A smaller group of 23 walkers attended todays outing as we set off from Aberdeen, and after a short comfort break at Alford, the bus headed up Donside to the walk start point at Corgarff.
One person stayed on the bus to travel to the end point at Braenaloin for a short walk, while the remaining group preceded along the Old Military Road towards Ordgarff.
The majority of walkers initially followed the lower track along the River Don while a small number instead headed up hill on a good track towards Carn Mor and Camock Hill.
The main group passed over 2 of Col Wade’s old pack bridges on the Military Road before also heading steeply uphill to reach the trig point on Carn Leac Saighdeir where lunch was taken.
The day had remained dry and bright with sunshine and we enjoyed superbly clear 360 degree views of the surrounding area. To the South we saw Lochnagar, while to the West, Ben Avon and Beinn A’ Bhuird were outstanding and all still holding snow patches. Likewise, to the North, the Lecht Ski centre was visible though sadly no snow, while Eastwards, the lower Don valley spread out before us.
We made good progress over Camock Hill and were glad the underfoot condition were dry as this would have been more of a struggle if wet and boggy. We headed downhill and after crossing a burn another good track contoured around the side of Fox Cairn and led to the old ruined farm buildings of Tullochmacarrich from where we crossed the River Gairn and the short walk to the finish point of Braenaloin.
After a refreshment stop at Ballater, with ice cream being the order of the day, our driver, Heather, had us safely back home in Aberdeen around 5pm. A very good day was had by all.
Despite the South bound road closure of Great Southern Road, no problems were encountered at our usual parking at the Cemetery, nor as the second pickup/drop off point for the bus.
Frank
