Walkhighlands

I set out from the bus stop at Glenmore over by the Lake Morlich camp site and walked up the Old Logging Way from the Reindeer Center. Up until I passed the Glenmore Lodge things weren't too exciting, but after about 20 minutes or so I was back in nature. It's hard to say what my favourite part of this circuit was. Definitely not the top of Meall a' Buachaille, although the views were magnificent and absolutely breathtaking in every direction: it was just super gloomy up there, with gusts of wind that were so strong that the only way to access either my map (I always like to know which other mountains I am looking at so I can add them to my to-climb list) or a bite to eat would have been inside the cairn, and there were two other walking parties already huddled up in there. I probably could have squeezed myself in, put I prefer my human density a bit lower when I'm out and about in nature. So once I was at the top, I leaned into the wind, had a look around and then continued my walk. I ended up having lunch somewhere halfway back down the hill.




But oh my, the walk up to the top of Meal a' Bhuachaille is worth it and gave me some of the best views I've had in the Cairngorms. First, there is An Lochan Uaine (the green lake). Legend has it that this is where fairies come to wash their clothes and if I were a fairy this is where I would do my laundry too. I had the lake all to myself and it was a tranquil and magical place with the sun casting rays on the water.



Then there is Ryvoan bothy at the start of the Ryvoan pass, where the path to Lairig an Laoigh forks off. The location benefited from the day's wheather. As I was climbing up the hill, sun and rain alternated each other and clouds were constantly shifting in size and greyscale. The entire ascent was a majestic meteorological time-lapse.




I would do this walk again in a heartbeat, although next time I hope to connect Creagan Gorm and Craiggowie (once I have figured out how to descend from that last hill without walking all the way back). For now, it inspired me to actually walk through the Ryvoan pass, which I did the next day (from Nethy Bridge to Glenmore).

I did a circuit including craiggowrie. Started off in the westernmost carpark of loch Morlich and then walked up through the Badaguish Outdoor Centre. Followed the paths northwest and then up the path marked on the map to craiggowrie. Then just walked along the hill tops till reaching the summit. A small detour round the south of loch Morlich and back to the car park.

Thank you! Will try that!