Group “Away Weekend” to the Cairngorms National Park - Autumn 2022
The old pack horse bridge over the River Dulnain built in 1717 but extensively damaged in the 18th century and 1829
The Cairn Hotel - Our accommodation for two nights
Note See reports in “Past Walks” section for the usual statistics, GPX track and photographs from the walks.
This was our first group “Away Weekend” since March 2020 when our weekend in the Lake District was curtailed as Corona Virus spread through the country.
Our unofficial leader for the weekend not only recommended the hotel, the Cairn Hotel in Carrbridge, but also organised accommodation in the hotel and a meal for the whole party on Saturday evening. As if this wasn’t enough, he then went on to lead walks on both Saturday and Sunday. This devotion to duty was much appreciated by the whole group and we owe a very big “Thank You” to Ian.
Prior to setting off from Helensburgh we had hoped to climb Ben Macdui on one of the days but this seemed increasingly unlikely as we studied the weather forecasts for the weekend.
There were sixteen of us in the group and we made our separate ways to Carrbridge where we met for an informal meal on Friday night. During the evening we decided that the weather was not suitable for climbing Ben Macdui but thought it would be reasonable to climb Meall a’ Bhuachaille on Saturday and, if the weather forecasts were accurate, we hoped to climb Cairn Gorm on Sunday. The plan was deliberately left very loose to allow any unexpected changes, for good or bad, in the weather to be accommodated.
After an excellent meal and several drinks, we retired for the night ready for whatever the next day might bring.
We split into small groups for our Friday evening meal - More drinking than eating at this table!
We split into small groups for our Friday evening meal - Enjoying a hearty meal
We split into small groups for our Friday evening meal - I think the photographer must have indulged at the first table!
The next morning, we met in the hotel car park, confirmed our plan for the day and all those intending to spend the day waking set off for Reindeer Centre near Glenmore Lodge and the start of our climb to Meall a’ Bhuachaille. Thirteen of us set off but after a short time we split into two groups with one group taking a faster pace than the other. However, after brief stops to admire An Lochan Uaine and for refreshments near Ryvoan Bothy all thirteen of us reached the summit of Meall a’ Bhuachaille. Due to the different speed with which the two groups were walking we were not on the summit together but there were plenty of other people around as, unbeknown to us, a “Corbett Completist” was celebrating finishing his Corbetts that day and had invited his friends, his colleagues, his fellow walking club members and his family to join him in celebration on the hill. Therefore the summit was very busy as there were about forty-five people excluding ourselves on the hill.
After lunch we descended to the col between of Meall a’ Bhuachaille and Creagan Gorm. Here a decision was taken whether or not to climb Creagan Gorm. The “fast” group decided they would climb Creagan Gorm while those who had chosen to walk at a more leisurely pace continued downhill from the col back to the Reindeer Centre. The “fast” group reached Creagan Gorm where the group split again and four foolhardy walkers decided they still hadn’t had enough and continued to the next top along the ridge. During the planning stages an option had been considered to walk along the whole ridge to Craiggowrie but this had been dismissed on the day due to the strong winds encountered while on the summit of Meall a’ Bhuachaille. After reaching Creagan Gorm the main group turned around and headed back to the col between of Meall a’ Bhuachaille and Creagan Gorm. They then followed the more leisurely walkers back to the Reindeer Centre and car park. The intrepid four reached their “next hill,” which was an anonymous hill top marked only with a small heap of stones, not worthy of the word cairn, and a spot height of 711m on the OS map. Having reached this point, the four turned round and they too returned to the col between of Meall a’ Bhuachaille and Creagan Gorm before returning to the reindeer Centre and the car park.
After returning to the cars we returned to The Cairn Hotel for a well-earned and much desired post-walk drink in the bar and a general discussion on what each of our small groups had done for the day.
With the strenuous part of the day over we had the evening to look forward to and the prospects of our group meal. The meal was very good with well cooked, good quality and large quantities of food. The hotel offered us a three-course meal but, as far as I can remember, only two members of our group could manage to eat all three courses. After the meal there was just time to finalise our plans for Sunday’s walk and have a “wee nightcap” before turning in for the night.
Our formal evening meal - Waiting for the meal
Our formal evening meal - A more alcoholic table
Sunday morning started off fine and although the forecast was for hill fog all day on Cairn Gorm it was clear while we were having breakfast. As on the previous day we arranged to meet at 09:30 in the hotel carpark to sort out travel arrangements before setting off for the Cairn Gorm ski centre carpark. Ten of us opted to climb Cairn Gorm while three decided to have a walk along the Speyside Way and three set off to do their own thing. Sadly, by the time we set off to climb Cairn Gorm the cloud had dropped and the summit was shrouded in cloud. This cloud lifted as we climbed the Windy Ridge path and we had high hopes for the day ahead. It was a steady climb to the Ptarmigan restaurant where we had a short break before venturing onto the exposed and windswept plateau leading to the weather station on the summit of Cairn Gorm. Unfortunately, as we climbed above the Ptarmigan restaurant the cloud returned and by the time we reached the summit we were in quite thick cloud. We managed to find some shelter in the lee of the weather station for a brief pause and enjoyed a ninety second “window” in the cloud when we could admire the view into Coire Cas. Earlier in the day we had discussed several options as to what we should do after reaching the summit of Cairn Gorm all dependant on the weather conditions. Due to the prevailing conditions, thick cloud and very strong wind, we decided on the shortest option which was to descend the Fiacaill a’ Choire Chais ridge back to the Cairn Gorm ski centre carpark. We paused briefly at a cairn marking the path along this ridge as we were able to shelter from the wind but otherwise it was a simple matter of following the well-maintained path back to the carpark. One thing which was obvious was how much lower the cloud was on our descent than it had been on our ascent. Although the weather could have been better and it was disappointing that we didn’t have a view from the summit we were aware of how much worse the weather could have been. At least with the very strong winds we were not troubled by midges!
After returning to the carpark, we decided to meet at The Barn in Coylumbridge for a final cup of coffee before setting off on our return journeys to Helensburgh and Dumbarton.
In summary it was an excellent weekend with good weather, a great hotel, nice food, good beer, and wonderful walks.
Thank you again, Ian