A very humid day in June.

Began at the Linn of Dee car park around 0925. I was a little worried to start with as when I got to the Linn of Dee car park there was a parking charge and the machine only accepted coins, which I had none. It was a long way to come to discover there was a parking charge. However, after talking with local guides and frequent visitors they assured me it is a donation and it is highly unlikely anything would happen should I not get a ticket from the machine. I decided to take their advice and crack on. The hills were calling!

I decided I was going to tackle this long route without the use of a bike. It was recommended to help ease the day but I was in the mood for a challenge. So I set off west along the brilliant path. The river will be directly to your left as you make your way in and you will be able to hear the sound of the common sandpiper. I've attached a photo of the beautiful bird. It is a long trek in before you start climbing the first Munro Càrn an Fhidhleir (if you do the hills anti-clockwise) so to quicken this up I switched between a quick walk and light jog. You'll pass by an old ruin just before you start ascending Càrn an Fhidhleir and this is where people leave their bikes - should you bring one. I'm going to be honest - once I started climbing Càrn an Fhidhleir the path was so faint and hard to follow I just went as the crow flies. Straight up over the heather. Once I got up the top of the mountain a path became more clear and I followed this up over the top and on towards An Sgarsoch. The views at the top of Càrn an Fhidhleir are quite incredible. What an unbelievable sense of emptiness. You'll struggle to get somewhere in Scotland that has such a sense of remoteness. It is fantastic.

So over Càrn an Fhidhleir and on towards An Sgarsoch. The path takes you down about 250metres SE before you immediately start climbing again towards the An Sgarsoch summit. Again, the path is difficult to follow but do try to follow it, as it will make your life easier. Extremely feint but it is there. The top of An Sgarsoch is much like Càrn an Fhidhleir. An awesome feeling of being completely disconnected from the world. On a clear day you can see mountains in the distance for miles upon miles. What a view! After having my sandwich and traditional can of irn-bru I set off to leave the mountain, heading north back down towards the same track I split off to start the climb of Càrn an Fhidhleir. From here you are just heading back east. The reverse of the route I took in. Again, I had to quick walk and break in to a jog to quicken it up. A 10 mile trek back in after already doing 17 miles was demanding. But very much worth it. People I had passed on the mountains over took me on the way back in thanks to their mountain bikes. However, as they passed we both looked in to each others eyes and knew that the use of a mountain bike is cheating

This was a long day hiking the full way without the use of a bike. But one I highly recommend. The feeling of achievement afterwards was what it is all about. The day was made even better when I heard the Scotland football team score two late goals, in Oslo to beat Norway, on the radio. What a superb day!