Tomintoul to Ballindalloch

Wednesday 8th June 2016

When I started planning this holiday I was going to walk along the entire length of the Speyside Way from Aviemore to the sea at Buckie, and I was going to do the walk in late summer. Gradually I started adding mountains to the plan until by the time the holiday had moved to early summer the Speyside Way had been relegated to the last three days, starting in Tomintoul. I had stayed in the Smuggler’s Hostel in the highest village in the Highlands, and after a good night’s sleep made my way through the village to the start of the Tomintoul spur route of the Speyside Way. There are two spurs on the Speyside Way that veer off the direct route between Aviemore and Buckie and my walk along this long distance trail had been reduced to these two spurs and the short distance along the main trail that separates them. The glorious weather that I had enjoyed on this holiday finally broke in dramatic fashion the day before with a thunder storm and when I left Tomintoul on the path north it was still under grey and miserable skies.

Following the direction markers I made my way along the path through relatively dreary countryside not helped by the dreary weather. After crossing the Conglass Water I climbed a grassy bank to a road and around several woods, some felled, starting to climb uphill through heather moorland until eventually I plunged into a dark, muddy conifer plantation. A left turn and several twists within the wood brought me up to the top of Càrn Daimh where there is a viewfinder and what should consequently be good views. The distant views were too misty to be able to see anything and the lack of sunshine was making the whole scene look just miserable. Continuing on the trail from the summit I made my way along a heavily eroded path down to the Glenlivet Distillery, and since I like a wee dram of the water of life I couldn’t resist going inside for the tour and a taste. I had a feeling that this might become a common occurrence in Speyside where there is a greater concentration of Scotch whisky distilleries than anywhere else. 

When I came out of the Glenlivet Distillery I found that the weather had changed completely during my tour and now the sun had come out producing a wonderful afternoon for the second half of my walk into the Speyside valley. After lunch I continued my trek along the Speyside Way, but the standard of the path surface did not improve, while the heat from the newly emerged sun made climbing the Hill of Deskie quite tiring. The climb was enlivened my pungent smelling gorse and broom covering the hillside on my climb up to the top of the Hill of Deskie where heather once again became the dominant plant as I headed around the hill of Carnacay. Once the gradient eased I had a lovely stroll across the moor in good weather and under blue skies over the hill and down into Glen Avon.

The last three miles of the walk was spent on tarmac beside busy roads all the way to Ballindalloch Station. This was dull and not very comfortable in walking boots, or in the warm weather, and I suffered as a result. I was tired and thirsty when I eventually reached Ballindalloch Station (or the site of it on the disused railway) where I was able to pitch up my tent. This walk was very different to those that I had been doing earlier in the holiday, and I did not enjoy it as much. The condition of the paths was very poor with a lot of erosion and a general lack of maintenance, while the weather was very changeable with cloudy, muggy conditions in the morning and hot, sunny weather in the afternoon. However, the walk was a welcome change from the mountains, and it will be interesting to see how many distilleries I can successfully walk past. I couldn’t resist popping into the Cragganmore Distillery that is close by to Ballindalloch Station as even though I didn’t have enough time to take the tour, I did have time for a wee dram.

The evening was so lovely I decided to take advantage of it and go for a walk along the Speyside Way in the opposite direction to that I’d be taking the following day. This was a gently relaxing walk deep into dense woodland overflowing with wildlife along the bed of the old railway. I turned back at the point where the Speyside Way turns off the railway to climb uphill, but not before seeing some spotted-orchids. These flowers are a favourite of mine as I used to only see them when walking in the wildest places in the Highlands. I always cherished seeing these delightful flowers and used to look forward to that moment every year. I hadn’t seen any on this holiday until this point so I was delighted to finally come across some of these beautiful flowers. I now know of wildflower meadows in Leicestershire where I can find spotted-orchids, which does spoil the exclusivity that had developed in my mind. Nevertheless I still love these flowers and cherish them wherever I find them.