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Beinn Bhreac Beinn a Chaorainn Map Another good day with no rain and the tops free of cloud. Some wind occasionally. We drove to the Linn of Dee and as we were getting ready we were greeted by an old boy who was out there studying beetles. He told us he hadn't been in touch with his 'home office' for 4 days since losing his phone so I lent him mine so he could check in. He was accompanied by his dog, Dylan. We bade him adieu and set off from the Linn of Dee at about 9.30, cycling along the good track to Derry Lodge where we turned right and were able to continue on the bike for a further mile along another fairly good footpath. This footpath was ok for bikes but had the drawback I'd come across before of having stone troughs for intersecting streams. The problem with this is that you risk going over the handlebars if you try to ride over them. I'd learnt my own painful lesson in the past and walked the bike across these bits but that slowed us down a bit.
Eventually, still in the forested area, which was widely spaced 'old' forest not the dense plantation stuff, we reached a spot where we thought we might as well put the bikes in the heather and carry on on foot. Five minutes of easy walking later the path began to descend quite considerably so we thought it best to leave it there and bear off to the right towards the slopes of BB.
The hillside we were on was sprinkled with heather and trees and looked like hard work but then we came upon a small cairn and a rudimentary path which led upwards but at an angle. Following this path the ascent proved to be not so hard at all and we had no trouble in getting to the col. As we climbed the hillside it proved to be well-stocked with sundews and also that other insectivorous plant, the butterwort, many of which were in bloom with their single purple flowers rising on stalks from the yellow star shapes. Maybe they had contributed to the happily midge-free circumstances of the day, although perhaps the recent dry spell had also helped. Anyway, heading north we reached the plateau between the two tops and turned east to traverse the stony wastes up to the summit (11.45).
Reversing our tracks we returned to the mid-point and then went over to cop the western top before turning north once more to cross the great intervening plateau which lies between Beinn Bhreac and Beinn a Chaorainn. The guide books say that this stretch can be difficult to cross as the middle is normally a morass of pools and peat hags. Today though it was evident that little rain had fallen recently and our crossing wasn't bad at all. The bare peat patches were generally dry enough to support us without our sinking in and there weren't many pools. The centre of the plateau was awash with the white heads of cotton grass and there were several heath spotted-orchids to be seen as we slogged our way across.
It was a good two miles across the plateau, the Moine Bhealaidh, and somewhere en route we decided against going the extra yard to include the smaller neighbouring top, Beinn a Chaorainn Beag. Instead we simply aimed at the eastern spur coming off the mountain and made our way up it. On the way we passed a bloke from Sheffield, a PhD in Biology. He was from Scotland originally. The ascent up the arm of the hill was quite easy with the ground becoming stonier the further up we got. Shortly after passing McSheffield three F-15s flew by on their way south. Five minutes later they returned, one after the other, racing low up the glen before heeling over on one wing and arcing off to the north-east. It got more and more stony near the top of the hill but it wasn't difficult and we arrived at the summit cairn at 13.50. McSheff caught up a few minutes later and nattered to us for a while. When I told him I lived in Hertfordshire he said his wife's sister also lived there. 'In Ware,' he added. It seemed her name was Sue Bailey and her husband was Ian Bailey. Funnily enough I knew Ian as we'd worked together in the old ISD - quite a coincidence, and it reminded me of that time I'd encountered Jim Henderson on the top of Sgurr Ruadh after not seeing him for 30 years. Funny old world, isn't it.
Sitting there by the summit cairn we enjoyed some great views of the adjoining Cairngorms, especially Beinn Mheadhoin, Bynack Mor, Cairngorm and yesterday's South Top (of Beinn a Bhuird). The trek had been pretty easy so far and in fact remained so. We left the summit and headed SW towards the edge of Glen Derry. I clambered down a fairly easy bouldery slope towards the lip of the plateau but when I looked round Andrew had disappeared from sight. He turned up some minutes later though, with our pal from Sheffield still in tow. The plateau edge now ended quite abruptly, falling away into Glen Derry, and it looked far too steep to descend safely.
Instead we followed the edge south looking for an easier spot and soon came to a place where we thought we'd be ok. It was still quite steep but we had a straightforward descent to the valley bottom and there were able to join the excellent path which ran along it. The pass here is called the Lairig an Laoigh and it's where we said goodbye to McSheffield who headed off across to a side glen to camp for the night.
Now it was just a case of following the path along the glen all the way back to the bikes (16.05) and a quick dash back along the track, bouncing over the rough bits and getting back to the car at 16.30. We packed up and drove down to Blairgowrie, a fair sized town about 15 miles to the north of Perth, where we found accommodation at the Ivybank Guest House (£30). Had yet another meal of pasta that night and visited a couple of pubs before finding the Ericht Arms, a real ale pub in the centre square. I sampled a pint or two of some stuff called Lia Fail which was quite nice. The landlord was an enthusiast and very friendly. Six to go. | |||||||||
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