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Having spent too much time in the chair in front of the screen it was time to get out and get the blood flowing. Initially I'd planned to do Bynack Lodge from Bridge of Tilt, still want to do that sometime.
It was nice and sunny when I left Edinburgh, although the forecast was abysmal. I decided that perhaps Ben Avon would be a better day out, and the weather in the North East was apparently going to be OK till late afternoon and I could always make a decision at Perth in any case.
Decision made I headed up to the car park just past Braemar at Keiloch.
This was going to be a bike hike whichever route I decided on, so got the bike set up and headed off along the tarmac road
If it was like this all the way it wouldn't take long
It's not tarmac for that long, but it is a pretty reasonable landrover track more or less until the secret valley.
I doubled back a couple of times after checking the satnav, there are a number of different tracks.
Nice sculpture in a field at Invercauld House, an impressive chunk of bronze perhaps. I had a quick look, but couldn't find a great deal of info on it
Found the track in and peddled on towards the secret valley where there is a choice of tracks
Thinking that the left hand track down into the secret valley looked like I'd have to drop down and then cycle / push up again I opted for the high road. Where the track splits again with the landrover track heading up to the right take that
I though it was just a short track to a quarry and took the walking path which leads down to the Slugain Lodge ruins which was a bit of a mission with the bike.
In the Railtons Ben Avon
http://www.walkhighlands.co.uk/Forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=53909 report they said they wished they'd taken the bikes further and I'd also had a chat with the assistant in Braemar Mountain Sports and he said you could get all the way up to The Sneck
I pushed and mostly cycled on, getting off at the most sever calverts, there are a lot of them
until the ford just after Carn Eag Dhubh which for me would have been the best compromise between cycling and pushing. I carried on with pushing the bike until the main ford at the Glas Allt Mor and left it there.
A couple of photos, looking south
and north up towards Cnap a Cheilrich
This was never going to be a blue sky vista extravaganza.
After chaining up the bike and getting the walking poles organised made my way up the reasonable track towards the Sneck. By now it is raining persistently and I stopped and put on waterproof paclite over trousers. Felt more comfortable and slogged on grateful for the other waterproof gear I was wearing.
Shortly after taking this photo I stowed the camera as well
There were some mountain bike tracks all the way up to the Sneck, so I guess some very fit and talented cyclist do venture all the way
What a shame the views all around would be fabulous, I've seen the other reports and looked at the geography on Google Earth
Anyway with only a four kilometers or so to the summit and back I might as well get it done after coming all this way. Turn right at the Sneck and up a steeper section to the outcrop from which after looking at the satnav knew it would be a flattish quick walk to Leabaidh an Daimh Bhuidhe summit, the name of Ben Avon summit I assume.
Walking along in the clag it started to get steeper again
looked at the satnav and only a couple of hundred metres to go
and then this out of the clag
It looked a lot more impressive in reality and I always think there is something incredible about being on a mountain top in the middle of nowhere in the mist. It was sheltered on this side, so got the good camera out for the photo.
Then to make sure I could tick it off climbed, slithered up to the top of the middle, I think the south most part of the Torr looked fractionally higher, but in the wind and wet this is as far as I am going
As you can see photo taken from a low vantage point
Had a look around and then sat down and had a sandwich on the sheltered side before heading down. Considered very briefly gong up Beinn a Bhuird once I got back to the Sneck, but only very briefly, time was getting on and it was also raining quite heavily now.
Was very surprised at how quickly I got back to the bike and along the track back. Decided to take a look down into the secret valley as I thought most of it I could cycle down, but the path is rocky and wet, so carefully down on foot for most of it.
Made good speed once I got back on the landrover track and the spectacular of the day was about to come my way
Sorry now photos, will definitely get the gopro organised at some point.
On approaching Invercauld house I could hear the alarm call of a deer and the field just after the house is full of them and they are now starting to stampeding up towards the track right in front of me, lots of them, lots and lots and lots of them, easily a hundred probably many more. I had to put on the brakes to avoid cycling into them. No more than twenty metres in front of me, moving quickly. Awesome fit majestic beasts covering so much ground with ease. Hinds and one good stag with impressive antlers that I particularly noticed close up, incredible