walkhighlands

Creag Mhor & Creag na Spaine - Crathie

Date walked: 04/04/2024

Time taken: 3.5 hours

Distance: 4.5km

Ascent: 337m

Another iffy week with the weather, Heavy rain in Westhill most of the week, but a window, promised today.
Fair this morning and Harvey back from his holidays, so picked him up and headed west.
Surprised by a Range Rover whooshing by us on one of the B9119 straights, doing an estimated ton. Must've been awfy late for work !


CREAG MHOR

Turned up the B976 and wound our way to the parking in a big muddy lay-down area.

Parking for Creag Mhor.jpg
Parking for Creag Mhor




Creag Mhor.gpx Open full screen  NB: Walkhighlands is not responsible for the accuracy of gpx files in users posts



Waited a few minutes until the sleet stopped then tooled up. The sun had started poking through holes in the clouds, so not too bad. Wandered up the dubbie track to the Crathie Burn ford and splashed across. Followed the path up the edge of the trees near the fence to a auld broken-down dyke.

GB on the path to Creag Mhor.JPG
GB on the path through the trees to Creag Mhor


Looking back towards the Crathie Burn.jpg
Looking back down to the Crathie Burn


The dyke below the trees on Creag Mhor.jpg
The dyke below the forest on Creag Mhor



Crossed the dyke at a gap and picked up an animal path slanting along to the right then cut off up to thread our way through the old treefell ( as others had before us ) to reach the clearing with the cairn. Greeted by the sun and a wee flurry of snow.


GB and H through the trees up CM.JPG
GB and H approach the top of Creag Mhor



GC and H at the Creag Mhor cairn.jpg
GC at the Creag Mhor cairn



GB and H at top of CMhor.JPG
GB and H at the Creag Mhor cairn


Sat for a wee while absorbing the suns rays before descending to the fence and cutting along to the gap in the dyke and back down to the Crathie Burn for another splash, followed by a plooter back to the car down the dubbie track.

GC spiashes across the Crathie Burn.jpg
GC splashes back across the Crathie Burn





=========================================================================================
CRAIG na SPAINE


Cruised back down to the main road and along to the turnoff to Thistldae, where a lady who'd made a wrong turn was trying to to correct her mistake. We waited for the completion of this maneouvre and drove up the tarmac road to Thistledae and parked up in a big turnaround where some tarmac detritus had been dumped, presumably from a previous road repair.



Creag na Spaine.gpx Open full screen  NB: Walkhighlands is not responsible for the accuracy of gpx files in users posts




Parking for Creag na Spaine.JPG
Parking for Creag na Spaine


Parked out of the way and set off along the road to look for a gate in the deer fence.

Setting off to C na S.JPG
GB setting off for Creag na Spaine


Found no gate, but a long span between 2 posts and the lack of BW allowed us to part the wire between the upper and lower sections to squeeze both Harvey and ourselves through without damaging anything and reached the forest track on the other side. Dawdled up the track until we spotted the firebreak we intended to utilise for our ascent. Heather and moss at the bottom, but then became just mossy with animal tracks threading up the steep incline through some rocky bits.


The firebreak up C na S.JPG
Looking up the mossy firebreak on Creag na Spaine


In the mossy firebreak up Spaine.jpg
In the mossy firebreak up Creag Na Spaine


Passed the 2 intersecting track ends coming from the west and made our way to the welcome dip just befor the last wee bit to the crest of the ridge.
2 Tops appeared - each of which looked higher from the other.
GC's GPS recorded the W top as a metre higher. By that time we'd visited both - just in case !
Once more we basked in the sun among the fallen trees and were sheltered from the sharp breeze.

GB and H at top of C na S.JPG
GB & H amid the windfall at the W top of Creag Na Spaine



GC unfrocking at the top of Spaine.jpg
GC unfrocking at the top of Creag na Spaine



Harvey at the E top of Spaine.jpg
Harvey at the E top of Creag na Spaine



GB and H at E top of C na S.JPG
GB & H at the E top of Creag na Spaine



Returned the same way, except at the bottom of the FB we followed an animal path which veered to the E and back to the forest track.


Trudging back along the track below Spaine.jpg
GC sauntering back along the forest track to the fence


We found our bit of fence to squeeze back through again and sauntered back to the car. On our arrival back at the car, we noticed the the fence across the road was lying down, so there was really no need for any limbo-ing further along the track if we'd been more observant!. Ah well c'est la vie......
On the way driving back down the road, just past the old church, we spotted a bench and cairn. Being nosey buggers, we stopped to investigate,. Nothing more than a Queen Elizabeth Jubilee memorial.

Memorial bench and cairn near Thistledae.jpg
Memorial bench and cairn near Thistledae



Had to hustle when a keeper in his Landrover appeared coming up the road. He gratiously reversed back over the bridge to allow us to pass.
Scooted into Ballater to sus out a BR, but the other cafe was closed, so we had to make do with the cheese toasties & rabbit food on the side, again at the Bothy Cafe.
Still lots of easter tourists - probably lining up for their £100 tour round the castle........
Suitably fortified, we headed back home.
Nae a bad day after all - albeit fairly short.

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Gordon Ballantyne


Location: Westhill, Aberdeenshire
Occupation: Retired
Activity: Munro compleatist
Mountain: Ladhar Bheinn
Place: Knoydart
Member: Ex- RAF MRT Kinloss
Ambition: survival

Munros: 282
Corbetts: 90
Fionas: 20
Donalds: 7
Sub 2000: 59



Filter reports


Statistics

2024

Trips: 7
Distance: 37.5 km
Ascent: 2004m

2023

Trips: 40
Distance: 576 km
Ascent: 20029m

2022

Trips: 47
Distance: 537.5 km
Ascent: 17406m

2021

Trips: 40
Distance: 498 km
Ascent: 15970m
Corbetts: 1

2020

Trips: 40
Distance: 503.75 km
Ascent: 18940m

2019

Trips: 72
Distance: 712.1 km
Ascent: 30825m
Corbetts: 2
Sub2000s: 4

2018

Trips: 34
Distance: 238.1 km
Ascent: 11995m
Corbetts: 3
Sub2000s: 13

2017

Trips: 20
Distance: 174.7 km
Ascent: 7787m
Munros: 1
Fionas: 2
Sub2000s: 26

2016

Trips: 13
Distance: 160.9 km
Ascent: 9193m
Corbetts: 9
Fionas: 1
Sub2000s: 2

2015

Trips: 16
Distance: 224.8 km
Ascent: 9680m
Corbetts: 14
Fionas: 1
Sub2000s: 2

2014

Trips: 16
Distance: 208 km
Ascent: 11042m
Munros: 1
Corbetts: 19
Donalds: 7

2013

Trips: 3
Distance: 44 km
Ascent: 2155m
Munros: 2
Corbetts: 1

2012

Trips: 7
Distance: 115.4 km
Ascent: 5114m
Corbetts: 3
Fionas: 6
Sub2000s: 1

2011

Trips: 8
Distance: 96 km
Ascent: 4434m
Munros: 1
Corbetts: 3
Fionas: 4

1967

Trips: 1
Distance: 22 km
Ascent: 2030m

1962

Trips: 1
Distance: 11 km
Ascent: 1160m
Corbetts: 1


Joined: Jan 30, 2011
Last visited: Apr 10, 2024
Total posts: 399 | Search posts