Please contact goepfertkarenATyahooDOTcom for more details about the trip and to check availability on group accommodation.
Saturday 14 May 2022
Scotland 2022: Braemar
Plans are afoot for Scotland 2022 and we are pleased to announce that we have secured a combination of properties on the Mar Lodge Estate near Braemar from 14 May to 21 May 2022. The area has loads of walks to cater for various abilities. For more information on the area, see Braemar walks (Walkhighlands).
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18 comments:
Braemar is lovely. Went there a few years ago.
Sorry, getting confused with Cromarty. Similar 🤔
Wherever I wander
wherever I rove,
The hills of the Highlands
for ever I love
Robbie Burns
Hi there! I would like to join the walks in Highlands, sent an email to the address but never heard from anyone. Please send me an email for the details. It is ozgetuzungonenc@gmail.com
Thanks so much!
Hi Ozge,
Apologies for the delay in response, I have been traveling....I did reply to your email this morning. Please let me know if you have any further questions.
My usual cautious heads up for these trips, especially for those new-ish to walking on Scottish mountains: before packing, do not get too distracted by a benign weather forecast for Braemar, but look at the forecasts for the Cairngorms NP and the Southeastern Highlands on mwis.org.uk, especially the lines 'How windy? (on the Munros)', 'How wet?' and 'How Cold? (at 900m)', bearing in mind that most days we'll be walking at greater heights than 900m.
Braemar then. 1 years late after we had to move the original booking, with 32 walkers in various parts of the Mar Lodge Estate. And what a fine place it is.
Sunday 15th May
N=31 walkers out today on the three group walks taking place.
The day started in sunshine, followed by grey skies with very occasional blue sky patches, then ended in glorious sunshine (only relevant for Group 3).
Walk 1: 16km, 200m ascent, 9 walkers, started at 10.00, back by 14.15. Easy circular route straight from the lodge, up Glen Quoich west of the river, then left along the Clais Fhearnaig to Glen Lui and back to Mar.
Walk 2: 21km, 600m ascent, 12 walkers, started at 9.30, back at 16.00. Glen Quoich east of the river, bounding up to the Corbett Carn na Drochaide, with splendid views of the surrounding higher tops and ranges. Descent pathless down the far side into the Gleann an t-Slugain, curving around to opposite Braemar and along tracks back to the Linn of Quoich car park.
Walk 3: 29km, 900m ascent, 10 walkers, started at 9.30, back at 20.15. Glen Quoich east of the river, all the way up into the bowl between Beinn a' Bhuird and Ben Avon, then up to the plateau of the Bheinn, do South and North Top and return along the engineered path/track to the Linn of Quoich car park.
A varied, exciting, isolated and scenic route. Strenuous, with sections pathless and other sections where we lost the path. Also with a very steep, almost scrambly last bit of ascent to the plateau. And a cold wind up there. I loved it, others as well, some felt it a touch too tough for their liking though. We started with the surreal sound and sight of oystercatchers, this far inland. Cuckoos were present in the Glen on the way out but silent on the return. Unlimited varieties and colours of moss and lychen we saw, large stretches of Caledonian Fir forest, tadpoles in a puddle, ptarmigans galore (one ever so sooly crossing our path just a few metres ahead), the first snow patches as low as at 780m, plenty of cornices along the amazing rim of the double corries, impressive buttresses, fantastic views from the plateau to other snow patched giants. This walk had a lot to offer. Personal highlight: the 3km stretch along the plateau's edge to the North Top, where - just in time - one walker's phone had enough reception to check football results back home.
#Nur_der_HSV!
#Two_more_games
#HiHaHo_Hertha_ist_KO
#Nie_mehr_zweite_Liga
Addendum: Walk 3 - the highest point was the North Top of Beinn a' Bhuird at 1197m. The fording of the Lui Water on the return which can be dangerous or even impassable, was easy to do with the help of well placed boulders and walking poles. This didn't stop one walker to change into her waders, seeing that she had carried them all the way. There was also a sting in the tail on the route through the Caledonian Pine: a - brutal for being near the end of a tough walk - 100m or so ascent along a rough gravel track.
For full disclosure, regarding the final steep scrambly tough climb onto the plateau: although objectively not having an enhanced risk of someone falling off the mountain side, subjectively for some of the group those 15-20 minutes were positively terrifying. We're still all on speaking terms, I'm glad to report.
Monday 16th May
With the forecast showing the dreaded 'pulses of rain, settling in for up to an hour, a Plan B was required, one of the reserve walks. Braemar's House Mountain Morrone it was, which rises to 859m straight from the village. N=28 joined the 4 group walks offered.
Walks 1 to 3 started together up to the top, initially in drizzle then light rain, which turned steady and with high winds near the top which was in and out of the driving clouds. No one turned back the way they came (Walk 1), 18 followed option 2 in a curve down the mountain to the A road and along a river into Braemar for lunch. Done at 2.
Group 3 turned off the descent route through a col onto Carn na Drochaide to follow its ridge around for several km on pleasant walking ground. The descent was a bit rougher and steep at the end, but plenty of burnt heather patches made it easy. Glen Ey then was very scenic and full of witnesses of the Highland Clearances: remnants of the field walls and cottages the displaced population had lived in and with. There was also the Colonel's Bed to admire, and then one walker spotted a congregation of large birds performing a kind of dance on the hillside. It couldn't be a capercaillie's leck, surely? They never leave the forest. The embedded SWC photo reporter was sent up the hillside to take shots and he confirmed it as Black Grouse doing their version of a 'leck'.
On to Inverey and through lovely forests back to Braemar. 20 km, 700m ascent. Done at 6.
Group 4 (4 peeps) did a much shortened version of Walk 3 in reverse, and from/to Mar Lodge. To enable pub lunch on Braemar.
Tuesday 17th May
N=31 out on group walks today, with the weather being dry but mostly with driving clouds or fog on the tops and a medium strong wind.
14 braved the start from the Glenshee ski resort at about 600m height, through the various lift paraphernalia to get to the first of 3 Munros very quickly. All completed the circuit and finished the afternoon with tea and cake in Braemar.
14 others walked out to An Socach, a Munro SW of Braemar, on an out-and-back starting from the A road to the Glenshee resort, at Baddoch. 1 unfortunately had to retreat home early due to knee trouble. 2 in fact then descended back to Mar Lodge via the lovely Glen Ey.
3 did Lochnagar via The Stuic, from Keiloch on the A93. The Stuic is an exciting 100m Grade I ridge scramble, and almost vertical in its top section, while Lochnagar is a bulky mountain range with several tops and corries. The 3, all experienced walk leaders, somehow missed a turning in the wonderful Ballochbuie Forest, and - compounding their error - ignored Rule No 1 when knowingly off route: go back to where you were last on route. Because the onwards path looked scenic on the map (it was) and there was a connecting path ahead to get back on route (there was). Unfortunately that path was heavily underused, wet and overgrown in places. It was to be the toughest stretch of the day.
The further cross-country stretches were nowhere near as demanding as the write-up suggested, and we got to the base of The Stuic in good time. The 2 experienced scramblers (by SWC standards) took lead and rear positions, with the relatively inexperienced walker in the middle and up we went. The semi-steep start was almost walkable, but the almost vertical top of the buttress provided plenty of exposure and some mildly overhanging rocks, needed some high steps,and stretched arm moves and agility but was never really dangerous. It took us 45 minutes to the plateau.
Waves of fog and clouds were driven across the plateau by the 50 km/h winds, and views of the tops were intermittent. We curved around the corrie edge, with glimpses of the many lochans beneath and ticked off the twin tops, at 1150 and 1155m.
The toposcope on the latter showed us what other mountains we could have seen, had there been clear views! Even the Campsie Fells near Glasgow, apparently!
Down along the mountain spur and back onto the outbound route via another crossing of the surprisingly easy to cross heather bog, complete with deep groughs, petrified tree roots and stumps poking out of the bog.
We got back to the junction where we had missed the turning, and can still not understand how we did it. Done at 7.
Wildlife spotted:
Cuckoo - 0
Ptarmigan - 5
Mountain Hare - 1
Black Grouse - loads
Nesting Black Grouse - 1
Eggs in the nest - more than 6
Reptiles (ok: maybe it was a newt) - 1
Capercaillie - 1 (this is just a strong suspicion, as a big black bird flew off as we entered the pine forest that is famous for being a place for capercaillies, a bird definitely bigger than the Black Grouse we saw later)
Wednesday 18th May
N=31 out on group walks again, of which there were four. The weather was dry and mostly sunny, but with very strong winds everywhere.
Walk 1: Burn o' Vat, a short walk around Loch Kinord (which has a crannog), then a visit to a very scenic rocky gorge, visited Lochnagar and sneaked into the Balmoral Estate. 7 attendees.
Walk 2: up west along the Dee to the Chest of Dee (a waterfall) and then half of them added the Burn o' Vat walk on top. 8 attendees.
Walk 3: 9 went on a longer variation of one of the early walks we did: Clais Fhearnaig, adding a stretch out along a valley to it. 1 went for a swim in the river.
Walk 4: 7 takers for the tougher walk, Derry Cairngorm from Loch Etchachan. 25 km with 900m ascent. 1 of those retiring home after 2 hours due to not feeling well. Out from the Linn of Dee car park via Glen Lui and Glen Derry (both immensely beautiful) up to the Hutchison Memorial Hut (MBA) where we had lunch, then up to Loch Etchachan, crammed in between three gigantic mountain massifs.
Up to the plateau of Derry Cairngorm, where the strong winds really hit (from the side) . They made walking in a straight line difficult, so let's say 70 km/h, which meant the crossing of the plateau was a bit more fun/danger (delete as appropriate) than it would usually be, being basically a boulder field. Views were superb to the North to Ben Macdui and Braeriach, as well as South to Lochnagar and the Blair Atholl ranges.
Carn Crom we climbed on the descent along the spur of the range, which made a final great viewpoint. There then were 8 sacks of boulders seen next to the path, enabling path maintenance (that would explain the 8 or so helicopter flights observed a few evenings ago that passed Mar Lodge). Back at the car park at 18.45 after a 10.00 start.
Birds: terns, in the first glen.
Thursday 19th May
Sunny weather today, with modest winds. 3 were doing their own thing, whether that be a visit to Balmoral Castle or similar. N=29 on the group walks.
Lochnagar from Spittal of Glenmuick.
3 different walks offered.
Walk 1: a circuit of Glen Muick, optionally extended by a follow up to Dubh Loch, which encouraged a bit of paddling. 4 takers, half each doing either version.
Walk 2: 21km, 800m ascent; the 'norm route' up Lochnagar, along engineered paths to the plateau, then more or less level across it to the mighty Carn Can Beag for surround views (not that the views on the ascent were bad). Then descend the Glas Allt and its wonderful cascades and waterfall to the shore of Loch Muick and the lodge, supposedly 'Prince Charles's favourite place'. Along the Loch and along its beachy end back to base. Start at 10.30, after one of the cars got waylaid en route, finished at 17.30 for most of us. 19 takers in total, many of whom had never been up this high and in this type of wind. A lot of those said it had been their best walk.
Some of us bumped into one half of the Walk 1 crowds at the lochside lodge.
2 cuckoos were heard, views were spectacular, the one bad thing was that we had our first casualty of the trip (strains and feeling bad excluded): someone slipped on the descent and damaged her wrist. The SWC nursing team attended quickly and we wish the casualty a quick recovery.
Walk 3: early start, route similar to Walk 2, but adding 4 other Munros, making for a 29km and 1,200m ascent walk. It took 2 hours longer than Walk 2. 6 takers for this. Excellent views all around.
Friday 20th May
The weather was mainly grey skies with very occasional short periods of spittle or even rain. The wind was strong all day though, so jackets were kind of necessary.
As usually happens on the last day of these trips, overall group cohesion deteriorated, as people want to see this castle or that village or redo one of the walks they missed out on earlier. Some of the things that I know about...
The casualty from yesterday's walk was taken to a clinic by 2 others in Braemar and after she had being dispatched with a splint, they had a walk in the Balmoral Estate. 1 other went to Braemar with them to get reliable WiFi for an online work event. 1 walked the Derry Cairngorm group walk from a few days ago, but in reverse (to have the wind in the back), from Mar Lodge rather than the car park and with adding another mountain from Loch Etchachan. Easily the toughest walk of the week!
One group started out with 12 from Linn of Dee up the valley towards Beinn Bhrotain on an out-and-back, but people kept peeling off, returning early, so just the 'leader' made it to the top.
6 did a 17km circuit from Baddoch on the Glenshee Road, which could have included the three Mumros closest to the ski resort, but we cut out Cairnwell. Back along the Baddoch Burn. A very quiet and scenic route, only busy near the ski resort, as it is Munro Bagger territory.
2 walked a version of the much-walked-on-this-trip Clais Fhearnaig circuit.
2 walked up the glen to Derry Lodge and back.
1 packed up and left early.
On the 17km circuit, we saw three mountain hares and many curlews, some oystercatchers...
All in then, the weather co-operated, the accommodation was ace (although with iffy WiFi, a first world complaint admittedly), the scenery spectacular, the walks tailored well to the weather and with a wide spread of lengths and toughnesses. We got walkers up to doing walks, heights and weather conditions that they otherwise would not have entertained. Transport and getting people to and from where they wanted to be, worked well, considering we are 6 km from the village. No major injuries, no major bust-ups (although quite a few minor ones), all in a good group spirit.
So much that tonight we had farewell drinks and - an SWC first - a ceilidh! Strip the willows and all that... As a group trip, one of the best.
Our thanks go to the chief organisers, Karen G and John L, who between them dealt with all issues around accommodation, payments, day-to-day organisation of people's whereabouts.
Next are all food and drink coordinators in the various houses, all chefs and sous-chefs, table-clearers and dishwashers. The walk proposers and leaders, especially the reluctant ones. Anyone else who has contributed to this week, even just by being on the walks.
With that, best wishes for a safe return to London and a full and speedy recovery for the few injured and fatigued, most importantly though for the one Scotland trip regular that had to cancel her attendance with just weeks to go - after sustaining an injury on a warm-up walk.
Thanks for reading. Over and out.
On the way to the airport, my group looked at the Pictish Stones at Tullich Church, and then the Stone Circle at Tomnabervie: the recumbent and flank stones there frame the view of Lochnagar! A fitting end to the week.
Photos from the trip can now be seen under 'Photos', 'Trips & Social', 'Braemar', i.e. here: https://www.walkingclub.org.uk/swc/photos/braemar.html
They are in chronological order during the day, but the days are backwards, i.e. the last day comes first.
If you have photos to add, tag them swcwalks braemar
Photos now in the correct order. Webmaster excelling himself... Thanks a lot
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