[Trip Index] [Munro Index] [Home] 1st June 2000   Carn na Caim A' Bhuidheanach Bheag Map (NB No photos the first time - the ones below are from a second visit in 2011) Started 10.30 and set off up a cart-track for a pretty easy ascent most of the way, ending at a disused quarry; then a bit further was a plateau which offered a simple, pleasant 1.3 mile stroll over to the round, grassy summit of Carn na Caim. Small cairn at the top, augmented with a couple of old fence posts. (12.15) Andrew ascending the cart track   then following it at the top en route for Carn na Caim Myself heading towards Carn na Caim At the summit On the way up I met a bloke with his two sons and paused to have a chat - he was taking them for a walk round the top of the plateau to do a bit of bird-watching (see below). Weather OK mostly, the odd brief shower of light rain I returned towards the quarry and continued on across the plateau, passing an old boy on his own who chatted about how to walk through cloud with a compass, the dad & sons who waved from a distance, and a group of three coming the other direction who passed at a distance and saluted with their walking poles. Beyond the quarry the path ambled over two small rises, crossed a valley and up the opposite hillside, briefly steep, then it was an easy half mile walk on peaty grass to the summit of A' Bhuidheanach Bheag - marked by a trig point in the middle of not very much. Pretty flat, sort of gently rounded & grassy. At the top of A' Bhuidheanach Bheag with Andrew by the trig point Returning to the cart track   On the way back down in 2011, with the A9 below and Dalwhinnie in the distance I continued across the plateau-like top, over Meall a Chaorainn (a Top) then following a line of rusty fence posts through the heather; a gradual descent, steepening for the final drop down the hillside to the road. It would be a bit of a slog ascending that way, I thought, and I was glad I'd come by the route I had. At the bottom of the hill the path led through an area fenced off by the power company - it had a pylon in it. There was a tall, wooden stile with awkwardly high steps; I got up it, swung over to the other side and, as I put my weight on it, 2 staves gave way and my leg went right through. I hung on with one hand and managed to right myself before climbing down, bruised but ok. I got to the rendezvous layby at 3.10 and Trisha turned up about 10 mins later. Had a cup of tea and a chip butty in nearby Dalwhinnie, watching the rain come down; some cyclists were sheltering in the café. Called in at the Clan Museum in Bruar on the way back to Pitlochry. This was my first use of the walking poles - they're really unnecessary on the flat, most useful on the descent where they cushion the impact on your fragile, aged knees, so I'll probably stick with them. They're light enough to be no bother anyway. (Eventually I settled on using just one pole rather than both) 2/6/00 Went to Glamis with Trisha and visited the castle - the home of the Bowes-Lyons, the Queen Mother's lot. Princess Margaret was born there in 1930. The current incumbent is the 18th Earl of Strathmore who has 3 young sons and whose portait hangs on the wall alongside those of his ancestors, winding back through the centuries… he looked just like the birdwatcher I'd met on the way up Carn na Caim! Sons about the right age too. Me an my pal, the 18th Earl… hoho!