After a gap of two years during which the Covid pandemic prevented the Crow Craigies Climbing Party assembling in our usual force, we were back together again, this time in Kingussie. Despite the looming presence of the Cairngorm plateau nearby, I managed to spend my time without ever creeping over the 3000-foot contour—I arrived nursing … Continue reading CCCP 2022: Kingussie
Tag Archives: Paths
Glen Doll: White Water Circuit
Tom Buidhe (NO 214787, 957m)Tolmount (NO 210800, 958m)Crow Craigies (NO 221798, 920m) 21 kilometres910 metres of ascent These three rounded summits form a horseshoe around the headwaters of the White Water, which flows down Glen Doll to join the South Esk in Glen Clova. I’ve visited them all before, but never linked them up into … Continue reading Glen Doll: White Water Circuit
Ben Vrackie From The West
Ben Vrackie (NN 950632, 841m)Meall na h-Aodainn Moire (NN 941622, 633m) 14 kilometres900 metres of ascent This one is much less eccentric than most of my “familiar hills from an unusual direction” reports—the route to Vrackie from the west is well-documented, but considerably less-travelled than the tourist route from the south. There’s even the potential … Continue reading Ben Vrackie From The West
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Glen Doll – Glen Clova Circuit
Cairn Lunkard (NO 232781, 863m)Craigs of Loch Esk (NO 237786, 851m) 17 kilometres790 metres of ascent This is a classic circular route over the plateau between Glen Doll and upper Glen Clova, but it’s been fifty years since I last walked it. I was put in mind of doing it again during my recent trip … Continue reading Glen Doll – Glen Clova Circuit
Sidlaws: Long Loch Circuit
Lundie Craigs (NO 281378, 353m)Keillor Hill (NO 281385, 334m)Donald’s Brae (NO 293396, c280m)Auchtertyre Hill (NO 293398, 278m)Newtyle Hill (NO 296399, 270m) 8.5 kilometres210 metres of ascent It’s been a while since I’ve posted a new walk in the Sidlaws. This one accesses an old ridge-walk from a new direction. I’ve previous visited these hills either … Continue reading Sidlaws: Long Loch Circuit
Glen Doll: Craig Mellon to Cairn Damff
Craig Mellon (NO 262773, 866m)Cairn Broadlands (NO 270777, 852m)Craig Damff (NO 247777, 846m) 15.5 kilometres800 metres of ascent Craig Mellon and Cairn Broadlands dominate the view up Glen Clova as you approach the road-head—neatly paired humps with Glen Doll on the left and upper Glen Clova on the right. The broad slope between the two … Continue reading Glen Doll: Craig Mellon to Cairn Damff
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Lockdown Walks: The Dundee-Newtyle Railway (Part 2)
At the end of my previous post, I left you gazing at the blind end of the old railway bridge over Lochee High Street.
Back in the ’70s, there used to be several of these bricked-off gaps along the line of the old Dundee-Newtyle railway, But this is the last one left—it doesn’t even have a partner on the other side of the road.
Lockdown Walks: The Dundee-Newtyle Railway (Part 1)
This one follows the route of the old Dundee-Newtyle railway, as it weaves around town. The track bed is long gone (I can only just remember the occasional goods train plying this route in the early 1960s), and subsequent demolition and building work has left little of even industrial-archaeological interest —but it’s a pleasant route to follow, and wide enough to allow two-metre distancing throughout, with a little care (and occasional willingness to step off the path).
Glen Clova: Allan’s Hut To The Capel Mounth
Sandy Hillock (NO 266804, 768m) Dog Hillock (NO 286793, 732m) Ferrowie (NO 303794, 801m) 20.4 kilometres 1020 metres of ascent I’ve had it in mind to take this obscure little jaunt for some time—a trip along the crags on the north side of upper Glen Clova, linking the two main routes across the hills between … Continue reading Glen Clova: Allan’s Hut To The Capel Mounth
Lock-down Walks: Three Ships, Two Bridges, And A Bad Poet
2.6 kilometres25 metres of ascent This one’s just a short, level stroll along one of the more interesting sections of Dundee’s waterfront on the Tay estuary. It also goes off-book a bit by being a one-way stroll—linking the two ends of the journey is left as an … ahem … exercise for the interested reader. Even while … Continue reading Lock-down Walks: Three Ships, Two Bridges, And A Bad Poet