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A couple of pretty standard hills for this particular adventure, with a couple of hills in or near Ballater. First was the Glen Muick Corbett of Conachcraig. This was then followed by the Ballater sub 2000 of Craigendarroch.
I’d realised that my slightly late start might be a bit of a mistake, as many of the popular parking areas for hillwalkers were all looking quite full. I was bracing myself for the Spittal of Glen Muick parking area being chocker........I wasn’t wrong
, but thankfully was lucky enough to spy a space on arrival. Certainly no chance of getting away from the crowds here.........it was busier than a Saturday afternoon in Sauchiehall Street
Parking for the day isn’t cheap, at £4.........but at least there are toilets provided
P1070061 by
Pete Riedel, on Flickr
Getting away from it all My route for Conachcraig was pretty straightforward...........following the Lochnagar path up to the 678 high point on the track.
P1070063 by
Pete Riedel, on Flickr
Setting offP1070064 by
Pete Riedel, on Flickr
The good thing about popular areas is you get plenty of help P1070067 by
Pete Riedel, on Flickr
My target ahead of meP1070070 by
Pete Riedel, on Flickr
A nice, but brief, walk through some treesP1070075 by
Pete Riedel, on Flickr
The path what I was walking onP1070088 by
Pete Riedel, on Flickr
Time to leave the track and head up hillFrom there it was a straightforward path up to the plateau. I got a bit confused, as there are three granite tors on the top and I wasn’t sure which one was the highest.......so had to visit them all
P1070091 by
Pete Riedel, on Flickr
Heading up hillP1070095 by
Pete Riedel, on Flickr
View back to LochnagarP1070099 by
Pete Riedel, on Flickr
Almost at the summitP1070103 by
Pete Riedel, on Flickr
Summit plateauP1070107 by
Pete Riedel, on Flickr
Mount KeenP1070115 by
Pete Riedel, on Flickr
Lochnagar againGreat views, especially back Lochnagar and also off to the distant Mount Keen.
Headed off to the subsidiary Caisteal na Caillich, to extend the walk a little. Then back the way I had come and back to the car park, which had emptied a little by that time.
P1070120 by
Pete Riedel, on Flickr
Caisteal na CaillichP1070142 by
Pete Riedel, on Flickr
What a relief Then it was back to Ballater, where I parked up in the big car park behind the Church (with excellent facilities – I must be a man of a certain age, given my obsession with toilets
).
For Craigendarroch I simply followed the WH route. It was a pleasant late afternoon stroll to the top and then drop down to follow a path skirting high above the Pass of Ballater.
P1070146 by
Pete Riedel, on Flickr
There's a clue there somewhere P1070150 by
Pete Riedel, on Flickr
Nice route throug the treesP1070154 by
Pete Riedel, on Flickr
I really do like a nice treeP1070157 by
Pete Riedel, on Flickr
LochnagarP1070160 by
Pete Riedel, on Flickr
Very nice route as height was gainedP1070175 by
Pete Riedel, on Flickr
Pano of the viewpoint........the summit is a little further along the pathP1070179 by
Pete Riedel, on Flickr
Cloud formation from the actual summitP1070185 by
Pete Riedel, on Flickr
Following the route off the hillStarted hearing voices and eventually picked out a couple of chaps climbing up the face of Creag an t-Seabhaig. I’d have loved to have joined them, but.........
P1070187 by
Pete Riedel, on Flickr
Why........? Soon enough I was back at the car and then heading home. A super little hill to end the day.