An enjoyable exploration of the rolling hills and bleak moorland around the head of Glen Livet. The route takes in the Corbett, Corryhabbie Hill, as well as the neighbouring Fiona, Cook's Cairn.
Good tracks, some pathless sections across heather, burn crossing could be difficult in spate conditions
None to start.
Parking area at Allanreid.
Take the minor road from Tomnavoulin; at the end of the tarmac there is a parking area on the right at Allanreid. An information board gives details of other routes such as the 'Livet Path' which starts here. Begin the walk by crossing the bridge and following the track to the right below the memorial cairn. At the waymarker post bear right off the track towards the footbridge. Don't cross the bridge but instead follow the grassy track upstream. Continue upstream beside the River Livet until the track bears left and passes through a small plantation. Go through the gate at the far end of the plantation and then continue ahead through the initially pathless field, keeping the fence on your left. Continue on a track through another gate, joining another muddy track which comes in from the left. Cross the small stream and then bear right, heading for the wooden footbridge over the Livet. Cross this bridge; there is a lonely cottage ahead with an outlook across the featureless moors.
Once over the bridge turn left, picking up a track which leads upriver into the remote upper reaches of Glenlivet. This empty area today provides the roughest of grazing land; once it was a hotbed of whisky smuggling, criss-crossed by old smugglers' paths. Keep following the track when it is joined by another coming in from the right. Continue to reach NJ273240 where the track fords the river, use the footbridge just upstream to cross and return along the path on the far side to regain the original route on the far side of the ford. It is well worth noting the amount of water in the Suie burn at this point, as the descent route described near the end of the walk requires a crossing. The bridge is also used to access the bothy just ahead of it.
Follow the grassy track northwards, passing through a gate, to reach Suie. This fine old farmhouse commands a grand view down the glen but today stands empty and derelict. Further on the track passes to the right of a second, smaller, derelict cottage, before reaching a fork.
Take the right hand branch to begin the long, steady climb up to the bealach between Cook's Cairn and Càrn nan Bruar. Here a fainter path branches left to make the final ascent to Cook's Cairn. Whilst there seems to be no record of who Cook was, his small cairn once marked the summit of a Corbett until the hill was demoted, having been found to be under 2500 feet. As from so much of this area, Ben Rinnes is prominent, whilst the next objective Corryhabbie Hill is seen across the deep glen with a track heading up it in a series of zig-zags.
To reach it, descend to the west; the going is rough and steep at times with deep heather, and a brief wet section at the foot of the glen. Continue up the heather on the far side to pick up a track, and follow the branch of this that zig-zags up the steep flank of Corryhabbie Hill. This track - Morton's Way - is named after a former shooting tenant; it is broad and eroded but leads up eventually onto the plateau. When it swings to the right, leave it and turn left instead to reach the large cairn that marks the summit of Corryhabbie Hill, build around a curiously metal-capped trig point. The hill is often climbed by a short route coming up from Ellivreid to the north.
The views are excellent, whether out over Aberdeenshire or towards the high Cairngorms. At this point a decision needs to be made; if the Suie burn looked like it may be difficult to cross, it is best to return down the track and then along Glen Suie. If crossing the burn won't be a problem, you can instead continue along the ridge, giving a 5km walk at a high level over mostly short-cropped heather. The ridge heads southwest at first, and an area of peat hags on Muckle Lapprach can be avoided on the left side.
The broad, pathless ridge then continues over several minor bumps to Càrn an t-Suidhe. Continue along it for a further kilometre before cutting off southeast to return to the glen below Suie. Cross the burn and rejoin the outward route, turning right along the track. The River Livet can again be crossed by the footbridge at Knochkan; from here retrace your steps all the way back down the glen to Allanreid and the start of the walk.
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