Ben Macdui and Cairn Gorm

Tuesday 28th May 2024

After my walk on the day before this past the Falls of Clyde, I set off north to drive all the way into the Highlands and to the Cairngorm Mountains to stay at the Cairngorm Lodge Youth Hostel. The following morning the weather was fantastic with blue skies and bright sunshine, the perfect day for mountain walking, but unfortunately the forecast revealed that it was not to last and it would be raining by afternoon. Undeterred I headed as quickly as possible into the mountains before the weather deteriorated, driving up to the Coire Cas car park where I was able to benefit from starting more than two thousand feet above sea level. The last time I was in the area was three years ago when I climbed Ben Macdui with Abbie Barnes of Spend More Time in the Wild as part of the Abbie Bikes Britain campaign. I had already planned to climb Ben Macdui on that day by a route via Loch Etchachan that I had originally planned on taking in 2005, but I hadn’t been able to resist the opportunity to join Abbie, though I was disappointed to not be ascending that way in excellent weather. Even though I was now finally able to climb Ben Macdui by way of Loch Etchachan I turned the walk around to descend that way instead and get up onto the plateau as soon as possible. Initially I set off on the same route I had taken three years ago, but when I reached a junction I turned left so I wouldn’t be repeating myself.

The weather was great at this point with extensive views towards Loch Morlich, but it wasn’t long before clouds began to cover the skies and put a grey cast over the scenery. The path took me up into Coire an t-Sneachda, which I hadn’t planned on entering so I had no idea how I would get out of it. The Ordnance Survey map reveals a path that climbs the corrie wall, which I have taken before, though all the way back in 2005, or alternatively I could turn left to climb Fiacaill a’ Choire Chais or right to climb onto the ridge on the other side of the corrie. There is a serious scramble at the end of Fiacaill Coire an t-Sneachda up the Fiacaill Buttress and I have harboured a desire to attempt it for almost twenty years and I could not resist the temptation now, so I branched off the path and climbed the boulders that cover the slopes of the ridge until eventually I reached the top. The sunshine overhead had already disappeared by this point while a cold wind was blowing towards me from off the escarpment. When I reached the foot of the buttress I attempted to follow the obvious route up but soon I bailed out thinking that it was too steep so I turned to the right to look for an easier route up. Perhaps I would have continued to climb fifteen or twenty years ago but in my old age I was quick to turn back, which is no bad thing and ensures that I didn’t get into difficulty that I couldn’t get myself out of.

Instead of finding an easier scramble up I found a path that bypasses everything crossing the slopes to the right of the ridge. I was a little disappointed to have so easily bailed out and I wish I had looked better for a route up but I have taken so many bypassing paths over the years I was not really too bothered and eventually, after a steep ascent, I reached the top of the ridge, which was still very satisfying. Now I was exposed to the harsh wind coming over the Cairngorm plateau so I zipped myself up and headed to the top of Coire Lochan, which at 1215 metres is one of the highest peaks in Britain, though it is only classed as a top and not a separate mountain. Turning into the wind I headed towards Ben Macdui across pathless slopes while the sun occasionally broke through the clouds and the weather seemed to improve to provide me with stunning views towards the neighbouring mountains either side of the plateau. At Lochan Buidhe I joined my route of 2021 and followed the cairned path across a stony landscape to the top of Ben Macdui which was clear of clouds, though windy and the clouds above the summit were becoming darker. Mindful of the impending rain I soon made my way along the path towards Loch Etchachan passing the ruin of the Sapper’s Bothy and alongside the crags above Coire Sputan Dearg. The views before me were sensational despite the darkening clouds as I thoroughly enjoyed the descent along a path that I have wanted to take for many years.

I previously passed Loch Etchachan in 2013 and, even though it was almost the same date as on this walk, winter still had an icy grip on the loch almost completely freezing its waters. That visit etched in me an abiding memory of the landscape that had now drawn me back so it was a shame that the weather was so poor and I wasn’t seeing the loch at its best. I continued my descent along the path that leads steeply down to the western end of Loch Avon where there is an awesome surround of crags but I had a problem: Cairn Gorm was in my way. A long line of mountains barred my way back to the car park so I had to climb back up to the Cairngorm plateau again, but first I made my way down the eroded path to the scattered boulders below Shelter Stone Crag, many of which one can actually shelter under. The eponymous boulder has the largest cavity and was identified by a pile of stones on top so I made my way there to have a look inside where I found a bit of debris left behind by previous occupants but I wasn’t about to take the opportunity myself so I made my way down to the river and after safely crossing I turned towards Loch Avon. In 2005 I had been faced with a similar problem and on that occasion I had climbed up to the Cairngorm plateau by a very difficult path beside Allt Coire Domhain that is not shown on Ordnance Survey maps, so this time I decided to take an easier route that climbs into Coire Raibeirt and I found an excellent path that was a joy to take.

As the rain finally began to fall I followed the stream up into the corrie and back onto the Cairngorm plateau where I had a choice of paths to take back down and despite the increasingly bad weather I decided to turn right and climb the tedious slopes of Cairn Gorm to reach the summit of the mountain that lends its name to the range and the National Park. I ignored the weather station near the summit to reach the cairn that marks the top but I didn’t linger and soon I was passing down the cairned and later roped path. I have previously gone out of my way to avoid this tourist route but the Ptarmigan Restaurant and the mountain railway were both closed so I made my way around and once past the ski slopes I had an enjoyable descent down Sròn an Aonaich. This was an epic walk even though I was making up the route as I went along, starting with climbing Fiacaill Coire an t-Sneachda, which I had not planned on doing. After waiting almost twenty years to climb Ben Macdui by way of Loch Etchachan, I actually found that it is better to descend by that route and I’ll be keen to return some time and camp beside this delightful loch. I am glad the weather held off until towards the end and I was able to make the most of an awesome day in the Cairngorm Mountains.

The Falls of Clyde

Monday 27th May 2024

I didn’t stay in one place for very long during my holiday in Scotland, so after just two nights in the town of Moffat in the Southern Uplands I drove north through heavy rain to the World Heritage Site of New Lanark beside the Falls of Clyde. When I got there I was pleased to find that I had left the heavy rain behind and the sun was breaking through the clouds as I made my way down the hill to the village that was founded in 1785 to provide housing for mill workers. I had planned to visit this area at Easter in 2020 at the end of the Clyde Walkway but after that holiday was scrapped because of Covid I found I was no longer interested in doing the Clyde Walkway, though I still wanted to visit the Falls of Clyde which had perhaps been my only motivation for doing the walk in the first place. It was not New Lanark that had interested me, rather it was the waterfalls on the River Clyde that attracted me to the area, and so I was soon past the buildings and joined the route of the Clyde Walkway into the Falls of Clyde Nature Reserve and fabulous woodland. Some bluebells had survived the hot weather of earlier in May along with several other woodland flowers, but generally most of had gone to seed, though this failed to detract from my enjoyment of the walk. An excellent path afforded me with viewpoints into the gorge where I was able to get a glimpse of the awesome spectacle even though the views were sometimes obscured by rapidly growing vegetation.

The first waterfall is Dundaff Linn which could be seen from New Lanark but a closer look was not possible due to intervening trees. Beyond, I walked along a wooden boardwalk that helped me get close to the water, which at this point was gently moving and hardly hinting at the ferocious power of the falls upstream. Corra Linn was the next waterfall that I saw and this was spectacular in its woodland setting falling into a vast, steep sided bowl that forced me to climb high to get around it. The path always kept me safely away from danger but sacrificed up close views that would have been more dramatic. When I had finally had enough of the scene I resumed my progress along the path, always keeping right whenever I reached a junction to maintain my course beside the river even though this sometimes only led me to a viewpoint whose exit was the way I had come. The third and final waterfall was Bonnington Linn which was broader than Corral Linn and encompassed several branches thanks to a small island in the river where a now derelict bridge would have previously taken people across the waters but no more. I was able to safely cross the river just above Bonnington Linn and from there I returned along the opposite bank where more viewpoints afforded me with stunning sights of the waterfalls, though overgrowing vegetation proved constantly frustrating.

After passing Corra Linn I settled into a pleasant woodland walk that would have justified coming here even without the waterfalls. A few fallen trees provided me with a tricky obstacle to circumvent especially as I couldn’t see the path on the other side but once I passed I was able to continue the walk beside the river and past New Lanark where there is no way across the river. After passing New Lanark the path widened underneath thick woodland and while underneath it started to rain heavily, so clearly the heavy rain that I had encountered on the drive north from Moffat had now caught up with me, so while sheltered under the trees I put my waterproofs on before continuing along the trail through the woodland with little or no view of the river to my right. Eventually I emerged onto a road where I turned right to reach Clydesholm Bridge where I was in doubt as to the onward route back along the northern bank of the river. There was no sign to indicate the route of the Clyde Walkway and the most likely route was through a shut gate beside a private residence. After a long time spent wandering around and looking at maps, I eventually decided there was no other place to go so I went through the gate and soon I was beside the river on a very wet path that was clearly the Clyde Walkway.

As the rain began to ease I climbed the steep bank to reach a road before descending a zigzagging path through Castlebank Park that brought back down to the river and after passing through Braxfield Park I climbed once more to reach the New Lanark Road. This was an amazing walk that saw me pass stunning scenery through the narrow valley of the Clyde where several waterfalls mesmerised and enthralled me. I was fortunate to have sunshine while passing the falls and for the rain to wait until I had reached the less interesting section of the walk, and I thought that I must have been benefiting from the large amount of rain that had fallen this year to produce such spectacular waterfalls that were worth the wait.