We had 26 walkers today and with a favourable forecast, we looked forward to a good day. We took a comfort stop at Kirriemuir before Jules, our driver, had us at the village of Kirkmichael, our starting point, at 1030 am. 3 walkers stayed on the bus to travel to Glenshee, our finishing point, to do some walking in that area. We commenced our walk by crossing the bridge over the River Ardle and following the “Cateran Trail” path through the forest towards the village of Enochdhu. This well marked path saw us continue northwards towards Dirnanean, and we took lunch in blazing sunshine near the forest of Calmanach Wood – a delightful spot – just above the Allt Dubhagan footbridge. Our ongoing route took us out of the forest into open ground and then climbed steadily to the col at An Lairig (650m), just below Ben Earb. It was then “downhill all the way “through Coire Lairig to the Spittal of Glenshee, where our bus was parked near the outdoor centre of Ben Gulabin. All walkers were back to the bus on time and we started our journey over Glen Clunie towards Deeside. We took our short “pub stop” at Ballater, before returning to Aberdeen. A superb day with bright sunshine and not a breath of wind – those members not out today – missed a great 9mile walk. Graham
