Some of you may remember, or even have been involved in the first attempt Toezi, Steg and I made on these two hills in September 2020. It certainly doesn't feel like 5 years have passed, but looking back, a lot has changed.
The forecast was grim. The west was due to be battered by heavy rain and wind all day Friday and Saturday and I really thought my free weekend was going to be a write off. However, I took a closer look at the radar forecast and the North-East of Scotland was looking like it might dodge the worst of it.
I only had two Munros left out there and as much as I wanted to include the boys in it, this was my only dry option for the weekend. In addition, I had just replaced my mountain bike and I really wanted to hit some trails to see what it was capable of. I'd worked a couple of extra hours through the week and so I decided to head off from work a bit early on Friday.
I packed the van, turned on the fridge and loaded the bike inside, impressed that it all fit perfectly and without damaging anything. As soon as I left Glasgow at 4pm, I hit the expressway traffic and so I headed south over the Kingston Bridge to pick up the M74 and rejoined the M8 later on. The rain was a bit grim but was coming and going in showers. I passed through Stirling, stopped in for some food at Perth and then headed for Glenshee, where I thought I might spend the night, given the Invercauld Car Park doesn't allow overnight stays.
It was blowing a hoolie at Glenshee, so I decided to just head down to Braemar and figure out somewhere to park up. I double checked Invercauld for signage and it was quite close to houses, so I gave it a wide berth and headed towards Crathie where I found a nice wee spot to tuck in for the night.
I got there not long after 7, so I had plenty of time. I drove down to Balmoral and parked in the big car park and decided to take a wee walk about and see what the Royals love so much.
It was really nice, Crathie Kirk sitting on the hill and it's a very quiet little village. I didn't see anyone, not even a curtain twitch as I walked around the village. I was getting some 28 Years Later vibes.
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| Crathie Kirk |
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| Dee Bridge and Foxgloves |
I headed for the mini golf course and found a load of obelisks and statues commemorating the royals, including this very nice fountain.
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| Drinking Fountain |
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| And it's cups. |
I followed the road out and was confronted with some closed wrought-iron gates. I tried to pull them open but they weren't budging. I felt like was trapped in this odd Royal theme park, until the most well-spoken lady I've ever heard came out of one of the gatehouses and said "excuse me, you have to press the button". I'd walked right past it. I thanked her in my least Glasgow accent and headed back to the van, then back up to my little layby to spend the night with a dram and Joni Mitchell's Blue before bed.
I was up at 0600 and had some coffee and the traditional van overnight oats. It was still very windy, but it was dry. The wind was forecast to drop a bit mid-morning, so I didn't rush. I packed the bike back into the van and headed up to Invercauld again and got going. I was on the bike at 0715 and it felt odd. This is the first bike I've been on with 2.6" tyres and it was a bit of struggle uphill, into the wind. But it's got great gearing, so it just seems to keep going and not labour.
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| New wheels |
After a while I decided I loved it. The climb through Gleann an t-Slugain is hard, but it made short work of almost every slope, barring one or two where gravity took over...
I made it to the top of the Slugain at 0837 and got some views towards the hills I was going to tackle today.
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| Top of the Slugain, with Beinn a' Bhuird in the background |
10 minutes later I had hidden the bike (and locked the wheel) in heather and noted the location. I started the run and was making some quite good time and pace along the long flat path up towards The Sneck. I slowed a bit as the gradient increased, but I still felt light and quick. The Sneck is a bit of an alien landscape, but the views over the other side are magnificent. It was pretty windy up there though!
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| The Sneck |
From the Sneck, I took a North-Easterly turn, and headed uphill towards Ben Avon, and Leabaidh an Daimh Bhuidhe, which defeated us in 2020, when it was covered in ice.
I met someone else coming down, who must have started much earlier than me and we chatted for a couple of minutes in the wind.
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| Leabaidh an Daimh Bhuidhe |
The right side here is the summit and it's a bit of a scramble. As you might imagine, it was incredibly windy, but I was not about to be disappointed again. The rock was dry and grippy granite, so although I had to contort myself a bit I made it and stood on the top of that tor at 1030. It felt amazing, but I did need to put on my waterproof trousers to stop me losing too much heat (I was in my running shorts).
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| On the tor |
I had a roll and some jelly babies, then headed back into the wind and down to The Sneck again. I chatted to a couple more people who were headed for the hill I'd just been on, then made a start on Beinn a' Bhuird. The wind was starting to die down and I had to drop the waterproof trousers again, but the views were starting to open up and it was classic Cairngorms - upscaled and breathtaking.
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| A rainbow below me |
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| Rocks defying physics |
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| Ben Avon from Beinn a' Bhuird |
I headed for the next top, Cnap a' Clèirich, then it was mostly flat plateau over to the summit cairn of Beinn a' Bhuird. I got there at 1150 but then I was pretty drawn to the views around the corrie rim. That was something special!
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| Corrie Views |
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| More Corrie Views |
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| Summit Cairn |
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| Dubh Lochan |
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| More Dubh Lochan |
The run around the corrie rim was incredible - it was still very windy and you can see that in the patten on the loch, but what a feeling to be on one of the huge Cairgorm plateaux with no one else in sight for miles.
I headed down towards Carn Fiaclach and took the path on the western side. The boulder field was difficult to navigate, but it changed eventually and I had a nice path to run on. I stopped for another roll and some sweets, then pushed on back to the bike, avoiding a drenching by hopping on some boulders over the river.
I made it back to the bike at 1320, then it was the long and quad-trashing descent down the Slugain. What had taken me 90mins in the morning, took me just over 30 in descent and it felt amazing.
I was back at the car before 1400, and it was off to Glenshee for some soup and coffee before the drive back to Glasgow.
With this trip, I've now summitted all of the Cairngorm Munros, as well as every Munro south of the Great Glen. 222 down, 60 left!
Bike Distance: 21km
Bike Time: 2h ish
Ascent: 403m
Hike Distance: 20.50km
Hike Time: 4h 25m
Ascent: 1,126m
Munros Completed: 222
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