Ben Macdui with Abbie Barnes

Thursday 2nd September 2021

I have enjoyed watching the YouTube channel of Spend More Time in the Wild by Abbie Barnes for several years and particularly enjoyed her films of her walks along the West Highland Way and the Coast to Coast Walk, and I found much solace in Abbie’s live streamed videos from the start of this year during the darkest part of the lockdown even buying a Spend More Time in the Wild hoodie in March when they became available. Then Abbie announced last summer that to raise awareness of mental health issues she was going to cycle from the top of Scotland all the way down to Land’s End in Cornwall and on the way she would be walking up to the highest point in all fifteen National Parks in Britain. When the dates were revealed for the walks, I realised that the ascent of Ben Macdui in the Cairgorm Mountains would be while I was there and when I had already planned to go up Ben Macdui. My plans for visiting the Cairngorm Mountains, made at the beginning of 2020 put on hold for a year, had centred on a desire to return to Ben Macdui after previously reaching the top in 2005.

When Abbie put out an invitation to join her on the walks, I decided I had to sign up for it and follow her, not only on YouTube, but in person up Ben Macdui. The time that Abbie had specified for us to meet was 7.30 in the morning, so I got up very early and set off up the road to eventually reach the upper car park beside the Cairngorm Mountain ski resort. The weather was poor with a thick mist, but a temperature inversion was forecast so once we got above the clouds we were promised lovely sunshine. At the car park I soon found someone wearing a Spend More Time in the Wild hoodie and when she saw my Stay Wild t-shirt we knew that we were both walking with Abbie. Rachel introduced herself and said there was one other person, John, who soon joined us as we waited for Abbie and her partner, Anna, to arrive. We had to wait a while, and even after Abbie arrived we had to wait even longer before we could start, during which I got very cold, which prompted me to put on my fleece and waterproof until eventually after an hour stood waiting in the car park, we set off.

Along with the three of us who had signed up to join Abbie, there were two camera men helping Abbie make a video of the walk, a qualified mountain leader and two rangers from the Cairngorms National Park. Soon the mist had begun to clear and we were out in the sunshine walking on the path that crosses in front of the Northern Corries of the Cairngorm plateau with our shadows creating faint Brocken spectres in the mist. I have seen this optical effect several times with the best one being on An Stac in Moidart in 2016. This spectre was poor in comparison, but others were far more interested, perhaps never having seen one before. In the sunshine, I soon warmed up so eventually I decided that I had to stop and take my fleece and waterproof off, which prompted everyone else to do the same, with some of us, including Abbie and I, walking in our Stay Wild t-shirts. The views behind us were stunning with the mountain range that I had walked over the day before, Meall a' Bhuachaille, appearing as an island above a sea of clouds. The views got better and better as we climbed up the ridge marked on Ordnance Survey maps as Miadan Creag an Leth-chain towards the top of the cliff above the Lairig Ghru where we stopped to let Abbie conduct an interview with the National Park rangers.

This was a stunning location looking across the deep pass of the Lairig Ghru to the mountains of Braeriach and Cairn Toul and north down the pass into the valleys that were still filled with cloud. I wouldn’t normally stop for as long as this, but in this fabulous location I didn’t mind as it allowed me to absorb the tremendous scenery of the high mountains and the cloud covered valleys. I travel very quickly over mountains and never stop for more than a moment or two to take in my surroundings, so I appreciated the opportunity that our slow progress up Ben Macdui was giving me. When the rangers started heading back down we resumed our climb towards the hidden top that doesn’t lend its name to the range despite being the highest. A featureless terrain had to be negotiated that was relatively easy given the good weather as we crossed the boulder field until eventually we reached the top of Ben Macdui where we had extensive views in all directions including to the west where Ben Nevis could be made out on the horizon. Mist clung to the southern valleys, but had cleared to the north, though while the camera men used their drone to take dramatic shots of the summit my eyes usually strayed to the west.

For our return, the mountain leader decided to take us via the top of the cliffs that overlook Loch Avon where we had amazing views down the length of the loch. I walked beside Loch Avon in 2013, but I had never seen this sight, which is truly spectacular. From the top of Hell’s Lum Crag we crossed over to the top of Coire Domhain where it was decided that we would climb over Stob Coire an t-Sneacha to a barely perceptible 1141 metre top where we descended the ridge of Fiacaill a’ Choire Chais back down to the car park. This walk was a very different experience for me as I have almost always walked on my own and with all the camera work being done it was a very slow one. It was also a very weird experience walking with two people I have seen many times on YouTube, so there were occasions when I forgot I was looking at Abbie for real. Abbie seemed to be completely genuine and just as I had seen her on YouTube. It was wonderful being part of Abbie Bikes Britain and join her in going up Ben Macdui, which will be something that I will remember for a long time. We had stunning weather for this walk as we climbed to the highest point in the Cairngorms National Park and passed some astonishing scenery.