19-20 and 23 September 2022
We agonised over what it would be reasonable to do on the day of the Queen’s funeral as we didn’t really want to spend half the day watching television. It seemed to be critical not to offend the local population though, especially given our proximity to Balmoral and the position of our guesthouse overlooking the grounds of the Braemar Royal Highland Games. We decided on a walk we could complete without using the car. Morrone is a Corbett with 360 degree views sitting above Braemar.
In fine weather, with only white cloud, we ascended the well signed path and saw no-one once we had passed a man walking two dogs on the lower part of the hill near the village. We had good views of Braemar castle, currently being renovated, as well as Invercauld Lodge.
I had thought about trying to tie in reaching the summit with the two-minute silence planned for the end of the funeral service. However we were there far too early at 11am, at which point the service would only just have been starting.
There were masts on the summit, – the first one had been a radio relay station for the mountain rescue team.
There were excellent views in particular across to the Linn of Dee and Linn of Quoich where we hoped to go later in the week. We could also make out the Lairig Ghru Pass which I was hoping to walk through on the following Saturday when we were due to move to a guest house in Aviemore.
It was too cold and windy to hang around on the summit for long, even though the lee of the building provided some shelter, and we commenced our descent on a track which was smooth at first but became more rough.
During the descent, just before midday, we stopped and sat by the side of the track so that we could observe the two-minute silence. The sheep continued to munching the grass and the traffic below on the A93 showed no sign of stopping. At the end of two minutes, my husband decided that we might have kept our silence too early so, just in case, we sat in silence for a further two minutes.
Once we were sure that the “national silence” should be over we set off again soon reaching the minor road (old military road) at Clunie Water. We followed this tributary of the Dee all the way to Braemar.
Passing the impressively well-manicured golf course, a group of golfers were searching for a ball in the undergrowth off a fairway whilst sipping cans of beer. We were surprised that the golf course was open and had thought there would be no chance of being hit by a golf ball here on the day of the Queen’s funeral. However on passing the club house, we noted that the course is always open and payment by honesty box when the club house is closed.
We rested by a foot bridge across Clunie Water, opened by Prince Charles in 2005 and crossing towards Queen’s Drive which was part of one of Queen Victoria’s favourite carriage drives.
We returned to Braemar where, as was fitting on this day, everything was very quiet and peaceful.
The following day our explorations were also on Map 43. However we drove six miles west along a minor road to Linn of Dee. This is also the start point for the Lairig Ghru walk. We started by walking along a well-made path up Glen Lui to look at some stone wall remnants of old settlements.
We turned off the main path to walk through the narrow cleft of Clais Fhearnaig to Glen Quoich.
Glen Quoich turns out to be much more closed in than Glen Lui. The path near Quoich Water has been re-routed and there is a wide although stony track high above the river. The climb is significant but the views good. Eventually there is a steep downhill to rejoin the route of the old path.
We headed to the bridge near the cottage used by Queen Victoria. This is an awesome and scenic spot. The round hole known as The Punch Bowl was clearly visible. It actually looks more like a toilet! However local legend states that the Earl of Mar poured strong spirit into the punch bowl which was then used to toast the Jacobite cause in 1715.
Having persuaded my husband to walk further than he intended, I had agreed to walk back to Linn of Dee to fetch the car. Hence we split up at a crossing of paths where I took the contouring track in a westerly direction and he headed for the car park on the minor road at Linn of Quoich.
I was rewarded by spotting a red squirrel as I walked fairly briskly along the track and then along the quiet minor road. I only saw one other walker, a few cyclists and a couple of cars. The second car came from behind me when I had about a mile to go to Linn of Dee. It slowed and stopped, at which point I saw my husband smiling and sitting on the back seat with two elderly ladies! He had been offered a lift and had apparently regaled them with tales of my walking, including the fractured ankle. As it was only a mile to go, he decided to get out and walk with me – there wasn’t any more space in the car for me.
Once we arrived back at the car park, we made a small detour to look at the impressive Linn of Dee waterfalls and rocks.
The final “adventure” on this map wasn’t expected. Having spent the week gradually increasing my walk distance and difficulty, including the adventure for map 44 which will be the next post, I was hoping to spend 24th September on a challenging classic walk over the Lairig Ghru pass to near Aviemore. The weather forecast was encouraging. I knew that there would be a tough boulder field to cross but no big cliffs or extremely steep ascents or descents. I was also aware that the area is remote but that the pass is one which is frequented regularly by walkers. I had planned to start at 07:00 for the 19-20 mile walk which meant that there would be over twelve hours of daylight and I would have a head torch so that, if necessary, I could complete the forest track section at the far end in the dark. Walkhighlands website timed the walk at 9-10 hours and we had generally been completing walks well within the timescales stated, although expecting this one to take longer in view of the difficult terrain, which is more troublesome for me at the moment with my rehabilitating ankle.
On the morning of 23rd September, I explained to the guesthouse owner that I wouldn’t need breakfast the next day as my husband was taking me early to my start point at Linn of Dee before returning for his breakfast. The conversation was overheard by another guest, who seemed to be involved in the tourist trade, guiding people undertaking what appeared to me to be various low level and what for me would be relatively non challenging walks. She immediately interrupted to tell me that I shouldn’t do that walk alone; she had done it with difficulty at the age of 36 and it appeared she thought that I was too old and frail to contemplate the walk. I cited some of my previous experience both in Scotland and the Alps also explaining that as my husband was aware of my route then if I did not arrive at the other end then emergency services would know exactly where to search. This was like a red rag to a bull and she told me that being alone I would be far more likely to have an accident than in a group and that it was reckless to do any route if you thought there was a chance of needing rescue! That was actually not what I meant, as my normal habit when walking, particularly alone, would be to leave a note of my route plan with someone who would know if/when I returned as well as the criteria for seeking help. That doesn’t mean I am expecting to have an emergency though! Clearly I realised I was more vulnerable than usual given my recent ankle injury as well as that injury happening highlighting the fact to me that accidents needing rescue can happen. Moreover I am of course fully aware that mountain walking has its inherent risks, mitigated by wearing suitable clothing and carrying adequate equipment, and that solo mountain walking is potentially more dangerous as there is no companion to seek help if needed.
The upshot of it was that having reflected on what she said, I decided not to attempt this walk. This was chiefly because I did not know who this woman was or what position she held. I was concerned that in the (to my mind) unlikely eventuality of sustaining injury and needing rescue, she could discover that I had not heeded her warnings and she could make life extremely difficult for me. I am sure I will return to complete the walk – by which time I will of course be older, probably will be backpacking with a much heavier pack (possibly part of the TGO challenge if I ever get to do that). I am delighted to read on the 2022 TGO challenge website that the oldest successful completion was by a 79-year old man and the second oldest by a 78-year old woman. There is hope!
This change in plan for Saturday meant that a relatively strenuous walk on Friday would be possible (we had planned an easy day in preparation for my Lairig Ghru trek). Of course we had to make our plans quickly as otherwise the day would be over. We opted to drive over the pass to Glen Shee then return to the highpoint on the road near a ski centre with the aim of climbing some nearby Munros from there. The chairlift usually in operation was closed due to lightning strikes a few weeks previously.
We enjoyed a wonderful mountain walk in good weather with fine views, visiting three summits with a height over 3,000 feet (914.4 m). These points were The Cairnwell, Carn nan Sac and Carn a’Gheoidh. After reaching the summit of The Cairnwell we descended a little and found an amazing seat to sit on for lunch, constructed from skis, in memory of a young man who had loved winter sports.
My husband had found the dog owner part of a GPS dog tracking device. We left it in a prominent place at the side of the path while we deviated to the ridge of Carn nan Sac and Carn a’Gheoidgh.
The views were awesome and several other people were out on the route. None had lost a dog tracker though.
We returned to the main path back to the ski centre. I still had plenty of miles in my legs and volunteered to go and check whether the dog tracker had been retrieved – ten minutes’ walk back up the hill towards The Cairnwell. It was still there so I picked it up to hand in at the cafe once we had descended.
My husband started his descent and I eventually caught up with him sheltering from the wind. Unfortunately it wasn’t until I passed the path fork at 795m that I realised how little more work it would be to ascend Carn Asoda from that point. I hadn’t appreciated that during our ascent. However of course I couldn’t do that now given my husband was further down the mountain and we needed to return before the cafe closed so we could hand in the dog tracker.
The friendly cafe workers thanked us for handing in the said tracker. Of course having arrived before they closed, we were also able to enjoy coffee and cake, sitting outside in the shelter of the building.
In view of the last-minute change of plans for the day, it wasn’t until the evening that we discovered that Carn nan Sac isn’t a Munro despite being 5m higher than Carn Asoda which is a Munro. This is because of descent between the summits being insufficient for Carn nan Sac to be declared a separate summit in its own right. Never mind – it was an enjoyable walk despite only going up two Munros when it could easily have been three; a good use of the day following my somewhat forced decision not to attempt the Lairig Ghru pass the next day.
Three adventures on this map and there is clearly plenty of scope for more adventures “waiting to happen”!
Where's Kathryn? 