The Cromdale Hills are a rather unfrequented ridge, boggy in places, rising between Speyside and Strath Avon. This walk from Cromdale village visits a ruined castle, a battle site and two massive hilltop cairns with extensive views.
Quiet tarmac road, rough track, then heather path to the ridge. The ridge is broad, wet and pathless in parts across heather and bog.
Bus to Cromdale from Grantown on Spey.
Cromdale car park.
Park in the Cromdale Park parking area (with the recycling bins) on the west side of the A95 at Cromdale. Head up to and cross the road, and turn right along it to reach the Haughs Hotel. Here turn left to head up Haughs Road. The houses are soon left behind as the route passes a forestry plantation and some lovely birchwoods and meadows. Continue for just over a kilometre, passing some scattered houses, until a track on the right is signed for Lethendry Castle, a viewpoint and the Piper's Stone. Turn right here (there is no space to park, hence beginning from Cromdale village).
Soon a junction of tracks is reached; the walk up onto the hills turns left here, but before heading that way it is worth continuing ahead to visit the ruins of Lethendry Castle. Pass a farmhouse and through a farmyard to find the castle, which is now adjoined to several farm buildings. This was once at the centre of a battle in 1690. General Cannon led a Jacobite army of 1500 men which was camped in the area, but on 16th May they were attacked by Government troops who had forded the Spey near Cromdale Kirk. Despite a brave stand the Jacobites were routed into the hills and 100 prisoners were taken, including those defending the castle. The rebellion which had begun with the battle at the Pass of Killiecrankie was over, at least until the next Jacobite rising in 1715.
Return to the track junction mentioned earlier and now take the turning signed for the Piper's Stone. The track leads through Lethendry farmyard and eventually passes through a gate beside the bottom corner a Scots pine plantation. Pass through the gate and keep to the main track, which winds about to the right of the edge of the trees. Further on it passes through another gate and becomes grassy underfoot, but as the track begins to steepen alongside Claggersnich Wood it becomes rough badly eroded.
Continue to climb above a felled part of the forest until a boggy path forks off to the right around the highest point on the track at NJ103268. Just below the track at this point, beside a couple of still-standing Scots pines, is the Piper's Stone. According to legend, a Jacobite piper named Hamish was badly wounded in the battle already mentioned, but managed to reach the top of this boulder. He stood, playing tune after tune to encourage his men, before collapsing to his death.
Take the rough path that climbs up onto the moor, passing a series of grouse butts. The path is wet in places but continues faintly right up to reach the ridge at a very tall and elegant cairn. This is the coronation cairn, built to commemorate the crowning of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandria in 1902; a great bonfire was lit here. The view over Speyside is superb, with Grantown well seen almost surrounded by woods and forests. This cairn is a fine destination in itself, but if you wish to continue the walk to visit the summit of Creagan a' Chaise, take a much boggier path which heads southwest across a slight dip, keeping just right of the fence.
The path becomes very faint as it crosses some sodden ground beyond the dip. Continue along the broad ridge which eventually curves round to the south and continues towards the Jubilee Cairn, visible from the Coronation cairn if the day is clear. There is a very short steep rise, quite uncharacteristic of these hills, to reach the trig point and the Jubilee cairn. This structure is shorter but much more massive than the coronation cairn and slightly older, being built to commemorate Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee. This is the highest point of the Cromdale Hills, and a visitors book in the cairn enables you to record your visit.
From here you could follow the ridge to the high point on the Grantown-Tomintoul road. If heading back to the start point though, retrace your steps back to the coronation cairn. If you think you spot a reindeer, don't worry, you aren't hallucinating - the larger part of the Cairngorm reindeer herd has its home here.
From here you could greatly extend the walk by continuing a rather soggy traverse of the ridge to reach Carn a' Ghille Charr, but our route turns back downhill by the grouse butts to return to the track above the Piper's Stone. From here you could either continue retracing your steps all the way back to Cromdale, or alternatively follow the track to the right to descend to a point further along the Haughs of Cromdale road before turning left and following it back to the village.
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