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Another last minute plan saw Colin and I trying to beat the weather – it looked best in the East until mid afternoon so when Colin suggested a wee Corbett near Braemar I was game. I’d had a tough evening out on the Luss Grahams the night before so was happy for a nice easy day
It was a long drive and as we drove all the way along to Linn of Dee and then all the way back on ourselves to get to Linn of Quoich we realised that we should have left the car and walked across the Victoria Bridge at the Mar Lodge….but hey
We reached the parking area at Linn of Quoich and paid our couple of quid for the privilege. Plenty of folk were parked haphazardly all over the verges to avoid paying which I think is pretty poor show…a few quid to support the National Trust isn’t very much to ask
Colin kitting up with Creag Bhalg behind
Morrone
We set off down the track and came across the bridge that was down….
We wandered onto what remained and marvelled at the power of water that it must have taken to wash the bridge away
There was an option to walk upstream to another bridge but the river seemed low enough that we thought we could get across….
I got my bin bags on and headed off; unfortunately I ended up on the wrong side of an electric fence and tried to cross a bit of river that was too deep…. Letting out a string of curses I splashed towards the bank and managed to avoid getting too wet, much to Colin’s amusement as he easily hopped his way across the other side of the fence without any bin bag assistance at all
Before it all went wrong....
Fortunately it was a nice warm day and we were able to laugh about it
We made progress along the track and were getting pretty warm – it was a much nicer day than the forecast had seemed to suggest!
Looking back towards Creag Bhalg
Colin had been mentioning a weird humming noise and as we rounded a corner we realised that it wasn’t just Tinnitus – there were lots of bees
Eventually we realised we ought to be going uphill, so picked a route uphill and got on with it. It was steep and some sections were so dry that it was slippy. We wound our way steadily upwards towards a track we thought was there.
Looking back towards the Dee and Braemar Castle
Towards Linn of Dee
We met the track and although it was fairly intermittent it felt good to have something to follow
Carn na Drochaide ahead
The path disappeared completely as we crossed a boggy bealach and headed directly upwards towards the summit. The heather was deep and it was hard work! We took a wee breather to admire the views
Once the worst of the climb was done it was a case of an easy walk across rocky ground to the summit. It was such a relief to be out of the heather
The summit was a magnificent viewpoint and despite being a bit blowy we managed to find a sheltered spot behind the cairn for some very welcome lunch
Ben Avon
Beinn Bhrotain, Monadh Mhor and the Braeriach Ridge behind, Macdui and pals in front
Panorama shot
Lochnagar, a bit hazy but still impressive
The Devil’s Point and Cairn Toul
Macdui and Derry
After a search of a map we decided this must be Beinn a’ Bhuird
Lochnagar again
The impressive Beinn a’ Bhuird crags
The Cairngorm Massif
Jaxter pose
Colin and Jura
I suggested that if the weather held we could pop up Creag Bhalg which I thought was a Graham. Colin agreed….
It looked like we could head down towards the trees, across a bridge and then upwards. On paper it was simple….practise is never quite the same
Initially it was simple; we headed down a well-made path discussing all manner of things and giving me a new cake to make – the “doughnut cake” that we didn’t know the name of (turned out to be a Bundt or Gugelhopf cake)
After a while the path started swinging towards the car par so we left it and took a straight line towards the plantation. We crossed the track and dropped down towards the river which we planned to follow upstream a short distance to a bridge.
However, it appeared that the bank of the river had been washed away leaving nothing to walk on
So we would have to cross the river without the aid of a bridge…. I employed the bin bags (more successfully this time
)
while Colin went for the boots off option.
Jura wondering what all the fuss was about
Safely across, Morrone ahead
Once Colin had dried his feet we stumbled our way through some jungle until we came to the track. This provided some mercifully easy walking as we travelled up the glen until the gradient on Creag Bhalg eased a little.
A rock pool
Soon enough we had to head uphill. Initially we stumbled through trees and heather and all manner of undergrowth. Once out of the forest it didn’t get any easier
At times we were trying to walk through waist high heather and it was really hard work
Stopping for a breather – Colin and Carn na Drochaide
A weird tree
However, due to the wind direction, we were sheltered here so every time I stopped I had flies buzzing around my head which was really annoying!
Me getting cranky
Beinn a’ Bhuird
We struggled on and on and on and eventually made the ridge
From here it was a short walk along – would you believe it – an actual path
Creag Bhalg summit
There was another cairn further on which I visited, just in case. It was an even better viewpoint down Gleann an t-Slugain
Colin on the summit with Morrone behind
Gotcha
We could see the weather starting to close in on the higher tops to the west and could feel a few droplets in the air. The wind was also picking up so it was time to get out of there.
The ridge – our route home
A last view of Beinn Bhreac, Beinn a’ Bhuird and Ben Avon
We followed the ridge (a path
) then dropped down to some sort of wee power substation. We had hoped there might be some sort of track from here but sadly not.
Our destination….
Morrone
Carn na Drochaide
We headed down through the trees…
…and then steep heather
Before walking a few metres along the road back to the car. In terms of distance and ascent it was a pretty easy day, but wading through heather is incredibly tiring
In fact we were so tired that we had to stop for cake in Braemar on the way home
Colin's photo as I was too busy eating