walkhighlands

Bad an Loin by the Tomb - Glen Shee

Date walked: 08/03/2024

Time taken: 3 hours

Distance: 3km

Ascent: 360m

A murky day......only one hill planned to minimise the discomfort !
A wee scuff o snow on the road as we breasted the bealach above the ski centre, but clear down to the Spittal
It was drizziling as we parked in the layby on the main road just N of Old Spittal Farm and the Cateran Trail.


Bad an Lion.gpx Open full screen  NB: Walkhighlands is not responsible for the accuracy of gpx files in users posts



Parking for Bad an Loin.JPG
Parking at the layby on the A93 near the Old Spittal Farm


Clumsily tooled up in the chill breeze then set off down to the farm in a bit o sleet.
Mused at the breed o dark bodied ewes with white heads & legs, which subsequent googling revealed as Herdwicks.
Pulled up our snoods to minimise the stinging effect of the sleet coming into our faces on the breeze. How did we manage without buffs in the last century ? Ah - now I remember, it was a customised knitted balaclava with a patch inserted across the mooth for winter climbing.......
Stumbled along the track towards a shed where some workies had parked their van and were fiddling with an animal feeder on the fence.
We vacated the track to allow a keeper in his 4x4 to pass with ( in his case ) - a warm wave - heater going full blast nae doot. We marched along to Tomb croft - quite a doom-laden name for a dwelling, we thocht.

Tomb croft.jpg
Passing Tomb Croft



Looking down to Tomb croft.jpg
Looking down on Tomb Croft from the track


Turned up the hill from Tomb, following the track as the snow/sleet started to ease. Tinkered with going direct up a grassy gully to the top of Bad an Loin - but, scarred by a lifetime of "taking shortcuts" we resisted and continued to follow the track to the bealach, where it forked. After a brief pause, we struck off up the hill over muirburn which made the ascent to the N top fairly straight forward. Quickly clicked off a couple of shots with our numbing fingers, then hustled off across to the S top which looked higher.

GC on N top of BaL.jpg
GC and H on the N top of Bad an Loin



GB grimacing from the chill at the top of Bad an Loin.JPG
GB grimacing in the chill breeze at the top of Bad an Loin



GB and H trundling of to the S top of Bad an Loin.JPG
GB & H trundling off to the S top of Bad an Loin




Clicked off another couple o shots, then retreated into the lee of the grassy gully spotted earlier on the way up from the track.


GC and H on S top of BaL.jpg
GC and H on the S top of Bad an Loin


GB and H on the S top of Bad an Loin.JPG
GB & H at the S top of Bad an Loin


Picked up a single wee red deer antler with a damaged tip that had been shed some time ago.
Stopped briefly for a piece and a view down the glen into the gloom. As we descended the gully, our suspicions of a tussock-filled gully were unfounded, as it had been grazed and travelled by sheep/deer and certainly at this time of year it was a viable ascent route.

H looking down Glen Shee.jpg
H gazing down Glen Shee



Descended to the track and a flock of BF sheep which had appeared from no-where in the interim. They seemed unpreturbed by our presence and continued to graze as we passed. GC picked up an abandoned krab as we passed the Tomb, promising to apply WD40 to free it up.
Trundled back to the car, noting a string of moles that had been "exterminated" as the sun poked holes in the cloud to brighten the day.

Exterminated Moles and Hardwick ewes.jpg
"Exterminated" Moles and Hardwick ewes



Once back at the car, we decided to bypass the cafes of Braemar and Ballater and head straight home for a BR & coffee in the Westhill Golf Course clubhouse. GC had expended a whole £10 for social membership to secure his supply of BR and Coffee on any day of the week ! The chef had just left but the heroic waitress drummed up our delicious BR's in his absence !
We completed our thaw-out with a fine view from the clubhouse over Westhill and a hazy one of the Hill o Fare.

GC enjoying his BR in the Westhill Golf Clubhouse.jpg
GC enjoying his BR and the braw view from the clubhouse


Unfortunately, the eastern hills of Clachnaben, Kerloch, Mongour & Cairn mon Earn were lost in the mists today.

The higher hills of Glen Shee had acted as cloud-magnets, so we were spared the clag today.

Click to mark this as a great report. Register or Login
free to be able to rate and comment on reports (as well as access 1:25000 mapping).



Meall Gorm - Glen Shee

Attachment(s) Date walked: 01/03/2024
Distance: 5km
Ascent: 372m
Views: 163


Greymore - Hill o Fare

Attachment(s) Date walked: 23/02/2024
Distance: 9km
Ascent: 250m
Views: 222


Craig Maskeldie - the sentinel of Glen Lee

Attachment(s) Date walked: 09/11/2023
Distance: 18km
Views: 116


Hill o Fare

Attachment(s) Date walked: 02/11/2023
Distance: 9km
Ascent: 286m
Comments: 1
Views: 162


18 dog (Clova ) walks during Babet

Attachment(s) Date walked: 13/10/2023
Distance: 53km
Ascent: 300m
Views: 180


A walk around Carnie woods

Attachment(s) Date walked: 12/10/2023
Distance: 6.5km
Ascent: 60m
Views: 139


Glen Effock foray

Attachment(s) Date walked: 05/10/2023
Distance: 11.5km
Ascent: 574m
Comments: 2
Views: 196


Monawee and Round Hill - Glen Esk

Attachment(s) Date walked: 13/09/2023
Distance: 21km
Ascent: 880m
Comments: 2
Views: 327


Some out-of-the-way tumps behind Glen Lee

Attachment(s) Date walked: 06/09/2023
Distance: 32km
Ascent: 1190m
Views: 145

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: 89
Fionas: 20
Donalds: 7
Sub 2000: 59



Filter reports


Statistics

2024

Trips: 3
Distance: 17 km
Ascent: 982m

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: 5
Sub2000s: 1

2011

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

1962

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


Joined: Jan 30, 2011
Last visited: Mar 18, 2024
Total posts: 394 | Search posts