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The day after the independence referendum, I woke up like a bear with a sore head. Opening the curtains to find a scene of total greyness, I slowly decided that Glasgow wasn't really the best place for me to be hanging around that day. My wife was working in Aberdeen over the weekend, so after some deliberation I decided to head up the road on the Megabus for the only two things that could possibly cheer me up: a Nandos and a hillwalk.
I escaped up the hill of North Hanover Street towards the bus station just before the atmosphere in George Square started to turn rather sour. Reading the updates on my phone made for a grim bus journey (the attempted - and failed - riot took place less than 10 minutes from our flat), and it was with some relief that I arrived in Aberdeen to find a calmer atmosphere. Nandos was, well, Nandos. Top drawer.
As dawn broke on the Saturday morning, the awful murky grey skies that had covered the country on the Thursday and Friday were starting to dissipate, leaving a brighter outlook for the weekend. I got up early and left our friend's flat to head over to Union Square for the 7:45am bus to Braemar. While the journey would take over two hours it was surprisingly cheap (somewhere between £8 and £12 as I remember), and I passed through increasingly Highland landscapes as the bus headed West through Banchory and Ballater towards Balmoral and Braemar (all the B's!)
Dark Lochnagar lay to the South. Hopefully one day...
Today's target, Morrone, lay behind the town. With a huge head start of over 300m and a very clear path to the top, it promised to be a straightforward introduction to the Cairngorms (does Morrone count as a Cairngorm? I know Glenshee doesn't but anything around Braemar surely does).
Braemar looked to be a traditonal sleepy Deeside town. No chance of an attempted riot here!
The route was signposted up to a viewpoint over the town.
If anything, this was the only confusing part of the walk, due to the myriad of paths around the viewpoint, but I found my way onto the thin path hat that started to thread its way up the hill. I recall a short boggy section (?) before it quickly developed into a stony and increasingly clear path.
After passing through a gate, the path headed up with haste towards the summit of Morrone, offering fanastic views over Braemar and Deeside.
A castle (?) appeared in the background behind the town.
While reasonably steep, the climb was steady, and barely 40 minutes after leaving the town the mast at the summit came into view. This was mainly down to the quality to the path, which was first class throughout.
Lochnagar came back into view, the earlier cloud having lifted.
The summit area of Morrone features much rocky terrain but the path remained clear.
Hmmmmm.
This mountain is brought to you by our good friends at Toshiba.
The access road for the mast would at least make for a great descent route.
The Cairnwell was visible to the South.
Aye, I hadn't had much sleep.
The trig point was slightly dwarved on this hill.
A posh estate.
One last glimpse of the Lochnagar Massif before leaving the summit.
The proper Cairngorms lay to the North West past Linn of Dee.
The descent down the access road from the Radio Relay Hut was a delight, as the sun started to shine on Morrone and the surrounding hills.
The massive summit tors of one of the Cairngorms (Ben Avon?)
At 1:20pm I reached the minor road leading back alongside the river to Braemar. I had really taken my mind at the summit and on the descent, as more than two hours had passed since reaching the mast at 858m.
A posh golf club.
A reasonable claim to fame. But what's the highest 9-hole golf course?
A posh man.
Another Corbett climbed.
I wandered round the shops of Braemar before the bus back to Aberdeen.
I'm saying nothing!
A fairly large stadium on the edge of the town, perhaps used for the Braemar Highland Games (one of the biggest Games in the country I think?)
Lochnagar appared again on the bus journey back.
The following day we headed down to Prestwick for my wife's birthday, then back to Glasgow for a surprise party with her friends. It was a very pleasant weekend, and exactly what was needed after the events of Thursday and Friday. And as for the hills? They'll always be here.