free to be able to rate and comment on reports (as well as access 1:25000 mapping).
Corbetts: Corryhabbie Hill.
Grahams: Cook's Cairn
Date: 04 and 05/01/2020.
Distance:5 + 20 km.
Ascent: 100 + 760 km.
Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes + 5 hours, 20 minutes.
Weather: Breezy, some sunshine, mild.
David and I had been trying to make a bothy trip happen for some time now. Or rather he had, but Jackie and I had been a bit erratic, always heading where the best weather was. We had initially suggested somewhere in the NW on the 1st January, but having just about finished ourselves off getting out from Cape Wrath, we were glad we didn't need to follow through on that. Instead, given the so-so forecast for the next few days, we suggested something easy to reach, both in terms of driving and walking distance.
We had considered arriving at Tomnavoulin with enough time to go up The Bochel, but a lie-in had taken precedence, and we didn't arrive until almost 2:30pm. In fairness, we could have got up The Bochel in the daylight available, but we preferred to do a walk-in in the daylight.
David had been up the Bochel, and despite us being late, he was still packing his rucksack with overnight gear when we arrived. About 15 steps into the walk (and still in full view of the carpark), he decided to re-pack his entire bag with the coal on the inside this time
.
David re-packs his bag for about the 1567th time It was a pleasant walk-in and fairly straightforward - while I had been up the Bochel and Carn Mor from approximately this direction, I hadn't been into the eastern corner of Glenlivet, having previously approached Corryhabbie and Cook's Cairn from Glenfiddich. It is probably one of the wildest feeling parts of the NE outside of the Cairngorms themselves.
Walking into Glenlivet 
Last light All of the main river crossings had bridges, even if the final one was allegedly closed due to damage...we climbed over the barriers to use it regardless. At the bothy, it appeared that we had company. The 3 guys by the fire were regulars here, and had recently taken on custody of the place. The main room was snug and pleasant, although as the last ones there, we would most likely be sleeping with the junk in the storage area at the other end of the bothy.
Bothy night Not to worry, we had a cozy evening with beer and whisky, and after Cape Wrath's frugal approach, we had bought some cheese and oatcakes along to supplement our normal food. David had gone a stage further and packed a steak - we were soon jealous.
David’s luxury steak The sleeping arrangements were actually really comfortable as we got a fold-down sofa bed. It wasn't that cold in sleeping bags either, so we got a good kip. We were up and away by 9:30am while the other group were still slumbering, and decided that we had better do some proper walking today. Nothing too difficult, mind - Cook's Cairn is largely an easy stroll up a vehicle track from this direction.
Morning over the Bochel 
The Bochel 
Bothy 
Ruin 
Morning light The wind was up again higher up, and the light was quite low but also impressive. We could see out across Deeside and NE Aberdeenshire as well as the end of the Cairngorm plateau. As for snow, there was none whatsoever.
Don’t make it too obvious! Also, where’s the apostrophe? 
Cairngorms from Cook’s Cairn David was keen to go onto Corryhabbie Hill. Jackie and I had both been up it before at different times, but I fancied it again. Jackie did in theory as well, but her knew was bothering her, and she would have preferred easy ground the whole way. The descent towards Corryhabbie wasn't difficult but as we got lower the heather got thicker and Jackie began regretting her decision. We decided not to bother going to the Elf House after all - the guys last night had described this as interesting both to find and to get into.
The Buck Still, an easy ascent on track to Corryhabbie followed, with good views of Ben Rinnes from the top. Windy again, but we lingered briefly for an early lunch by the summit shelter before descending.
Eastern Cairngorms 
Lovely skies today, even if the light was a bit lacking 
Braes of Glenlivet 
Ben Rinnes 
Jackie on Corryhabbie Hill 
Cairngorms 
Top cat on Corryhabbie 
Cook’s Cairn from Corryhabbie Somehow I ended up persuading Jackie we should take a shortcut back towards Glenlivet rather than going back down the track, by about halfway down, she was already less than impressed with this! It didn't take long to get on the good track though, and we grabbed our overnight gear from the bothy as we passed by. There had been no shortage of fuel last night with our 20kg of coal being largely unnecessary, so I decided to carry half of it back out again. So much for a light walk-out!
Carn na Bruar 
The Livet and the Bochel The Livet and the Bochel Again Jackie and I discussed going up the Bochel, but her knee was starting to worry her now, and ultimately we were feeling a bit lazy. So we didn't bother.
Heading back to the car 
Afternoon light 
Almost there Instead David brewed some tea up at the carpark and we said our goodbyes before heading back to Inverness. A bit less epic than our Cape Wrath trip of a couple of days earlier, but another good overnighter to start the year on the right track
.
