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In a sea of brown, rounded hills, Clachnaben stands out due to its defining granite tor. As such, it's a popular walk and deservedly so. My friend and I arrived at the car park which lies about half a mile north of the Bridge of Dye just after lunch time and finding a parking space was tricky.
To begin with, the path gently climbs through a coniferous woodland. Unfortunately, we were a week or two too late to see any fly agaric in good condition but there were plenty of chewed up ones hiding in the shade. At the end of the woodland, the path starts to descend and you can see the summit tor looming in the distance.
After the path departs from the woodland, it follows a land rover track which heads downhill. On the return journey, this slope proved to be a difficult one to tackle, largely because we'd expended all our energy climbing the hill. The next half mile follows largely flat ground across a boggy area, although the path is well maintained so unless you go on a rainy day, you won't get wet feet. It's not long before the second woodland is reached and this is when the path finally starts to ascend. With a sense of determination, we hiked on.
The summit never seems to get any closer.
The path up to the top is easy to follow and remains dry. There are the occasional stone steps but for the most part, it's not too much of a slog. We'd decided to take on this hill in the afternoon so by the time we reached the top, the summit tor was blocking out the sun. In a way, the cool breeze in the shadowy side of the hill was refreshing.
The trig point lies 10m lower than the summit and the only way to get to the top is to scale the granite tor. I believe some people use the steep, eastern flank for rock climbing but we took the easier route up the western side. A little climbing is necessary but it's quite easy going. I'm normally the first one in the group to give up and stay at the bottom of anything challenging but I made it up with no problems.
The rocks have been beautifully rounded by the elements.
There's nothing of note close to the summit so the views are of distant hills and fertile Deeside.
The long, afternoon shadow of the tor makes me think of the Matterhorn. Thankfully, this hill is much easier to walk up.
Once we'd explored and climbed around the tor for a while, we decided that to finish off the walk, we had to visit the trig point. After we'd taken some photos it was time to return to civilisation. To get back to the car park, just retrace your steps.
Clachnaben made for a wonderful afternoon walk. Its distinctive granite tor not only stands out in the landscape it finds itself in but it makes for a great destination. For the majority of the walk, it never seems to get closer until you're right at it, then its size becomes apparent. Definitely one to check out if you have a free morning or afternoon.
