Balmoral, the Lochnagar path and the Capel Road

Thursday 2nd and Friday 3rd June 2016

After my long walk the previous day I was happy that I’d planned a rest for the following day which I spent in and around Balmoral, the Scottish home of the Royal Family. After a visit to the nearby Royal Lochnagar distillery, I made my way back to the gates of Balmoral and hitched a ride on the provided transport into the estate where I followed the excellent audio guide around the grounds. When I had left Braemar the sun had been shining warmly under clear blue skies so I hadn’t worn a coat or brought any warm clothing, however when I came out of the distillery I found that it had clouded over and for the rest of the day it was quite cold prompting me to keep moving throughout the tour so that I completed it within a couple of hours. For the rest of the afternoon I undertook a brisk walk around the estate visiting several cairns constructed for Queen Victoria’s children. This was an enjoyable walk through the woodland and up the hills south of the castle, and finally ended back at the castle where I finished my visit with a walk back to the gates.

Despite the overcast and rather cold weather, this was a relaxing day and prepared me for the next day when the weather was no better. Returning to Balmoral I took a road around the estate through Easter Balmoral, past a policeman on sentry duty and through woodland close to where I’d been walking the previous afternoon. Three years ago I had walking from Braemar to Glen Doll on the edge of the Cairngorms National Park with the intention of climbing the two hills that overlook the valley: Mayar and Driesh. However, I hadn’t planned enough time for the climb so I had to leave Glen Doll the following morning without the opportunity to explore the valley. When planning this holiday I quickly made Glen Doll a target with an extra day planned to ensure that those hills were climbed. In order to provide a difference to last time I had decided to reverse the direction of the routes that I had previously taken into and out of Glen Doll, so I was now retracing my steps of three years ago out of the woods and towards Lochnagar.

The weather for this holiday had been excellent, but from noon the previous day things had turned much colder, however now that I was properly clothed for the conditions and since all I was doing was travelling to where I would be starting the next day’s walk, I wasn’t particularly bothered about the weather. On emerging from the woods I headed up the heather moor on a landrover track in virtually windless conditions, despite the low cloud, which actually made the walk quite pleasant though as the terrain steepened and I began to get hotter I wished for a cooling breeze to match the grey and murky weather. It was a long walk up to the top of the pass and with Lochnagar hiding under the low clouds the only views were westwards across the bleak, heather moor of the Balmoral Forest so I just struggled on up the track weighed down by my heavy rucksack until eventually I reached the top of the pass beside the path that branches off towards Lochnagar.

Three years ago I didn’t take this path towards the Munro, despite good weather, and likewise I didn’t bother this time and instead stopped briefly to have my lunch before setting off down the steep pebbly path to Glen Muick. Turning right at the Spittal of Glenmuick I took a path that is known as the Capel Road that climbs steeply up onto the heather moor of the Capel Mounth. The cloud cover on the Capel Road was significantly lower than on the Lochnagar path and it wasn’t long until I was enveloped by clouds that continued until I reached the edge of the Capel Mounth where the views opened out into Glen Doll. I have great memories of being in Glen Doll three years ago despite my brief stay and I was looking forward to my return. After such a grey and overcast day it was a surprise to see a ray of sunshine falling into Glen Doll as I descended the zigzagging path into the valley, and even more of a surprise when a little bit of blue sky appeared.

It seems as if Glen Doll was just as happy to see me as I was to be back in the valley and it was shining its greeting. The excellent Capel Road zigzags all the way down into the conifer plantations that have taken over large swaths of the valley and yet failed to ruin it. A short walk along the valley track brought me to the ranger station and the picnic site where I had camped last time. Now I saw signs indicating that free, wild camping was only allowed in three particular spots in the valley, so wearily I made my way up the hillside on a winding path until I reached the approved site and there set up my tent. This may have been just a travelling day, but it was rather tiring as I dragged a heavy rucksack over two mountain passes, though the lack of wind had made the walk peaceful. Even if the walk there was a challenge, it is always a pleasure to be in glorious Glen Doll where it seems the sun always shines.