Lairig Ghru

Wednesday 29th May 2013

This was a long, complex and tiring day as I got to grips with this great trail through the Cairngorms National Park that I have devised myself and passes close by all of the most significant mountains in the park. I set off from the Cairngorm Lodge Youth Hostel on the glorious Allt Mór Trail that I have taken many times before and really enjoyed every time. This well-constructed route follows the Allt Mór burn through a richly planted valley that is an absolute delight to walk through, especially in descent at the end of a long walk on the Cairngorm massif. On this occasion I was carrying a heavy rucksack upstream, so it was not the relaxing walk I was used to, but a tiring climb through a wonderfully wild valley until I reached a bridge over the burn. I had considered diverting away from my prescribed route in order to take in the top of Ben MacDui, the highest point in the Cairngorm Mountains, and the second highest point in Britain. However the low cloud, strong winds and the abundance of snow on the high tops convinced me to go around Ben MacDui over the Lairig Ghru, a highly visible pass through the Cairngorm Mountains that I was actually keen to do.

After crossing the Allt Mór I followed a heavily constructed path that I despaired over the first time I took the path, but after eight years of blending into the scenery I now considered it a very good path. I think I now appreciated it as a path that kept me out of the bog, and I have definitely seen paths that are a lot worse, mostly in the Lake District. The path goes along the northern edge of the Allt Mór after it has swung west to cross the heather moorland that lies in front of the northern corries of the Cairngorm Mountains that were looking rather murky in the dull, misty conditions. They did not look very inviting and reassured me that I had made the right choice to head through the Chalamain Gap. This narrow pass got into the news a couple of months ago when an avalanche in this relatively innocent pass claimed the lives of three experienced mountaineers. The Scottish mountains claimed the lives of a surprisingly large number of people during the last, particularly harsh, winter and shows the risks associated with walking in Scotland in wintry conditions.

The harsh winter was taking a long time to release its grip on the mountains and even at this point in the year there was still a sizeable amount of snow blocking the eastern end of the Chalamain Gap. I have always enjoyed the challenge of walking through the pass, but knowing about the recent deaths and the amount of snow at the beginning made my traverse a little worrying. With the aid of my walking poles I was able to safely cross the snow-field and then, after stowing my poles away, I crossed the boulder field in the Chalamain Gap to the boggy ground on the other side. Here the path was atrocious and I longed for the heavy construction of the other side of the pass as I struggled through the boggy ground, across the hillside and down into the valley at the foot of the Lairig Ghru. The sheer sides of the pass were intimidating and let me know that I was approaching what is probably the greatest mountain pass in the whole of Scotland. Either side of the Lairig Ghru are some of the highest mountains anywhere in Britain and the highest point on the pass itself would dwarf most of the fells in the Lake District.

After reaching the Allt Druidh I was immediately confronted by an enormous snow drift that completely covered the path and the stream. Carefully I crossed the snow-field to the other side and made my way up the valley on the stony path all the way up to the top. It was taking me so long to get to the top of this enormous pass that I started to remind myself of the indicators for reaching the top of a pass. Firstly, if the water in the stream is still heading towards you then you know you’re not there yet. You’ll know that you are at the top of the pass when you can see the view down the other side, and it took me a long time to get to that point. Eventually, after a lot of effort dragging my heavy rucksack up the hillside, I eventually reached the point where I could categorically say that I was at the top of the pass. I was so relieved, and tired, that I collapsed onto the floor and when I had recovered the energy to lift my head there was a pair of ptarmigan just a couple of metres away from me.
 

I had my lunch at the top before continuing for mile after mile down the other side of the Lairig Ghru past the enlarged Pools of Dee and the awe-inspiring Garbh Choire to my right. The great crags that surround this corrie were a tremendous sight, even in the poor weather. I had been over the Lairig Ghru only once before, back in 2009 when I had climbed the mountains to the west of the pass. On that occasion I had a lot more energy than now as I climbed four Munros after climbing over the pass. Now, after passing Corrour bothy, I turned left around the hillside into a bleak, dreary area of bogs and heather under dull, grey skies until eventually I descended into Glen Luibeg where wonderful trees littered the valley beyond. I got my feet wet trying to cross the swollen Luibeg Burn (I didn’t know the Luibeg Bridge was a short distance upstream), but I didn’t care as the sun came out while I walked through Glen Luibeg, past Derry Lodge and into Glen Derry. Despite the sunshine I had a strong headwind and I was really tired after my long, tiring walk carrying a heavy rucksack over the Lairig Ghru. I struggled on up the valley and eventually reached the Coire Etchachan Bothy where I spent the night. This was a long, tiring walk where snow-fields and overflowing streams through strenuous mountainous terrain made for a very difficult day.

Rothiemurchus Forest

Tuesday 28th May 2013

After realising that there was a problem with how I have done my Scottish holidays in recent years, I decided to completely rethink them. In England and Wales I had started to do more long-distance walks, but I hadn’t followed that pattern into Scotland, so now that was to change. No longer would I stay in one place and try to go up the hills in the area, even if they were a long way from my base. Ten years ago I only had one goal in my mind: that of going up mountains, but now hill-bagging holds less interest for me while ten years ago it was long-distance walks that failed to interest me. I’m always amazed at how things change over time, especially in myself. I have been subscribed to "The Great Outdoors" magazine for a couple of years now and its emphasis on backpacking has been difficult to ignore, so I decided I would now have a go myself with a long-distance walk that I have devised myself through the Cairngorms National Park.

My route doesn’t go to the top of any mountains, but it does go over some very high mountain passes, and, if I feel like it and the weather’s good, I can always detour to the tops of some of the mountains that I pass. Since I invented this trail I can change it as much as I want! The long-distance walk starts in Aviemore and leaves the town on the route seven cyclepath, crossing the River Spey and beside a road until it leaves both road and cyclepath for the quiet road (I never saw a car on it) to Blackpark and Whitewell. I was immediately impressed with this walk as I wasn’t walking on the busy road, but on an off-road cyclepath before heading through tranquil woodland and farmland on a deserted road. At Blackpark, where the road veers to the left, I continued along a bridlepath to the stunningly picturesque Loch an Eilein that has been described as the most beautiful loch in Scotland, but I’ve always had difficulty getting a good picture of it.

My journey on the train from Stirling to Aviemore had used up most of the morning, so when I reached Loch an Eilein I had my lunch, sheltering from the sun under trees beside the popular loch. The weather was fabulous, bringing out scores of people that had filled the car park and many of whom were taking the path around the loch. I have never walked around this loch before and almost wish I’d stopped to take in this walk as with the sun shining the scenery was stunning, but I had a long walk ahead of me, and my rucksack was already feeling impossibly heavy. This first day of my walk was on the same route that I’d taken in 2009, the last time I was in the Cairngorm Mountains, but in the opposite direction. On that occasion it had been my route out of the area, and now it was my route in. As I saw on that occasion the paths through the Rothiemurchus Forest between Loch an Eilein and Loch Morlich are excellent, passing through open woodland that is completely different to the dense conifer plantations that cover many parts of Scotland.

The Rothiemurchus Forest is a remnant of the great Caledonian Forest that once covered the whole of Scotland and is predominantly made up of Scots Pine as well as Aspen, Birch, Rowan and Willow, Cherry, Holly and Juniper. It is a lovely place to walk, but it is also a popular place for cyclists meaning that I had to keep to one side of the path at all times to allow enough room for cyclists to safely pass me, often at speed, but this failed to rob my pleasure of walking through such a delightful wood. On the horizon to the south, I could see the Cairngorm Mountains themselves, speckled in snow and shrouded in low cloud, and that is where my long-distance walk would take me, over the Lairig Ghru, possibly the greatest mountain pass in Scotland, which has got to be a fabulous way to start a long-distance walk. But I was already not following my pre-arranged route since I was staying at the Cairngorm Lodge Youth Hostel that night, so at the crossroads, instead of turning right towards the Lairig Ghru, I kept straight on continuing through the wood towards Loch Morlich.

I passed through a much denser plantation along a tedious, wide track before reaching Loch Morlich and, turning right, I took a much more interesting path around the loch to Glenmore and the youth hostel. When I got to the youth hostel I dumped my extraordinarily heavy rucksack and immediately felt light-headed as I staggered out of the hostel, my balance severely affected by over-compensating for the heavy rucksack. I now remembered why I had adopted my previous plan for walking in Scotland: to prevent having to walk up mountains with a heavy rucksack. In 2006 I had walked up Ben Cruachan with a heavy rucksack and I decided from then on not to do so again, although I have over-filled my rucksack on a number of other occasions, most notably in 2009 when I walked from Braemar to Glenmore. The problem this time was that I was carrying enough food in my rucksack to last me until Friday afternoon and I hadn’t yet mastered the art of selecting the lightest food. My first day had not made me eager for what was to follow as my rucksack was very uncomfortable, but I was still eager for what was to come. I’d already realised that I needed a new rucksack, unfortunately it was too late to do anything about it now and I would just have to live with what I had.

I had reached the Cairngorm Lodge Youth Hostel with an hour before checking-in time, so I set off to explore this much-loved location. I have only happy memories of staying in this area as the scenery is simply divine, so I was rather gutted that I was only going to be staying there for one night. There are some really great paths nearby that I felt compelled to visit again as soon as I got to the youth hostel. I set off first towards the gap of Ryvoan and at first I despaired as I was following a wide track through a dense conifer plantation, but eventually the track narrowed and I entered a glorious area of deciduous trees where the fantastically delicious path winds a fun route across the hillside, ducking and weaving around the trees. Wild flowers, particularly primrose and wood sorrel, were in abundance throughout the hillside until the path sadly ended, dropping steeply down to the Pass of Ryvoan and An Lochain Uaine. A lovely walk down the valley brought me back to the youth hostel. This walk showed me the world of difference between commercial conifer plantations and natural woodland. I know which one I prefer.