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Co dhui bha mi ag iarraidh a'streap Beinn Ciochan bliadhna air ais ....
I have been palning to climb "Lochnagar" for a while now , a good forecast had me in Gleann Muic at 9.30am on a grand morning
- A'toiseachd aig an abhainn
Although often overlooked, parts of the North East were in the Gaelic-speaking Gaidhealtachd, in the parishes of Upper Deeside especially. The last native speaker of Aberdeenshire Gaelic was Mrs Jean Bain of Braemar, who died in 1984.
- Gleann na Spiddal
One quote on this panel says " we do not know why the people left Spittal of Glenmuick " ........ Well I will enlighten you !
Firstly they were evicted ,then men of families remaining were coerced into fighting for a foreign power while their families were denied security of tenure on their small farms and crofts......... eventually as these families struggled then "died" out the large Estate took possession of the land .
- Baile nan Spiddal
When the Crofters Act 1886 was passed it was only ratified by the exclusion of the Aberdeenshire ,Perthshire and Angus Gaidhealtachd. As a consequence, vast swathes of the Highlands in the non-crofting counties have lost their people, their language and their culture as the tenants of the land were never more than one year away from eviction.
Had things been different, Highland Aberdeenshire might today be home to a thriving Gaelic culture and places like Spittal of Glenmuick would be occupied by crofting tenants with secure, heritable tenancies.
Instead we have Balmoral Estate ..... vulgarity in extreme
Still "Lochnagar" is no a bad hill ,even if they have the name wrong
- Beinn a Ciochan
We were up the well made path sharp ,passing a dozen or so folk , our route was round the five peaks, a long day ahead but clear ,windy and dry .
Wee bit Wintery yet ! ..but straight forward to the summit of Cac Carn Mor
- Snaechd
- Creagan
Did'nt hang around for long before heading for Carn a Coire Boidheachd and walking straight past it
!!!! ......
- Carn
- Lochan Reoite
Having walked past no2 ........ .I soon found myself approaching Munro no2 , Carn an t Sagairt Mor
- Tir nam airm
Great hill name and I wonder who he was ...the Priest that is , but no doubt a Farquharson famous tribe for fighting clergy
We were then up and on Cairn Bannoch ,good viewpoint here down into the Lochan
That was when the penny dropped
... If the next one is Broad Cairn , where is no 5 ? that's right its Carn a Choire Boidheachd which as I said we walked straight past !
Nothing for it ...onto Carn Bannoch
- Broad Carn
Good views down Loch Muic
...... then the long walk out ...back the way I came to Carn a'Choire Boidheachd
It is my luck in the East something always goes amiss , I had mistakenly put down Carn of Gowal as the 4th Munro
and passed within 10m of the Munro Carn on my way to Carn an t Sagairt Mor
- An rathad air ais
To be honest it was not that bad , a nice day and plenty time we soon were back on Carn a Choire Boidheachd before heading back down the ladder to the starting point
We were back at the car for 7.30pm just over 9hrs , interestingly about book time for a queer route ... I blame lizzie myself