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To start with I will explain the title, my original plan was never to complete the Munro's but an invite to Skye next week with a guide changed my plans somewhat
I am hoping to compleat next year, if I get a wiggle on, I have set myself a target of 230 by the end of this year and am probably doing OK as I have trudged up 16 new Munro's so far this year. Like most other folk the main problem is getting to the hills, a 3 hour drive (each way) before you even put your boots on makes for a long day
I know the folk south of the border are envious of us, but that is what you get for living down there
As I now stand on 184, that means I have less than 100 to 'bag', quite a mile stone (for me anyway)
Another weather window that had to be utilised and as the car knows the way to the car park at Linn of Dee, I decided to head up to Braemar again.
My plan was to try and conquer 3 Munro's in the eastern part of the Cairngorms, I had planned to tick off Beinn a' Bhuird with Ben Avon a month or so ago, but time was against me, so I was going to add it on to Beinn Bhreac & Beinn a' Chaorainn
I didn't advertise the fact I was heading to the hills so it was going to be a solo effort. I did plenty of research and scanned over numerous walk reports and found a couple of similar challenges
My original plan was to head north up Glen Derry and tackle Beinn a' Chaorainn first, but after the research it I realised that everyone else opted for Beinn Bhreac first, so that was my plan too
I arrived at the Linn of Dee car park at 7.45am and being a member of Scottish National Trust, placed my card in the windscreen, extracted my bike out of the car and inflated the front tyre - and off I set
After reading and hearing about the tic problem I brought a spray that I use at home which contains vinegar. So once my gaiters were on I gave them a quick spray and they smelt lovely
Having walked along the path from Derry Lodge to the car park which takes about an hour on foot, the bike would save me about 90 minutes
not to mention even sorer legs and feet
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Martin Beswick, Rather large herd of deer grazing happily just before Linn of Dee (until I stopped to take a photo)
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Martin Beswick, Bike not so discretely parked/hidden
The cycle to Derry Lodge took 20 mins, even with a couple of dismounts for steps and an a slight incline. Whenever I am cycling at the start of a walk I try and take it easy, don't want my legs to start moaning before I even start walking
Once I had abandoned the bike I knew I had about 20mins of walking along the path before heading 'off piste'. I had studied the map and utilised the WH route planner and worked out that it was about 1 mile from Derry Lodge to the right turn, 1 mile at my walking speed equates to about 20 mins, so off I trotted.
I had read that quite a few folk had missed the turning and guess what - so did I
I checked my phone just before I reached the slightly larger burn and found that I had 'overshot' by about 400yds, so I must have been walking exceptionally fast
On my back tracking I noticed a faint path that must be used by those of us who don't pay attention and decided to head uphill, I knew I would meet up with the path a wee bit further up
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Martin Beswick, the path along Glen Derry, very pleasant stroll
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Martin Beswick, Looking across Glen Derry
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Martin Beswick, nice long shadow, nice to have the sun on your back
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Martin Beswick, the path I picked up leading up to Beinn Bhreac
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Martin Beswick, spotted these rather lovely frozen bits of grass
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Martin Beswick, more ice
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Martin Beswick, looking back the way
The walk up to Beinn Bhreac was very straight forward and rather easy, I reached the summit in 2 hours, however had I not biked it would have taken a wee bit longer
The path takes you onto the large summit plateau and the cairn is actually quite a bit off the beaten track to the east
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Martin Beswick, Beinn Bhreac summit cairn with my next target Beinn a' Bhuird in the background
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Martin Beswick, Beinn a' Chaorainn in the background, doesn't look very far away!
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Martin Beswick, zoom shot across to the barns on Beinn Mheadhoin
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Martin Beswick,
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Martin Beswick, Looking back down Glen Lui
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Martin Beswick, The way ahead with Beinn a' Bhuird out of shot on the right
After a brief stop on the summit for a few photo's it was time to navigate across to Beinn a' Bhuird, because the visibility was excellent I was able to view the terrain ahead and make a mental plan of what looks like the best route.
There was very little descent and the biggest problem is avoiding Dubh-Ghleann which would involve descent and then extra ascent, not my idea of fun
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Martin Beswick, Dubh-Ghleann with Beinn a' Bhuird in the background
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Martin Beswick, Peat Hags don't we just love them
I knew from previous reports that peat hags were on the menu and so it turned out, however the peat was actually quite dry and firm and I managed to pick my way through without getting my boots muddy
As Beinn a' Bhuird is the 11th highest hill in the UK I was expecting a wee bit more snow as I gained height and I was spot on. The temperature when I left Linn of Dee was minus 2deg so I was also anticipating ice could be a problem higher up. I had my spikes in my bag which I utilised for the descent off Beinn a' Bhuird
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Martin Beswick, Nice snow hole
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Martin Beswick, Snow feature
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Martin Beswick, Snowy summit plateau with a nice backdrop
The traverse across to the foot of Beinn a' Bhuird was time consuming and then the climb up the not very steep slope of B a' B, the majority of the climb was up firm snow and did seem to be never ending. Only when I reached the massive summit plateau did I eventually see the summit cairn. I deliberately aimed to reach the northern end of the summit plateau, as I knew that was the high point
Even so it still took a few minutes to walk to the cairn and there were plenty of icy patches
Took 2 hours to reach the summit.
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Martin Beswick, summit cairn looking south across the huge plateau
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Martin Beswick, looking north
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Martin Beswick, looking west
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Martin Beswick, zoom shot to the west
I decided to put my spikes on for the descent and it made for a speedier and safer stroll over the firm snow. It is so much easier descending on snow and good progress was made. Once the snow started to soften and become patchy the spikes were packed away
Once the flattish ground was reached, again it was a matter of picking my was across Peat Hags and avoiding a few gully's that were descending to the north. The summit of Beinn a' Chaorainn could be seen all the time and it didn't seem to be getting any closer
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Martin Beswick, another snow hole
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Martin Beswick, Plenty of peat, luckily was nice and firm, would be a mare after a spell of rain!!
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Martin Beswick, more peat
Once the trapse across the flattish terrain was over I then reached the boulder field at the foot of B a' C, it was then a matter of boulder hopping up to the summit. Yet again it took me 2 hours to reach the summit
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Martin Beswick, summit cairn on Beinn a' Chaorainn
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Martin Beswick, Zoom shot across the glen to the barns on top of Beinn a' Mheadhoin
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Martin Beswick, zoom across to Macdui
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Martin Beswick, looking back to Beinn a' Bhuird
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Martin Beswick, looking back to Beinn Bhreac
The descent path was almost non existent off Beinn a' Chaorainn, I was following foot steps in the snow which were taking me due south down the wrong shoulder, so a quick traverse to the west got me back to descending down the shoulder that heads SW. Further down the shoulder a well trodden path suddenly appears
It was just a matter of descending down to the main path through the glen that could be seen and reached without too much difficulty
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Martin Beswick, Glen Derry, the way back to the car
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Martin Beswick, low level shot down Glen Derry
Now the long trek back to the car began, I actually quite enjoyed the walk back, there is alot to be said for a decent path, especially when you have been on peat hags and damp squidgy tufty grass
I was determined to see if I could spot a cairn on the way back indicating the turn off for the path up to Beinn Bhreac and sure enough there is one, not the biggest you will see but it is there
I reached my bike and it was good to take the weight off my feet, the majority of the cycle back is downhill - which in cycling terms means freewheeling, which equals bliss
Car was reached in a shade over 2 hours, there were quite a few cars in the car park, but I hadn't seen a single person on my travels
Fabulous day out and a good warm up for Skye next Thursday, bring it on