The Great Outdoors Spring 2019

Cribyn & N escarpment

from Pen y Fan

86 The Great Outdoors Spring 2019

face of Creag Liath rising some
400m above us, I knew we’d
made a wise choice.
Glen Banchor is a strange
and sad place. Several
townships are marked on the
map, and in the early 19th
Century many people lived
here – until the Clearances put
an end to all that. We passed
a couple of buildings that
looked as if they could have
been occupied a few short
decades ago. Meanwhile, we’d
noticed an estate sign proudly
stating ‘Moorlands are full of
wildlife!’, but looking up at the
scoured, treeless heights above,
I couldn’t bring myself to agree
with its earnest claims that
shooting, stalking and intense
land management were mainly
carried out for wildlife’s beneit.
James led the way up the
valley then out onto the open,
boggy ground between Creag

Liath and Meall na Ceardaich.

Rain-heavy clouds were

queuing up to the south, but I

found my attention captured

by the relics at my feet. Bog

oaks poked from exposed peat

hags. I tried to visualise this

landscape as it might have

looked clothed in rich forest,

but the ever-present grouse

shooting butts spoiled my

daydreams.

hings improved as we

climbed up to Meall na

Ceardaich and onto the

plateau. Although only

on the edge of the greater

Monadhliath, it felt as if we had

crossed an invisible threshold

into a realm where human

afairs have just a bit less

prominence.

“Mountain hare,” James

whispered. He comes up into

these hills all the time, seeking

mountain hares with his

camera. his time we couldn’t

get too close – maybe the

animals were nervous of my

bright orange jacket.

If the plateau had delighted

me with its vast skies and

shiting moods, the summit

ridge of Carn Dearg thrilled

me. An elegant crest led to a

summit with plumbline views

down to the expanse of Gleann

Ballach below. Another squall

pelted us as we looked down to

the silent place where a forest

had once thrived and, more

recently, people had lived,

loved and worked.

he descent was steep and

rough. At the ruined farmstead

of Dalballoch we forded the

river and re-joined the path

back via Glen Banchor to the

car. James had been right – the

Monadhliath hills are far from

dull, and had given me more to

think about than I’d expected.

Further information

Maps: OS 1:50,000

Landranger sheet 35

(Kingussie & Monadhliath

Mountains)

Transport: None to

the start. Regular bus

and train services to

Newtonmore, details from

travelinescotland.com

i

Information: Aviemore

TIC, 01479 810930

[Captions clockwise from top]

Dry underfoot – for now!;

Nearing the exposed summit

of Carn Dearg; A remnant of

what once was