TreadinGround - Every Journey Begins with One Step!
Braemar (East Highlands) Weekend ~ Friday 19th November 10 from 7pm to Sunday 21st November 10
Braemar (East Highlands) Weekend Spaces Available
INCLUDED IN THE COST:
Two nights Dinner, Bed & Breakfast.
Full days guiding on two days, offering two walks each day.
Packed lunch on each day.
Price to follow shortly £
INCLUDED IN THE COST:
Two nights Dinner, Bed & Breakfast.
Full days guiding on two days, offering two walks each day.
Packed lunch on each day.
Price to follow shortly £
Overview
Welcome to Royal Deeside and the Eastern Cairngorms National Park.
Surrounded by the fine Grampian Mountains and woodland scenery Braemar is a mecca for the walker, climber or wanderer. An easy ascent of Braemar's own mountain, Morrone (2818ft) can be made which takes in spectacular views of the area. Further afield is the more challenging Lochnagar (3793ft), whose north peak, the White Mount, is said to have been the inspiration for a children's story written by Prince Charles. The nearby River Dee flowing past Balmoral Castle on its way to Aberdeen offers the finest salmon fishing and to the south just 8 miles away is Glenshee the home of the largest ski centre in Scotland, add in the nearby castles and distilleries and you have the ideal place for a break.
But surprisingly for all its fame, Braemar is just a village located in beautiful but remote and largely empty country side.
Surrounded by the fine Grampian Mountains and woodland scenery Braemar is a mecca for the walker, climber or wanderer. An easy ascent of Braemar's own mountain, Morrone (2818ft) can be made which takes in spectacular views of the area. Further afield is the more challenging Lochnagar (3793ft), whose north peak, the White Mount, is said to have been the inspiration for a children's story written by Prince Charles. The nearby River Dee flowing past Balmoral Castle on its way to Aberdeen offers the finest salmon fishing and to the south just 8 miles away is Glenshee the home of the largest ski centre in Scotland, add in the nearby castles and distilleries and you have the ideal place for a break.
But surprisingly for all its fame, Braemar is just a village located in beautiful but remote and largely empty country side.
At 1100 feet above sea level, Braemar holds the record for Britain's lowest recorded temperature, of -27.2 degrees C, on 10 January 1982. But this is not this attractive village's only claim to fame. A popular Highland resort, Braemar enjoys a scenic location at the meeting point of three passes in Upper Deeside where the Clunie Water flowing north from the Cairnwell joins the upper River Dee. The village gained favour with Queen Victoria and still enjoys royal patronage today.
Braemar is probably best known for its Highland Games, the annual Braemar Gathering which takes place on the first Saturday in September. The games date back over 900 years, to the time when an annual contest between local clans was watched by King Malcolm III. The tradition of royal involvement was resumed by Queen Victoria after her purchase of the nearby Balmoral Estate, and successive generations of royals have maintained that tradition ever since.
Braemar's long history means that Braemar Castle, which stands half a mile to the north east, was the second to be built in the village. The first was the Royal Castle of Kindrochit in Mar, or just Kindrochit Castle.
The more recent Braemar Castle was built in 1628 by the Earl of Mar. It was burned in 1689 but rebuilt in 1748 when it was leased to the government as a military barracks. Much of what now stands, including the star shaped outer wall, dates back to that time. Today it is run by the local community as a visitor attraction.
The centre of Braemar is a bustling place, there are a variety of shops and, in the centre, the Highland Heritage Centre with its displays on Braemar's royal connections and the Highland Gathering.
Braemar is probably best known for its Highland Games, the annual Braemar Gathering which takes place on the first Saturday in September. The games date back over 900 years, to the time when an annual contest between local clans was watched by King Malcolm III. The tradition of royal involvement was resumed by Queen Victoria after her purchase of the nearby Balmoral Estate, and successive generations of royals have maintained that tradition ever since.
Braemar's long history means that Braemar Castle, which stands half a mile to the north east, was the second to be built in the village. The first was the Royal Castle of Kindrochit in Mar, or just Kindrochit Castle.
The more recent Braemar Castle was built in 1628 by the Earl of Mar. It was burned in 1689 but rebuilt in 1748 when it was leased to the government as a military barracks. Much of what now stands, including the star shaped outer wall, dates back to that time. Today it is run by the local community as a visitor attraction.
The centre of Braemar is a bustling place, there are a variety of shops and, in the centre, the Highland Heritage Centre with its displays on Braemar's royal connections and the Highland Gathering.
Lower / Less Strenuous Walks
There will be two lower / less strenuous walks, one on the Saturday and one on the Sunday.
These walks are usually between 7 to 10 miles long with no more than 2000ft ascent.
One of the less strenuous walks is detailed below :
~ 8.5miles with 2105ft total ascent ~ Morrone Challenge
The Corbett of Morrone (Big nose) at 859m (2818ft) is a featureless hill and during the winter it takes most of the sunlight away from the village of Braemar. But its an easy walk up and the views from its summit are well worth the effort. We take a few cars to the start of this walk just 3km down the road at Auchallater where we begin the ascent of Morrone. We follow a route up using a service road which gives us easy access to the summit. From the summit the views in all directions are spectaular looking south up Glen Clunie to the skiing area and mountains of Glen Shee, West towards the Linn of Dee, Northwest to the southern huge mountains of the Cairngorms, north to the mighty Ben Avon (Bed of the yellow stag) at 1171m (3842ft) and Beinn A' Bhuird (Hill of the table) at 1197m (3927ft) and east to the hills and mountains of Lochnagar which is named after the Loch in its corrie, at 1155m (3789ft) .After a well earned rest we descend northeast towards Braemar village and into Birkwood nature reserve, this reserve is a haven for young juniper trees, silver birch and pine with its fine paths and stunning views its a welcome stroll compared with Morrone. After a short walk around the reserve we continue on just for a short distance back into Braemar.
Other Walk Planned in Brief :
~ 8.5miles with 1603ft total ascent ~ Creag Bhalg, Up and Over
From the Linn of Dee we head first east then north over the Graham of Creag Bhalg, then down into Glen Quoich, west through a narrow glen and finally south through Glen Lui.
These walks are usually between 7 to 10 miles long with no more than 2000ft ascent.
One of the less strenuous walks is detailed below :
~ 8.5miles with 2105ft total ascent ~ Morrone Challenge
The Corbett of Morrone (Big nose) at 859m (2818ft) is a featureless hill and during the winter it takes most of the sunlight away from the village of Braemar. But its an easy walk up and the views from its summit are well worth the effort. We take a few cars to the start of this walk just 3km down the road at Auchallater where we begin the ascent of Morrone. We follow a route up using a service road which gives us easy access to the summit. From the summit the views in all directions are spectaular looking south up Glen Clunie to the skiing area and mountains of Glen Shee, West towards the Linn of Dee, Northwest to the southern huge mountains of the Cairngorms, north to the mighty Ben Avon (Bed of the yellow stag) at 1171m (3842ft) and Beinn A' Bhuird (Hill of the table) at 1197m (3927ft) and east to the hills and mountains of Lochnagar which is named after the Loch in its corrie, at 1155m (3789ft) .After a well earned rest we descend northeast towards Braemar village and into Birkwood nature reserve, this reserve is a haven for young juniper trees, silver birch and pine with its fine paths and stunning views its a welcome stroll compared with Morrone. After a short walk around the reserve we continue on just for a short distance back into Braemar.
Other Walk Planned in Brief :
~ 8.5miles with 1603ft total ascent ~ Creag Bhalg, Up and Over
From the Linn of Dee we head first east then north over the Graham of Creag Bhalg, then down into Glen Quoich, west through a narrow glen and finally south through Glen Lui.
Hard Walks
There will be two hard walks, one on the Saturday and one on the Sunday.
These walks are usually between 10 to 15 miles long with upto 5000ft ascent.
One of these walks is detailed below :
~ 13miles with 2882ft total ascent ~ Glas Maol, Glenshee Munro 5 Explorer
The hills around Glenshee are often described as boring; they are large rounded heather covered hills offering nothing to the walker and best left to the skiers and grouse. But nothing could be further from the truth for their best sides are hidden and just need to be discovered. On this walk we have the opportunity to bag five Munros in one easy, enjoyable outing exploring land not visited often and seeing another side of these big hills. We start at 2200ft just south of the Glenshee ski centre car park and head east up easy slopes towards Glas Maol (Grey bare hill) at 1068m (3504ft) using a service track serving the ski tows. We follow this to the top of Meall Odhar at 3000ft where the track peters out and becomes a good path which takes us another 1.5km and a further 536ft to the summit of our first Munro of Glas Maol. From here we head northeast where you can appreciate the high level promenade as we follow a broad undulating ridge to the summit of our second Munro of Cairn of Claise (Hill of the hollow) at 1064m (3491ft). As we continue east you appreciate how the whole area has smooth slopes, heathery hollows and it carries an air of spaciousness. We go over the boggy Ca Whims at 905m to our third Munro of Tom Buidhe (Yellow hill) at 957m (3140ft). We now retrace our steps to Ca Whims and then head northeast towards our fourth Munro of Tolmount (Hill of the valley) at 958m (3143ft) where we get the beat view of the outing. Perching on the edge of the upper corrie of Glen Callater, the view down is stunning. From Tolmount we now have a 4km walk west over grassy ground to our fifth and final Munro of Carn an Tuirc (Hill of the boar) at 1019m (3343ft) which offers views down Glen Clunie. We pick up a path below in the corrie which takes us back to our awaiting cars passing a fine rocky gorge along the way.
Other Walk Planned in Brief :
~ 14miles with 2307ft total ascent ~ Sgurr Mor Circular
This walk takes us from the Linn of Dee westwards to White bridge then over the Corbett of Sgurr Mor, passing the entrance to the Larig Ghru and east along Glen Luibeg and Glen Lui. (Top of Page)
These walks are usually between 10 to 15 miles long with upto 5000ft ascent.
One of these walks is detailed below :
~ 13miles with 2882ft total ascent ~ Glas Maol, Glenshee Munro 5 Explorer
The hills around Glenshee are often described as boring; they are large rounded heather covered hills offering nothing to the walker and best left to the skiers and grouse. But nothing could be further from the truth for their best sides are hidden and just need to be discovered. On this walk we have the opportunity to bag five Munros in one easy, enjoyable outing exploring land not visited often and seeing another side of these big hills. We start at 2200ft just south of the Glenshee ski centre car park and head east up easy slopes towards Glas Maol (Grey bare hill) at 1068m (3504ft) using a service track serving the ski tows. We follow this to the top of Meall Odhar at 3000ft where the track peters out and becomes a good path which takes us another 1.5km and a further 536ft to the summit of our first Munro of Glas Maol. From here we head northeast where you can appreciate the high level promenade as we follow a broad undulating ridge to the summit of our second Munro of Cairn of Claise (Hill of the hollow) at 1064m (3491ft). As we continue east you appreciate how the whole area has smooth slopes, heathery hollows and it carries an air of spaciousness. We go over the boggy Ca Whims at 905m to our third Munro of Tom Buidhe (Yellow hill) at 957m (3140ft). We now retrace our steps to Ca Whims and then head northeast towards our fourth Munro of Tolmount (Hill of the valley) at 958m (3143ft) where we get the beat view of the outing. Perching on the edge of the upper corrie of Glen Callater, the view down is stunning. From Tolmount we now have a 4km walk west over grassy ground to our fifth and final Munro of Carn an Tuirc (Hill of the boar) at 1019m (3343ft) which offers views down Glen Clunie. We pick up a path below in the corrie which takes us back to our awaiting cars passing a fine rocky gorge along the way.
Other Walk Planned in Brief :
~ 14miles with 2307ft total ascent ~ Sgurr Mor Circular
This walk takes us from the Linn of Dee westwards to White bridge then over the Corbett of Sgurr Mor, passing the entrance to the Larig Ghru and east along Glen Luibeg and Glen Lui. (Top of Page)