Favourite Mountain

The massif of Ben Avon/ Beinn a’Bhuird has long been a favourite haunt & the high-level traverse from the Lairig an Laoigh to the Linn of Avon is probably one of the finest outing in the ‘gorms IMHO.

I planned another fairly gentle rehab trip & packed for 3 nights so that I wasn’t pressed to do any big mileages…….just stroll along & stop when the urge took me.

Day 1 – 16km, 570m

A crack of mid-day start from the Linn of Dee & a gentle dawdle up Glen Derry….a bit of a dull day but 10C, a gentle breeze & good scenery made it feel quite pleasant.

After ~3hrs I’d reached the bealach (Pt 740m) & noted a large-ish party of Munroe baggers zigzagging down from the Mòine Bhealaidh (yellow moss) having completed Beinn a’Chaorainn.

A few brief words were exchanged before I ascended the same line up to the plateau. I’ve seen the Moine Bhealaidh described as a sprawling featureless, an endless bog, etc. all seemingly quite negative……I enjoy the peaceful emptiness & wide visas.

Not too far to go now just a pleasant stroll a few km’s east, skirting south of Beinn a’Chaorainn & hopping across a few streams, to one of my frequently visited pitches near the infant Allt Cumh na Coinnich……..all pitched up & brew on by 5pm.

I’ve taken to carrying a ‘wet’ meal for the first nights’ dinner on most of my backpacking forays, simply left-overs frozen in a 300ml Sunpet pot, tonight’s fare was a luxurious Venison casserole with added pasta (the Sunpet pot gets re-used to cold soak my MYO dehydrated rations)…..all that was missing was a good red wine but then I did have a dram of Laphroaig.

Day 2 – 19km, 710m

Not a good start to the day, I must have slept awkwardly as my chest felt as though I’d been sat on by a troll in the night, every move seemed to be accompanied by twinges from one muscle or another. It made for a very tardy 09:30 departure from camp making my way east towards a snowy North Top.

The Cairngorm/ Macdui massif looked equally snow bound.

After a wave to a couple enjoying a break at the summit cairn it was on to Cnap a’ Chleirich with Leabaidh an Daimh Bhuidhe beckoning in the distance.

I was half expecting the Sneck to still have a swathe of snow cover but it was surprisingly clear.

I was a little surprised at the number of folk I started to come across around the Sneck & on Ben Avon but then I remembered it was Saturday & the baggers were out in force. I didn’t hang around the summit long, far too crowded, & after a quick snack it was onwards towards Mullach Lochan nan Gabhar

On the descent towards Big Brae to pick up the stalkers path I ran into a couple of bird spotters who had come up from Inchrory & had spent the day wandering the plateau searching in vain for a Dotterel sighting…..definitely dedicated enthusiasts!

The stalkers path down to Inchrory passes through a fine area of granite tors before descending a broad ridge to the Linn of Avon.

On the descent I’d been mulling over possible return routes: Plan A was up the Avon to re-join the Lairig an Laoigh but the high river level would probably mean a very ‘interesting’ crossing or a long diversion west around Loch Avon; Plan B was a southerly route up Glen Gairn which still involved a few river crossings but I guessed they were probably more manageable. Plan B won out so I turned south up Glen Builg & after a couple of km found a good pitch

Day 3 – 17km, 350m

After managing a comfortable 10hrs of sleep I was underway by 08:30 & at the Builg Burn ford 5 mins later, not a welcoming sight, the river was running quite high. It was either boots off & a deeper than a knee wade, then another ford higher in the glen or avoid……I choose the avoid option making my way up the east river bank.

A little over 500m upstream the easy river bank ended & I took to following deer trails heading vaguely south through the heather to where Loch Builg came into view.

An easy stroll following the lochs’ outlet stream soon led to the path around the loch….it turned out not to be a lot more effort than the LRT……& so into Glen Gairn.

It always astounds me at the number of abandoned dwellings in this part of the glen, the area is littered with the remains of dozens of long houses (shielings), as shown on this chart from Canmore, it must have been a bustling place at one time.

I never seem to rush though upper Glen Gairn, it’s the kind of place to just dawdle along, admire the scenery & poke around the abandoned remains; the footpath is generally pretty good, apart from the bits that mountain bikes have chewed up.

Today the journey was interrupted every km or so by another swollen burn to cross, some easy, some a little trickier to keep the feet dry.

By the time I was crossing the bealach over to join the Slugain path the rain had set in & I was once again mulling options: Plan A directly west fording the Quioch Water & Allt an Dubh-ghlinne; Plan B over Carn na Criche directly for the Linn of Quoich.

I guessed that the Quioch would be possible & I could take the boots off for the Dubh-ghlinne so I went with Plan A. This failed at the first hurdle, the Quoich was boiling.…..the moral of the story is that packing my river shoes (Crocs) would have been a good idea!

Time for Plan C; follow the river downstream for ~2 km to a LRT leading to Linn of Quoich, the ‘route’ turned out to be a mix of deer trails & deep heather bashing, some 500m short of the LRT I stumbled upon an ideal riverside pitch. I reckoned it was still close to 3hrs back to Linn of Dee, having food, not being in any hurry & despite it being only 4pm I pitched up.

By 4:30 the skies had opened & it hammered it down until well past bed time but who cares when tucked under a thick down layer with music, food & a dram.

Day 4 – 14km, 170m

Only 5 mins from camp the LRT came into view & a reasonable deer trail soon had me there. There’s not much to say about a LRT in the rain apart from it gets you where you’re going with zero fuss, in this case the Punch Bowl.

All that was needed now was the 6km black top trudge, in the rain, back to the Linn of Dee carpark dodging the occasional vehicle……the end of another wee adventure.