Linn of Dee and into Glen Tilt

Monday 3rd June 2013

On this walk, I was really tired. I’d felt tired on the previous Friday evening and considered taking a rest on the Saturday, but in the end I didn’t and instead I did a long, exhausting two-day walk to Glen Doll and back. By this Monday my exertions had caught up with me and I desperately needed a rest, but I wasn’t able to do that as I was still making my way along my great trail through the Cairngorms. Despite my fatigue I actually managed to complete a lot more of the trail than I’d anticipated and one can only wonder what I would have achieved if I hadn’t been so tired. After posting back home a package of stuff I didn’t need any more I set off from the lovely village of Braemar along the road to the Linn of Dee. There is no public transport along this six or seven mile road so, just as in 2009, I had a long, dreary walk along the road and, just as in 2009, before reaching Victoria Bridge I was given a lift by a kind couple. I had considered using off-road paths, but was hoping for a lift (even though I wasn’t thumbing for one) so I stayed on the road until someone took pity on me. I had already walked quite a way and was quite happy to continue all the way to Linn of Dee, but more than happy to be given a lift.

After being dropped off at the Linn of Dee I had a look at the spectacular narrows on the River Dee that give the place its name. In 2009 I hadn’t visited the Linn of Dee so this was my first sight and it was worth the diversion to see the water plunging through the narrow, rocky ravine at this popular tourist spot. When I was ready to start my walk the couple who had given me a lift was also just about to start theirs, so I accompanied them through the empty glen of the River Dee. The 1:25,000 scale OS map reveals that we were passing the ruined remains of the Tonnagaoithe, Dubrach, Tomnamoine, and Dalvorar townships. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries these and other townships in many other glens in the Highlands of Scotland were emptied to make room for sheep and deer. It is tragic that at one time there were thriving communities in this part of Deeside, but no more and instead there are stone rectangles on the ground and sheep on the hillside

At White Bridge I parted company with the couple who had given me a lift to Linn of Dee as they continued up Glen Dee while I went over the bridge and turned south towards Glen Tilt alongside the Geldie Burn. The weather was very good for walking with a high covering of clouds that maintained warm, overcast conditions and helped me keep going despite weary muscles, though admittedly on a pretty easy walk and with very little ascent, just a long trudge along valleys. Between Red House and Bynack Lodge I had to ford the river several times and my old boots finally started to complain and let in copious amounts of water, but my waterproof socks kept my feet dry. My boots had been holding together satisfactorily until this point when they began to show their age after successive deep submersions through the river. Further and further on, I walked along the track at the bottom of the valley until eventually I reached the highest point on the walk, the top of the pass, near Loch Tilt.

My path up till now had been rather dull as I walked along wide tracks, but now the path narrowed, which is always more interesting to walk along, as my route took me into a narrow, steep sided valley beside the Allt Garbh Buidhe. This was spectacular scenery to be walking through, far better than the gentle sided hills around Deeside, and it only got better when I reached the divine Falls of Tarf, but as I entered Glen Tilt my eyes turned upwards to the enormous mountain south of the valley: Beinn A’ Ghlo. I have wanted to climb this Munro for a long time, but by this point my fatigue had reached such an extent that I could hardly take one foot in front of another, let alone climb a mountain. I quickly realised that no matter how much I may have wanted to climb Beinn A’Ghlo it wouldn’t be this day, so I decided to continue walking down the valley and camp lower down. I would have to think about climbing Beinn A’ Ghlo another day.

Glen Tilt is an amazing valley; it is almost arrow straight with steep sides and a river chock full of rocks and rapids. Despite being immensely tired and yearning to stop and make camp I continued walking down the valley on a wide track beside the river passing farms overflowing with sheep until eventually I found an idyllic spot to stop for the night. Unfortunately my fatigue nearly killed this walk. I could have accomplished so much more, including climbing the Munros on Beinn A’ Ghlo, but my energy levels were so depleted I could barely put up my tent. I suppose my decision on Friday not to take a rest day was coming back to bite me and potentially ruin the second week of my holiday. I’ve already mentioned that my old boots were letting in water, and I’ve mentioned my ill-fitting rucksack on previous posts. I was carrying a very heavy load in a old rucksack that was absolute torture to wear with the straps eating into my hips and shoulders. Unfortunately I’d spent so much on a tent and a sleeping bag this year I had nothing left for a new rucksack or boots. However, despite the pain and despite not climbing any hills on this walk I still enjoyed it.