Cribyn & N escarpment
from Pen y Fan90 The Great OutdoorsAugust 2019
mountains always mean a
long walk in and a long
walk out, whether from this
direction or from Glen Feshie,
so this time I had decided to be
a bit more ambitious and go
for a full sweep, coming in
from Linn of Dee, dropping to
Loch nan Stuirteag and then
coming out via Glen Luibeg
and Derry Lodge.
I had caught the weather
perfectly. By the time I had
reached the cairn on Carn
Cloich-mhuilinn the early
cloud had dissipated. As I
made my way over to Beinn
Bhrotain, I turned to catch
the autumn statement from
the south: greys, browns and
greens jostling for superiority,
the horizon a line of dark
silhouette, shafts of light
bursting out of the cloud cover
to turn every pool of water to
sparkling quicksilver. It was a
moment in time that perfectly
captured a changing of seasons.
The view from Beinn
Bhrotain seems to go on forever,
a vast swathe of minimalist
beauty. On the way to Monadh
Mor, the deep V that forms the
head of Coire Cath nam Fionn
again framed The Devil’s Point,
its bold, rocky profile standing
proud in a land of giants.
The walk across the plateau
of Monadh Mor is always
enlivened by the all-star
line-up to the north and east,
and on the drop to Loch nan
Stuirteag, Cairn Toul rises
ahead like the temple of an
ancient civilisation, its squared-
off top inducing an almost
hypnotic effect. It’s hard to take
your eyes off it – everything else
becomes invisible.
This lonely loch feels like the
centre of the universe. I could
hear the echoes of rutting stagssomewhere off in the distance
but there was no sign of life
here. I crossed the Allt Clais
an t-Sabhail and avoided the
temptation to go high, sticking
to a lower line over grassy
slopes that appeared to be
weeping. From this approach,
it seems you are sneaking up
on the blind side of The Devil’s
Point, an easy climb that hides
all the drama.
That feeling doesn’t last
long – the views across Glen
Geusachan and the Lairig
Ghru are always spectacular,
the snaking waters resembling
giant sandy pythons. There’s
still some four hours’ walking
to go, but every single minute
is stunning, from the look back
from Corrour bothy to the
ever-unfolding beauty of every
step down Glen Luibeg. Even
in shutting-down mode, the
Cairngorms always deliver.Further information
Maps: OS 1:50,000
Landranger sheet 43
(Braemar & Blair Atholl)Transport: None to Linn of
Dee; nearest buses stop at
Braemar (10km away)i
Information: Braemar
TIC, 01339 741600
walkhighlands.co.uk[Captions clockwise from top]
Heading up the Glen Dee
path from White Bridge with
the target mountains ahead;
The Devil’s Point from the col
between Beinn Bhrotain and
Monadh Mor; Glen Geusachan
from summit of The Devil’s Point