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Climbing Carn Dearg, a Munro in the Monadhliath mountains – near Newtonmore (Scotland)

May 31, 2018 by Maria Fernandez

Climbing Carn Dearg, Newtonmore, Scotland - www.simonking.bike

Climbing Carn Dearg: map & data

© OpenStreetMap contributors
Total distance: 22.78 mi
Total climbing: 1207 m
Total time: 10:55:09
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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

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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.

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Climbing Carn Dearg, Newtonmore, Scotland - www.simonking.bike

8.52 – Cycle path between Kingussie and Newtonmore

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Click to see the photo gallery
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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.

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Climbing Carn Dearg, Newtonmore, Scotland - www.simonking.bike

8.59 – St Bride’s Parish Church in Newtonmore

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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.

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Climbing Carn Dearg, Newtonmore, Scotland - www.simonking.bike

9.12 – An unexpectedly easy ride towards the mountains

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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.

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Climbing Carn Dearg, Newtonmore, Scotland - www.simonking.bike

9.45 – Leaving the bikes in the Glenballoch area

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We left the bikes in the Glenballoch area, repacked our rucksacks, put our sun hats on, and went up the path.

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Climbing Carn Dearg, Newtonmore, Scotland - www.simonking.bike

10.16 – Maria on a mission to conquer Carn Dearg *

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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.

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Climbing Carn Dearg, Newtonmore, Scotland - www.simonking.bike

11.08 – One of the rare muddy spots of the day

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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.

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Climbing Carn Dearg, Newtonmore, Scotland - www.simonking.bike

11.10 – View of and from the footbridge over Allt Fionndrigh

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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:

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Climbing Carn Dearg, Newtonmore, Scotland - www.simonking.bike

11.31 – An exceptionally dry ground

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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.

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Climbing Carn Dearg, Newtonmore, Scotland - www.simonking.bike

11.36 – Carn Dearg, our Munro, in the centre

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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.

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Climbing Carn Dearg, Newtonmore, Scotland - www.simonking.bike

11.46 – Remains of an old tree in the peat

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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.

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Climbing Carn Dearg, Newtonmore, Scotland - www.simonking.bike

12.52 – Carn Dearg, the peak on the left

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Then, the RAF guys flew above us for a short minute at a terrific speed, and disappeared down the glen.

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Climbing Carn Dearg, Newtonmore, Scotland - www.simonking.bike

13.15 – Two speedy fighters flying above us

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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.

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Climbing Carn Dearg, Newtonmore, Scotland - www.simonking.bike

13.25 – A deer herd observing us

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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.

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Climbing Carn Dearg, Newtonmore, Scotland - www.simonking.bike

13.30 – Insect galore!

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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”.

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Climbing Carn Dearg, Newtonmore, Scotland - www.simonking.bike

13.58 – Carn Dearg, the highest peak on the right

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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/.

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Climbing Carn Dearg, Newtonmore, Scotland - www.simonking.bike

14.06 – The wonderfully shaped Lochan Uisge

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The last stretch

The long approach to Carn Dearg gives you some magic views of the top, like this one:

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Climbing Carn Dearg, Newtonmore, Scotland - www.simonking.bike

14.27 – Carn Dearg just there

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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.

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Climbing Carn Dearg, Newtonmore, Scotland - www.simonking.bike

14.37 – Simon crossing the snow before reaching the summit

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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.

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Climbing Carn Dearg, Newtonmore, Scotland - www.simonking.bike

14.47 – The Carn Dearg cairn, on the edge of the east face

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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.

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Climbing Carn Dearg, Newtonmore, Scotland - www.simonking.bike

14.58 – View from the top of Carn Dearg

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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.

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Climbing Carn Dearg, Newtonmore, Scotland - www.simonking.bike

15.26 – View of Carn Dearg from Gleann Ballach, lower down

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The new route took us through some rocks, and gave us a slightly different view of Carn Dearg and Gleann Ballach.

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Climbing Carn Dearg, Newtonmore, Scotland - www.simonking.bike

15.37 – Simon navigating the rocky Gleann Ballach

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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.

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Climbing Carn Dearg, Newtonmore, Scotland - www.simonking.bike

15.55 – View of Carn Dearg after the rocky stretch

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We descended quite fast, and eventually found a luxury path.

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Climbing Carn Dearg, Newtonmore, Scotland - www.simonking.bike

17.06 – Simon back on the easy path

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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.

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Climbing Carn Dearg, Newtonmore, Scotland - www.simonking.bike

17.22 – A cute frog trying to get unnoticed

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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.

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Climbing Carn Dearg, Newtonmore, Scotland - www.simonking.bike

18.01 – A newt & at least eight tadpoles

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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.

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Climbing Carn Dearg, Newtonmore, Scotland - www.simonking.bike

18.15 – The path down to Glenballoch

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Only at the very end did we get a few drops of rain, and a discreet, almost apologetic double rainbow.

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Climbing Carn Dearg, Newtonmore, Scotland - www.simonking.bike

18.23 – A faint double rainbow

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We rode back to Kingussie with a dramatic sky above us, and the sun peeping through the clouds.

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Climbing Carn Dearg, Newtonmore, Scotland - www.simonking.bike

19.02 – Cycling back to Kingussie

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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.

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I took all the photos with the Panasonic.

* Simon took this photo.

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Go to Day 2: Tour of the Highland Folk Museum
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Filed Under: Blog, Munro, Scotland, Walk Tagged With: Cycling, Walking

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