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After doing a couple of small hills to start the weekend off, today, Saturday was always forecast to be the best weather. With the club staying at the excellent Muir Cottage situated between Braemar and the Linn of Dee the choice was to head off in the Derry Lodge direction to pick off a couple of less well known Munros, Beinn Bhreac and Beinn a'Chaorainn. When looking at the OS map apart from Ben Macdui to Cairngorm, and maybe Beinn a burd to Ben Avon, this walk is probably the longest distance between munros in Scotland, unless anyone can come up with some others.
It's nearly 20 years since I have set foot on these two and in that time distances have become a bit blurred, so when a guy from another club who also had booked into Muir Cottage asked 'How long do you think it will take you? I replied about six hours quite confidently. After a time and another look at the OS map I told my walking partner, maybe I'd been to hasty and maybe seven hours was more likely as the Munro book states 8-10 hours, and Cameron McNeish's book suggests 7-10hrs and Walkhighlands 8-10hrs
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- After passing the Derry Lodge at the rear and following the Derry Burn on the East side on a good path at grid reference point 045949 this small cairn of stones marks where you leave the well worn path to head on up the hillside on the West flanks of Meall an Lundain
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- After leaving the Linn of Dee car park we took the path from the NW corner of the park through the trees until we met up with the main track heading for Derry Lodge. This photograph taken after we had crossed the bridge over the Lui Water up Glen Lui
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- The still boarded up Derry Lodge, it's a great pity the estate cannot think of some useful purpose for this historic building. In my estimate for 6 hours I had allowed one hour to Derry Lodge, wow 10mins saved already
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- Climbing steadily up wet in places but nothing too boggy in fact quite an easy gradient
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- Looking back down the path through the heather
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- Summit cairn of Beinn Bhreac in the distance, it was at this point we saw another walker further down the path, but we never saw him again. Time to cairn 2h 15mins. Still on time for the six hours
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- Heading for the summit of Beinn a'Chaorainn on the SE shoulder on the right of the snowfield we were attempting to come down after reaching the summit. It was the area of the Moine Bhealaidh which was to be our undoing, just the vastness of the peat hag area added probably another 15mins or so over the time we had allowed
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- Summit cairn of Beinn a'Chaorainn. Three hours twenty five mins to the summit. Having had little or no breaks we decided this was where to have a bite to eat and a cuppa with a break of 15mins
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- Ben Macdui in the distance from the summit cairn
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- Summit cairn on Beinn a'Chaorainn
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- Edging down the snow field on the South flank of Beinn a'Chaorainn
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- Nearly at the Glen Derry path on the West shoulder of Beinn a'Chaorainn
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- Looking back up to Beinn a'Chaorainn from the path
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- Looking down Glen Derry at the point we join the path from the hill
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- The river crossing at Glas Allt Mor, looking towards the Hutchison Memorial Hut
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- Looking back up Glen Derry
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- Hanging on for dear life
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- Serious erosion after the snow melt and winter rains on the path at the back of Derry Lodge. We reached the lodge knowing the six hour mark was beyond us so another 5min break before the final push to the car
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- One last view up Glen Lui
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- Female Capercaillie on the roof a car in Linn of Dee car park. Not counting the couple of rest breaks 6hrs 12mins and look who came to greet us in the car park
