Grant and Johnny on Beinn A' Bhuird, March 8, 2005 |
This was a long hike of 29 kilometres in stunningly beautiful weather. The snow was deep and sometimes we were breaking through 4 feet of snow up to our thighs. We were on the trail for 11 hours and got back in the dark!
Beinn A'Bhuird (pronounced Ben a Vurd) is in the Southern Cairngorms almost directly north-west of Braemar. The track starts from the river Dee which flows down to the North Sea and comes out at Aberdeen. Photos 03 to 05 are all taken looking across the Dee and over the Royal Balmoral Estates to the mountains on the south side of the Dee. Despite its name Lochnagar is a mountain. Lochnagar = the lake of the goat, is the name of a loch near the summit. Their are two tops on Lochnagar: Carn Cac More = Big Shit Peak and Carn Cac Beg = Little Shit Peak. Queen Vicky, who rode a horse to the summit, asked what the name of the mountain was. Her gillie, aware of Vicky's sensibilities, couldn't face translating the real name of the mountain for her, so he told her it was Mount Lochnagar. And Lochnagar it's been ever since!
Go back to the main page of Grant's Personal Pages
