The Convals - two adjacent conical hills - make for a short but satisfying hillwalk from Dufftown with good views over the surrounding countryside and Ben Rinnes.
Well-worn hill path, eroded and boggy in places; straightforward hillwalk in good summer conditions, some roadwalking but off route path alongside for part.
Bus to Dufftown.
Dufftown square.
Start from the centre of Dufftown where there is usually parking on the B9009 Tomintoul road. During the week it may be possible to park closer to the hills along the B9009 at Dufftown Golf Course, but phone ahead to check first (01340 820325), drinks and light snacks are available here too. From the centre of Dufftown walk west from the clocktower along the Tomintoul road (B9009); the pavement becomes an offroad path on the left hand side once the buildings are passed. After passing the Golf Course clubhouse on the right the pathway soon ends. Cross the road at the footpath sign and continue along the tarmac with care until a track at the edge of the plantation heads up to the right.
Follow this track along the edge of a field, soon switching to the other side of a belt of trees - the track is faint, grassy and wet at this point. Keep ahead through a gate, and continue uphill when a larger track joins from the left, heading up towards the col between the two Convals. Ignore a track forking off to the right. Soon the views of the rolling grouse moorlands open up behind and the track continues through heather.
On the final approach to the col the track splits with a faint one heading towards Meikle Conval to the south. Stay on the right hand track, soon forking right to start the ascent of Little Conval. The track zig zags up the slope with a more direct path shortening the route. At the top the track contours the summit to the left and just below the crumbling walls of the vast iron age fort which once stood on the flat summit - a short detour reaches the tiny cairn. The boundaries of the fort can still be made out in the piles of stones. This was an extensive structure with field systems and is well seen from above (or in Google Earth). There are extensive views towards the Cairngorms, the Moray coast and the Glenlivet hills. Retrace your steps back to the col where a faint path heads south directly towards Meikle Conval.
The path is slightly eroded and can be boggy in places, leading eventually up to the small cairn which marks the top. Meikle Conval at 571 metres is slightly higher than its sibling (552m) but both are dwarfed by nearby Ben Rinnes which - at 840m - dominates the view and is topped by a prominent granite tor. The well worn path can easily be seen and it is possible to head directly down to the minor road between to continue on an ascent of Ben Rinnes to make a much longer day (ending a long way from the start!).
Otherwise, our route descends directly east from the summit, picking up a faint, damp path which becomes much clearer lower down. It meets the high point of a track and follows this, zig zagging past grouse butts, to reach the B9009 just south of the Bridge of Convalleys; you may need to climb the gate to reach the road if it's locked. Turn left to follow this road through the farmland, passing a few houses and crossing Lettoch bridge. Glimpses of the grand Glenrinnes Lodge can be seen to the right before the plantation is reached.
At the signpost passed earlier in the walk, opposite a house, turn right onto a minor road signed for Dufftown Square. Follow this road, keepng left at a junction for the Ben Rinnes Lodge driveway. The road emerges at a junction near Mortlach Church. Parts of this building date back to the 700s but most of the present structure was built in the 1200s; there is a Pictish cross in the graveyard. Keep left on another minor road which becomes Church Street and leads back to the clocktower in the centre of Dufftown.
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