Lochnagar in Deeside makes a superb walk with a a Munro to bag at the highest point. There are plenty more peaks in the area and with friends, we took in a Corbett and four Munro Tops, too.
A great day out on Lochnagar
Reaching the first summit of the day with my friends Ben and Rob, we feel suddenly alone. Yet, only 20 minutes before, we were walking amid a stream of people.
The same happens on the second, third, fifth and sixth summits of our adventure in Deeside, in the Grampian Mountains. As soon as we break away from the main track in Glen Muick, which many people follow to reach the popular Munro of Lochnagar, we meet no one else.
While it is fantastic to see crowds of people, of all different ages, enjoying a sunny day of hiking, my friends agree that there are greater joys to be found in pursuing some of Scotland’s less frequented mountains.
As well as walking to the highest point of Lochnagar, we’ve planned a route that sees us also bagging a Corbett and four Munro Tops.
Why this challenge?
You might be wondering why – and the answer is multi-faceted. To start with, we all like a challenge, both physically and navigationally. The total distance is 16 miles and our final elevation tally is 4800ft.
Away from the well-trodden trails, the terrain is rough and rugged and there are few paths. There is a great deal of satisfaction be found in plotting a route on a map, finding it on the ground and ticking off mountain top after mountain top.
Tip: Look out for a memorial to Bill Stuart, a climber who died on Lochnagar’s cliffs in 1953.
In addition, the three of us had previously bagged Cac Carn Beag summit on the Lochnagar ridge and, when returning to a mountain, we like to take a different route, starting from an alternative location, or detouring to extra mountains.
Summitting several peaks in the one area also brings the rewards of a greater perspective of a Munro. “You see if from different sides and viewpoints, which means you get to really know the mountain,” Ben suggests, when we chat among ourselves.
“It’s the planning I like,” adds Rob. “It’s great making plans for bigger routes that include popular mountains and less visited mountains in one outing.”
And, of course, as keen “baggers” another attraction of the string-of-peaks hike is the opportunity to “tick” new mountains in our various lists.
Ben and Rob’s dog Storm.
Munros, Corbetts and other summits
Having already completed a round of all 282 Munros – the Scottish mountains with a height at least 3000ft – I’m working my way through another category called the Corbetts. These are defined as the 222 Scottish mountains with a height of between 2500ft and 3000ft.
The Munro Tops offer another excellent list and include peaks of Munro height but which are not classed as separate mountains. There are 226 Munro Tops.
History books reveals that the Munro Tops – called “Lesser peaks” – were identified alongside the Munros in Sir High Munro’s original list of 3000ft mountains in the early 20th century.
According to modern-day records ,kept by the Scottish Mountaineering Club (SMC), while 7492 people have walked a full round of the Munros, only 834 have ticked all the Corbetts and fewer still – 711 – the Munro Tops.
When considering all of this, it’s no wonder that we enjoy such superb solitude on all but one of the peaks on our Lochnagar circuit in the mountains known as The Mounth.
Our first summit: The Corbett, Conachcraig
The Corbett, Conachcraig, is first and after a straightforward climb to a height of 2837ft, we sit for a while, relishing the seclusion, while taking in fabulous views of multiple peaks in the wider Cairngorms region.
Before long, having descended the same route, we rejoin the busier Lochnagar trail.
We meet and chat amiably with the many Munro baggers before striking off the track again, this time ascending to our first Munro Top, Meikle Pap at 3215ft.
Again, we are the only walkers on this peak and we are delighted by the tranquility of our summit and a stunning view of the vast and rocky northern corrie of Lochnagar, which forms a stunning curve of buttresses with a pretty lochan nestled below.
It’s a vista that is seen from a bealach further below when following the traditional Lochnagar route, but from our vantage point, the panorama is more dramatic.
Striking north-easterly from the the pap, we descend a slope of thick vegetation and jumbled rocks to reach the northern shore of the loch. It isn’t an easy route but it is one that maintains our isolation in a wonderfully wild landscape.
We were treated to sightings of red deer, an adder, several mountain hares, jumpy grouse and many, many wild flowers. In perfect picturesque peace, we stop beside a string of tiny lochans for a picnic lunch.
Meall Coire na Saobhaidhe at a height of 3195ft is our third mountain and we are fairly sure we are the only walkers to see the spectacular 360-degree panorama of breath-taking Highlands landscape that day (perhaps even that month). The view is also of the steep northern slope that rises to the high point of Lochnagar.
Lochnagar: People and a path
As we approach Cac Càrn Beag at 3792ft on the high plateau, we encounter the first walkers – and their chatter – of many hours. The contrast to the empty outlier mountains so far is remarkable.
Back on the Munro trail we walk alongside, in front of and behind other people on Lochnagar, passing another ridge cairn at Cac Càrn Mòr. The route is obvious with a white stony path cut by constant footfall in the short green grass.
Quiet again on another Munro Top
It’s only for a short while though because Ben, Rob and I soon leave the walkers behind again, finding our own course towards another Munro Top. Cuidhe Crom, with a high point of 3549ft, is topped by weather-worn rocky tors.
Again, we delight in the deserted and silent wilderness, which continues as we walk further south, hiking downhill and then uphill to reach the aptly named Little Pap. It is also a Munro Top but the smallest of the day’s tops at 3136ft.
Knowing that the route will be busy again when we descend Little Pap to rejoin the main path through the glen of Glas Allt, we make time for further quiet contemplation. Our airy high point atop huge boulders provides us with another superb viewpoint of Lochnagar behind and other peaks of The Mounth to the south.
Our final descent, alongside a stream that tumbles downwards to reach a striking waterfall, then follows the shore of Loch Muick to regain the car park at the start, coincides with the return of numerous Lochnagar walkers. The atmosphere is up-beat and we exchange words of enthusiasm with others about the “great weather”, “fine views” and “a brilliant route”.
Later, we add our own post-script: It was the splendid solitude for so much of the circuit that truly made our day of walking so rewarding.
