free to be able to rate and comment on reports (as well as access 1:25000 mapping).
Most people climb Beinn a' Chaorainn with Beinn Bhreac from Linn of Dee. But when I climbed Beinn Bhreac with a group of friends from Dundee it was enough of an achievement to get them up that one without adding a long trudge over uneven, boggy ground to reach another! Which left me ever after with the question of the best way to reach Beinn a' Chaorainn now that I'm living in Inverness.
Approaching from the north seemed the obvious way to go. I scanned WH reports but apart from one or two who included it in a camping trip from Cairngorm no one seemed to have done it this way. Perhaps too far to go for just one blue balloon?
Yesterday's weather prospects looked better in the east so I floated the idea with Rob and Mary who I knew wouldn't be put off by the distance. Mary's response was we could always do Bynack More again if it proved too far.... so perhaps she thought it a bit ambitious (polite word in this instance for 'crazy idea'). But I figured following the Lairig an Laoigh (less famous brother of the Lairig Ghru but equally useful north south route) should take us easily to the Fords of Avon and provided the water wasn't too high (shouldn't be after dry summer) we could then climb Beinn a' Chaorainn no problem at all.
We parked at the end of the minor road to Glenmore Lodge and were on our way by 7.40. It was a beautiful morning walking through Scots Pine and past Lochan Uaine looking very green, through Ryvoan Pass and taking the right fork signed for Braemar. Soon we were in open moorland with the sweet smell of the heather and views towards Abernethy Forest to the east.
Jack's last big hill day had done him in so I left him at home but I brought Tess and she was in her element enjoying all the smells of the hill.
Tess at one of many watering holes along the way
Path through the heather
After a couple of kilometres we reached the footbridge over the River Nethy and had a stop here for breakfast.
River Nethy and distant Beinn Mheadhoin
From the bridge the well made path climbs at a steady gradient and the views open up on every side.
Looking back to Meall a' Bhuachaille
Higher ground and more water for Tess
Bynack More ahead
Where the path divides the right fork leads to Bynack More and left is the continuation of the Lairig an Laoigh, which we took. No more talk of climbing Bynack More instead! Soon we reached the highest point of the Lairig before descending to cross the Uisge Dubh Poll a' Choin, which we joked was a practice for the Fords of Avon.
At this point we met the first people of the day - first a group of three than a bunch who'd been camping. One of the young guys was asking the girls in the group if they needed help crossing the stream (they didn't) then hailed us with a gusto that felt slightly inappropriate. I asked him what the Fords of Avon were like to cross. He said "Not good, fast flowing and lots of white water" and when I asked how deep he pointed to mid thigh. He then said there were concrete bridges and we'd be better to look for one of them. We weren't really bothered, we'd take it as we found it and I didn't really believe it would be as difficult as he made out. One way or another we'd find our way over that river!
Beinn a' Chaorainn is an unassuming Cairngorm, hiding between her more glamorous cronies. I confess to hardly noticing her when I was on Beinn a' Bhuird, Derry Cairngorm or Beinn Mheadhoin and it was about half way into our approach before we even saw her.
First sighting of Beinn a' Charoainn over Creag Mhor
At this point we were very close to the Barns of Bynack and Rob suggested nipping up to see them on the way back. I said he could if he liked! The path was mostly very good and areas which might have been a problem on wet ground had been recently improved with strategically placed boulders. Then we came to a sign outlining the project underway and the box-like sheds for housing the workers and socks hanging out to dry!
Beinn Mheadhoin
Beinn a' Chaorainn, lower slopes grass and heather, boulders higher up
The path rises and falls a few times until it passes Lochan a' Bhainne then descends to the Fords of Avon where we met two of the men working on the path.
Path workers taking a break on the Fords of Avon refuge
They were taking refuge on the refuge - trying to catch the breeze to give a break from the midges which were a plague whenever you stopped moving. I got chatting to one of the guys on the way back and he said they do one week on one week off and during the week on live in the sheds we'd passed earlier. He was from Cumbria, hadn't done this type of work before and yes they carried on working in the rain. The worst thing was the midgies. I said we appreciated their efforts - the improved path was great and there was quite a difference with the parts not yet worked on - but even on such a lovely day I didn't envy them their task with the constant scourge of the midge.
Where they were working
And now for the crossing! Thigh deep? I don't think so.
Fords of Avon crossing point
It was easy. We took our boots off, rolled our trousers up (Rob took his off but that was overkill) and walked carefully across. To be fair to Rob it was higher when we crossed the outflow of the river from Loch Avon after climbing Beinn Mheadhoin so I can understand his thinking. But it was only up to mid calf and it might have been possible to balance on slightly submerged boulders although I wouldn't have fancied doing it that way as a slip would have meant a soaking. We met a man who said he'd never seen the water level lower so reckon the young guy who told us to look for a bridge was either winding us up or didn't know much about river crossing!
The path then led to a tributary of the Avon which was easily crossed on boulders. Once over we stopped for food before starting up the side of our hill heading initially south east to reach the north ridge. It was mainly heather with occasional rocks until we reached a boulder field which had to be crossed. Once over the boulders we reached a small cairn and picked up a path heading south up the crest of the broad ridge.
Looking back from the boulders to Fords of Avon and Bynack More
Cairngorm
Beinn a' Chaorainn summit cairn
Ben Macdui
South to Beinn Bhreac
It had taken us 6 hours to reach the summit and dark clouds were gathering so we didn't stay too long before starting back down the ridge. We hadn't gone far before the rain started and we stopped to put on waterproofs.
Beinn a' Chaorainn's north ridge and River Avon meandering off down Glen Avon to the right
The rain only lasted a short time and we walked north into a beautiful evening, stopping for a break at the route's highest point with views to the east of the torrs on Ben Avon.
Tess is a fit 10 year old but even she was glad of a lie down!
Lochan Uaine through the pines
We were back at the car 12 hours 20 minutes after leaving and reckoned we'd spent about an hour and 20 minutes on stops which makes it about 11 hours walking. My pedometer registered 22.27 miles but that's slightly inflated as it's based on my stride on the flat which is less on steep slopes. The only steepish section was getting on to the ridge so it does give some indication that it was a long way to go for one secretive hill that nobody would write home about. But we all agreed it had been a fabulous day giving a real sense of the vast remoteness of this part of the Cairngorms from the less travelled Lairig an Laoigh.
