Carn Bhac from Inverey
Posted: Sat Sep 06, 2014 2:14 pmI seem to be ticking off the Gorms at the moment – not sure why but pretty soon I’m going to have to start heading west.
Anyway, the forecast for today was good so I was parked up at Inverey and walking by 7.20am (with the car telling me it was MINUS 1).
Walking past the houses at the start I ignored the track heading left through the trees and continued towards a gate.
On clearing the gate the glen opened up in front of me but with the sun still low in the sky it was still cold but now that I was moving I was warming up a bit.
There are no navigation issues walking through Glen Ey, it’s just a case of following the main track as it snakes through the glen. It took me an hour and forty minutes to get to Altanour Lodge where I stopped for five minutes to check my route.
The track deteriorates after the lodge but the route remains fairly clear, after about 400 metres the track crosses a small burn and immediately afterwards I took the track on the right as it starts to climb away from the floor of the glen.
The view continued to be dominated by Beinn lutharn Mhor which looks far more impressive from the north compared to when I climbed it from the Glenshee side.
Continuing to climb (and looking like the track is heading for Beinn lutharn Mhor rather than Carn Bhac) I noticed a large group following me up the track. This seemed surprising as there didn’t seem to be anybody behind me so my first thought was a large group had biked up to the lodge but on closer inspection I could see they had guns with them so as with Saturday I was going to be close to shooters. I decided to wait for them as I was beside some butts so I wanted to know if they would be using them. The guy in charge asked that I use the western slopes of Carn Creagach to return to the lodge as they would be shooting on Carn Bhac as well as using the butts on the lower slopes.
Carn Bhacs an odd hill, you don’t really appreciate your climbing it as the focus is more on the views to BLM. Suddenly the track changes direction and heads away from BLM and the summit is in sight.
There were good views from the top so I spent ten minutes looking around me before heading back down on my new route. I thought about covering the tops of Carn Creagach and Creag an Lochain but decided against it in case there were any more grouse shooters out.
My route down was initially boggy but I was soon on solid ground and the walk back down to the lodge was easy going.
I was amazed to see how many vehicles were parked at the lodge, with that many guns on the hill I wondered how many grouse would be left alive by the end of the day.
All that was left now was the walk back down Glen Ey, surprisingly for a bank holiday Monday I didn’t see anyone else out in the hills apart from the grouse shooters so I had the glen to myself.
Must say, I loved the walk out, the sun was higher and it was a sunny and warm walk back to the car. Glen Ey is a lovely quiet place, and well worth a visit.
Walking time today was 5hrs 21 mins and I was stopped for 34 mins so just shy of 6hrs.
Anyway, the forecast for today was good so I was parked up at Inverey and walking by 7.20am (with the car telling me it was MINUS 1).
Walking past the houses at the start I ignored the track heading left through the trees and continued towards a gate.
On clearing the gate the glen opened up in front of me but with the sun still low in the sky it was still cold but now that I was moving I was warming up a bit.
- Ey Burn
- Herding the sheep up the track
- Looking up the glen
- Looking back towards Inverey
- Auchelie ruin
- Clear, clear skies
- A lot of photo stops wandering through the glen......
- Great view up Glen Ey
- Getting closer to Altanour Lodge
- Beinn lutharn Mhor now dominating the view
- Finally reaching Altanour Lodge
- Altanour Lodge
- BLM
There are no navigation issues walking through Glen Ey, it’s just a case of following the main track as it snakes through the glen. It took me an hour and forty minutes to get to Altanour Lodge where I stopped for five minutes to check my route.
The track deteriorates after the lodge but the route remains fairly clear, after about 400 metres the track crosses a small burn and immediately afterwards I took the track on the right as it starts to climb away from the floor of the glen.
The view continued to be dominated by Beinn lutharn Mhor which looks far more impressive from the north compared to when I climbed it from the Glenshee side.
Continuing to climb (and looking like the track is heading for Beinn lutharn Mhor rather than Carn Bhac) I noticed a large group following me up the track. This seemed surprising as there didn’t seem to be anybody behind me so my first thought was a large group had biked up to the lodge but on closer inspection I could see they had guns with them so as with Saturday I was going to be close to shooters. I decided to wait for them as I was beside some butts so I wanted to know if they would be using them. The guy in charge asked that I use the western slopes of Carn Creagach to return to the lodge as they would be shooting on Carn Bhac as well as using the butts on the lower slopes.
Carn Bhacs an odd hill, you don’t really appreciate your climbing it as the focus is more on the views to BLM. Suddenly the track changes direction and heads away from BLM and the summit is in sight.
- Finally, Carn Bhac is in view
There were good views from the top so I spent ten minutes looking around me before heading back down on my new route. I thought about covering the tops of Carn Creagach and Creag an Lochain but decided against it in case there were any more grouse shooters out.
- Carn Bhac summit
My route down was initially boggy but I was soon on solid ground and the walk back down to the lodge was easy going.
- Looking back to Carn Bhac
I was amazed to see how many vehicles were parked at the lodge, with that many guns on the hill I wondered how many grouse would be left alive by the end of the day.
All that was left now was the walk back down Glen Ey, surprisingly for a bank holiday Monday I didn’t see anyone else out in the hills apart from the grouse shooters so I had the glen to myself.
Must say, I loved the walk out, the sun was higher and it was a sunny and warm walk back to the car. Glen Ey is a lovely quiet place, and well worth a visit.
Walking time today was 5hrs 21 mins and I was stopped for 34 mins so just shy of 6hrs.
I came down Glen Ey on a grey day and wasn’t that charmed by it. Am now looking a bit more forward to bagging Carn Bhac! 
