Lochnagar, Glas Allt, Glas-allt-Shirel, Loch Muick, Aberdeenshire
[21.8 km] Thu 16 May 2013

Grid Ref: NO 3100 8513
A clear cold night and in the morning there was ice on the car. I drove back to the car park at the Spittal of Glenmuick, paid my £3 for the day and set off towards Lochnagar, following the same route I took in March. As I passed the empty visitors centre I noticed a red squirrel in a tree to the left. It was a delight to see and much nicer than the horrible grey squirrels that are taking over. I headed for the granite houses across the valley in the cold morning sunshine. There were many deer about, probably too many for the area. By the buildings that I could see was a large house to the left and partly obscured by trees.

Nice to see the Red Squirrel surviving

 I walked up to have a look and found it seemed occupied with a car parked outside. I rejoined my original route up through the pines and joined the track that I was on in March. Then it was covered in snow and I was surrounded by mist. Now it was clear and I could see the way ahead. After a mile and a half I reached the track summit where the path turns off to the left. It was nice to get the views ahead which I didn’t get the last time. The path upwards was easy to follow as considerable lengths had been constructed of stone. After a mile I reached the memorial that I missed the last time. It was thick mist then and the memorial is placed on a boulder some way from the path.

Sacred
To the memory of
Bill Stuart
August 16th 1953
O for the rocks that are wild and majestic
The steep frowning glories of dark Lochnagar

From DARK LOCHNAGAR by
George Gordon Byron, 6th Lord Byron
Lord Byron (1788-1824) was half-Scots.

Further up the path I came to a ridge with good views along the cliffs of Lochnagar. The ascending path vanished under a large snowfield so I detoured to the left and made most of the climb through boulders. It was interesting to se that some of the old snow was covered with fresh white new snow. After the steep section I was on open and mostly flat ground. There were still good views and I could see the two large cairns in the distance.

Further up the path I came to a ridge with good views along the cliffs of Lochnagar. The ascending path vanished under a large snowfield so I detoured to the left and made most of the climb through boulders. It was interesting to se that some of the old snow was covered with fresh white new snow. After the steep section I was on open and mostly flat ground. There were still good views and I could see the two large cairns in the distance. The first cairn isn’t the official summit, that is further to the north and has the trig post and view display pillar.

On the way I followed the route taken in March. I’d loaded the gps track in my Garmin and was concerned how close I’d come to the edge of the sheer drop of the West Buttress. On the summit I was able to appreciate the views. The display pillar shows all the summits around the 360deg panorama. It was erected by the Cairngorm Club in 1924.

A memorial plate near was to Marwin Fraser (1972 - 2011). I retraced my steps to the head of Glas Allt. A cairn marks the start of a well made path but back in March there was nothing to be seen. It was a steady and easy descent with just one snowfield to be crossed.

After the wooden footbridge came the spectacular path down the side of the waterfall of Glasallt. I stopped from time to time to appreciate the views of Loch Muick. Down through the pine trees I reached the Glas-allt-Shiel which is a substantial house originally built by Queen Victoria in 1868. All the ground floor windows had internal wooden shutters in place. I headed NE along the House access track as far as the boathouse at the end of the Loch. There I turned right to follow the path and track back to the visitor centre. I popped in to pick up a copy of a short history trail and then followed it. Adjacent to the centre is a pile of rubble that marks a 14th century Hospice or old Inn that still had its roof on in the 1920 but was demolished for its stone to build a new house nearby. Spittal signifies the location of a hospice which was a type of inn.