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This was only the third time I has been out on my own. The first time was Mayer & Driesh when I got slightly lost on the way back down. The second was up in the Linn of Dee and I started off at the wrong place. When I realised I decided to do Carn a’Mhaim instead. Well this time I got up and down with no problems. Only issue was I had misread the distance to travel up and down when doing the research. I thought it was 21 Kilometres. Instead it was 21 miles or 33+ Kilometres. That explains why I thought the time to complete was overly long.
Anyway I planned to cycle in as far as possible as I had packed the tripod and filters for the camera. This made the rucksack pretty heavy but the quality of the pictures makes it worthwhile (I doubt that I’ll be making a habit of carry all the camera gear in future).
Finding the start was easy with the car park at Keiloch just off the A93 and well signposted. The tarmac path from the car park past the back of the Mansion of Invercauld House is excellent.
There are quite a few paths off the main drag but it is well signposted. If follow the signs for Slugain you’ll be ok. You’ll come to a sign for Linn of Quoich and Inverchandick. Don’t follow this sign. Instead go straight ahead on a path that looks like a forestry track. (From here it’s a straight path all the way).
After bypassing Inverchandick the track becomes a bit rough but it is doable on a bike. After a good 2 to 3 miles and a gentle slope upwards you have the option to follow a lower path towards the fairy glen and the old ruins of Slugain Lodge. I took the upper path ( it is steep and I got off going up and off again going down) as the lower route looked very wet
If you’re taking your bike up the high route it is impossible to cycle and you’ll have to push the bike over some big rocks. However it is only around a half to 1 Kilometre. The big benefit is on the way back which is mostly downhill with little effort or need to pedal.
The one thing I do regret is not taking the lower path on the way back. The Glen with the old ruins of the Lodge looked extremely pretty and with the cloud and very colourful view it looked quite dramatic. Maybe next time!!
I parked the bike at Glas Allt Mor which despite all the rain over the past few days was easy enough to cross. There are a couple of decent size waterfalls, one at the crossing and the other further up.
Walking up is straight forward and a climb that’s not too difficult. You’ll soon come across some tors on the sneck with paths that branch off towards Ben Avon or Beinn a'Bhuird.
Once at the bealach the views down the glen are stunning and the pictures do not do it justice.
After the bealach it is a pretty steep but short climb to the plateau and the Tors of Ben Avon soon come in to view.
Up close they are very impressive
and the vast plateau has more than a few Tors to explore.
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I can only say the trip was longer than expected but well worth it even if I feel pleasantly knackered. I’ll be up again but to do Beinn a'Bhuird and I’ll visit the Slugain Lodge ruins and the fairy glen, despite shorter routes in and out.