before the 6pm train. Perfect timing for a change!
