Climbing Carn Dearg: map & data
Total climbing: 1207 m
Total time: 10:55:09
4.5 mile cycle in, 0h40 from 08.40 to 09.20 – average 7 mph
14 mile walk, 9.5 hours from 09.30 to 19.00 – average 1.5mph
4.5 mile cycle out, 0h35 from 08.40 to 09.20 – average 7.8 mph
The original plan for this trip was to camp in Glen Feshie, but then we had an unexpected adventure and decided to give camping a miss until next year.
So we stayed in Kingussie instead. In a nice, warm B&B with cooked breakfast.
Little did we know how warm it would indeed get.
Arriving in Kingussie
We arrived at Kingussie train station on Thursday afternoon. We had our mountain bikes, panniers and rucksacks with us.
Our plan for the first day was to climb Carn Dearg, a 945m Munro NW of Newtonmore.
On Friday, at about 8.30am, we jumped on the bikes and off we went. The 3 miles between Kingussie and Newtonmore are on a smooth path that runs parallel to the A86.
8.52 – Cycle path between Kingussie and Newtonmore
The weather had been dry for several weeks, and the forecast for the next couple of days was mixed.
There had been some huge storms in the south of England, and apparently they were heading our way. Not that it felt as if we were going to get wet any time soon.
8.59 – St Bride’s Parish Church in Newtonmore
Off to Carn Dearg
Just in case, we took with us all the usual suspects: waterproof trousers, jackets, thick gloves, thin gloves, spare gloves, hats, rescue blanket and gaiters.
And then, just in case: sun block and summer hats.
We were prepared for whatever Nature decided to throw at us. Thank goodness we had plenty of sun block with us.
9.12 – An unexpectedly easy ride towards the mountains
We’d been to Glen Feshie and Glen Tromie many times before. Those are the glens south of Kingussie.
To explore somewhere new, Simon chose Carn Dearg, the highest peak in the Monadhliath Mountains, NW of Newtonmore.
9.45 – Leaving the bikes in the Glenballoch area
We left the bikes in the Glenballoch area, repacked our rucksacks, put our sun hats on, and went up the path.
10.16 – Maria on a mission to conquer Carn Dearg *
Earlier on, when we rode past the car park, we’d seen another walker heading our way.
We’d see him on and off all day, just briefly. Other than him and a small party we saw near the top, we had the place to ourselves.
It was magic.
11.08 – One of the rare muddy spots of the day
At the footbridge
We crossed the footbridge and stopped to get water from Allt Fionndrigh.
“Allt” is the Gaelic word for “stream”, and “fionn” means “white”. “Drigh” is still a mystery to me.
11.10 – View of and from the footbridge over Allt Fionndrigh
The long dry spell had left an unusually non-boggy ground.
According to the guide book, we’d be treading through muddy soil to Carn Dearg. Instead, we found this:
11.31 – An exceptionally dry ground
Other Munros hide away until you’re almost at the top, but elegant Carn Dearg appears right in front of you long before you reach the summit.
Alas, you can’t just go for it. The slopes are unforgivingly steep.
You have to approach it slowly in a round about way, along Gleann Ballach.
11.36 – Carn Dearg, our Munro, in the centre
By now we were starting to feel the heat. There was a token amount of wind, and I could have done with a larger “sombrero”.
And the landscape looked quasi-extraterrestrial.
11.46 – Remains of an old tree in the peat
Along Gleann Ballach
It wasn’t quite lunchtime, but we felt hungry, so we stopped to eat our pasties just after midday.
I’d also bought a small apple and blackcurrant cake at the Co-op, and was looking forward to it.
Oh, dear. It tasted sickly sweet, even after tramping along all those miles. I can’t imagine touching it on a sedentary day.
12.52 – Carn Dearg, the peak on the left
Then, the RAF guys flew above us for a short minute at a terrific speed, and disappeared down the glen.
13.15 – Two speedy fighters flying above us
And then we saw these other guys, surveying us from a safe distance.
Are they as intrigued by us as we are by them?
We often come across deer herds in the Cairngorms National Park. This was a fairly large one, but on a few occasions we’ve seen several hundred deer in one herd.
They’re impressive. When they move, it’s looks as if the whole hill was shaking.
13.25 – A deer herd observing us
Before we set off that morning, the question on our minds had been: “Were there going to be any early midges lurking on the hills?”
Perhaps the long spell of warm weather had woken them up.
Thank goodness, the wee beasts were still asleep.
Instead, we got these gigantic insects, which seemed to mostly mind their own business. Spiffing.
13.30 – Insect galore!
Getting to the Carn Dearg summit
With good visibility, you can see all the way to the top of Carn Dearg. But, with poor visibility, navigating to the top must be a real challenge.
Carn Dearg is one of four Munros in the Monadhliath Mountains.
The Gaelic word “Monadh” has several translations. One of them is “mountain”. And “Liath” means grey. I think “Monadhliath” sounds quite a bit more majestic than “Grey Mountains”.
13.58 – Carn Dearg, the highest peak on the right
We continued walking along the Gleann Ballach and suddenly we stumbled upon this little gem: a diamond-shaped loch.
Or, rather, a lochan. Lochan Uisge.
The Gaelic word “lochan” means “small loch”, and this is how you pronounce it: /ˈlɔxən/.
14.06 – The wonderfully shaped Lochan Uisge
The last stretch
The long approach to Carn Dearg gives you some magic views of the top, like this one:
14.27 – Carn Dearg just there
We’d had a lot of snow in the winter, but the unusually warm May had done away with most of it.
Here we crossed one of the last remaining patches. It felt somewhat unreal to be walking on snow in that heat.
14.37 – Simon crossing the snow before reaching the summit
You can now see why the long approach is the best option. Carn Dearg has an impossibly steep drop.
Look at the cairn, clinging on to the edge.
Just in case you’re wondering, a “cairn” is a a heap of stones that marks the highest point of a hill.
14.47 – The Carn Dearg cairn, on the edge of the east face
From the summit, we looked at all the mountains that we are yet to climb.
One of the most intriguing things about the Scottish mountains is how to pronounce their names. Here’s Carn Dearg: /ˈkʰaːrˠn ˈtʲɛɾɛk/
I know. It makes English look like a phonetic language.
14.58 – View from the top of Carn Dearg
The descent from Carn Dearg
The Carn Dearg grid reference is: NH635023
After lingering at the top for a little while, we turned back, and down we went. But instead of retracing our steps, we took a lower route.
15.26 – View of Carn Dearg from Gleann Ballach, lower down
The new route took us through some rocks, and gave us a slightly different view of Carn Dearg and Gleann Ballach.
15.37 – Simon navigating the rocky Gleann Ballach
The Gaelic name “Carn Dearg” means “red cairn”.
Apparently the name refers to the occasional reddish rocks you see near the top. Although, I have to confess, I never noticed any. And neither did my camera.
Och, well.
15.55 – View of Carn Dearg after the rocky stretch
We descended quite fast, and eventually found a luxury path.
17.06 – Simon back on the easy path
Back at the footbridge
Soon we were back at the footbridge. We stopped to fill up the bottles, and I spotted a couple of frogs.
I love frogs. They’re patient, silent and camouflaged, like a perfect spy.
17.22 – A cute frog trying to get unnoticed
In spite of the dry weather, there were a few puddles here and there. As usual, I inspected them to see if I could find any signs of amphibian life.
And there they were, a newt and dozens of tadpoles, sort of posing for my photos.
18.01 – A newt & at least eight tadpoles
It was a glorious evening, like many in the last few trips.
We’d had plenty of sun all day, and little wind. Plus, the storms in the weather forecast never materialised.
18.15 – The path down to Glenballoch
Only at the very end did we get a few drops of rain, and a discreet, almost apologetic double rainbow.
18.23 – A faint double rainbow
We rode back to Kingussie with a dramatic sky above us, and the sun peeping through the clouds.
19.02 – Cycling back to Kingussie
We’d thought of going for dinner to a restaurant, but neither of us fancied the idea of being cooped up inside.
So we sat in the Kingussie park with our Chinese take-away.
Simon thought the food was unimpressive. I disagreed, and polished it off.
I took all the photos with the Panasonic.
* Simon took this photo.