Well first week back at work is over, it's Friday and we are heading for Aboyne on Royal Deeside for the night. We are staying in the Huntly Arms where the room is basic but clean. That in itself was a trek to get too...up different stairs and along lengthy corridors where staff were friendly enough.
Saturday morning looked grey when we got up but it was saying 18°C, and it was very muggy. After a cooked breakfast we packed the car and headed along to Ballater, then up to Loch Muick where we park the car (£3 this goes towards path restoration). After changing into boots the rain starts blowing through, so jackets go on straight away, which also keeps the wind off too. All sorted, we head off on our way, stopping at the information board first.
We continue along the track toward the Spittal of Glen Muick, passing toilets and a wooden visitor centre which is worth a look around.
We are taking the Lochnagar Path that crosses over the flat floor of Glen Muick and cross over the river Muick by a wooden bridge. We continue along path heading towards woodland, and Allt-na-guibhsaich which we need to cross. That was a laugh, I did not know which foot to use first, good job boots are waterproof.
We continue on our way, it's a steady ascent, and the path is good, lots of heather in bloom, but cloud coming in.
We pass above the minor gorge of Clais Rathadan, and continue around to the right until we come to a fork. Stopping to look at the map, and my map on viewranger on the phone, we know we are to take the path on the left.
As you can see it has brightened up and jackets had to come off, it's too warm.
We follow the well defined path with parts with good stone pitching, and towards Meikle Pap.
You can go to the top of this to get best views of Lochnagar, it's not much of an ascent, but we decide to give it a miss.
We stop on the path for a drink and a chocolate bar, and I change socks (they are rubbing on the heel). With our rest over, we continue up a slope known as the ladder. This is a boulder field, not good you would think, but there is a path right through using huge flat boulders and it was great. This slope is notorious for avalanches in the winter, so I'm glad we are doing it in the summer months.
At the top of the "ladder" we reach a plateau, the cloud has come in again and the wind is picking up with strong gusts, so on goes the jackets. On good days you can peer down the gullies to the lochlan below, I went as close to the edge as I felt comfortable to get this pict, but did not stay long, don't want blown off! :)
We have another ascent where we come across a cairn on a boulder at Cac Carn Mor, this is often mistaken for the summit of Lochnagar.
But we have to go further down a slope then up again to reach the true summit of Lochnagar (Cac Carn Beag). Standing at a height of 1156m it is a brilliant viewpoint of Deeside and the Cairngorn mountain range.
Queen Victoria climbed Lochnagar and said that "it was cold, wet and cheerless and the wind was blowing a hurricane". Well as you can see I agree, though rain was off at the moment!
After looking around, we decide to seek shelter from the wind behind the huge boulders and have our lunch. It's nice to sit with a sandwich and a cup of cappachinno with such views around and below us. There are a lot of people out walking today, hope they are enjoying it as much as us.
After lunch we retraced our steps back to Cac Carn Mor where there is another path to the right, we follow this path down green open area for a short distance.
Soon we turn to our left and follow a narrow path up the green hill until we reach the top.
This is Carn a' Choire Bhoidheach ( 1110m). It has a small cairn and because of the rainfall lately it had a moat around it.
Looking back to Lochnagar from where we had just came.
Checking map and Viewranger, we looked to see how to get back to the circuit path to lead us back to the car, without retacing our steps. We follow a line across this slightly boggy area crossing little streams until reaching the busy mountain footpath.
This path takes us eventually to Loch Muick and back to car, it is steep in places with a lot of pitching and a very good path to follow.
We follow the path close to a stream as the glen opens out onto a flat 'alp'. The flat does not last long as just beyond the stream tumbles down a very steep slope to make the Glas Allt falls.
We continue down until we meet a small woodland, that takes us to the Royal Lodge of Glas Allt Sheil, much loved by Queen Victoria and recently Prince Charles. (Jen pips in - Is this not where he wrote the Old Man of Lochnagar??)
We turn left here and follow along the shores of the Loch Muick.
At the foot of the loch there is a boat house and a small beach where boots come off and a paddle is in order, that cooled the feet down quick!
Then time for another sandwich and coffee and enjoy the sun before continuing the short distance to the Spittal of Glenmuik and the car.
It has been a good walk today, mixed weather but we have covered 15 miles (25km).
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