With all that’s been going on with the virus, the nearest I got to my planned Alpe Adria trek this year has been four days in the Cairngorms in September.
But while four days is clearly not eight weeks, I’m a great fan of Scotland (this was actually my 22nd visit there) and when you get the weather it can be every bit as good as the Alps. Besides, my daughter lives there so it was great to spend some time with her too. But surprisingly I’d never been to the Cairngorms National Park before.
Straight off the Caledonian sleeper at Aviemore, I did an easy eleven mile circuit of nearby Loch an Eilein. What can I say. Gorgeous in every way, surrounded by the Rothiemurchus forest and with the backdrop of the Cairngorms to boot.
The next day things didn’t go quite according to plan. The closure of the Allt Mor trail meant my plan to walk the Chalamain gap and a little bit of the Lairig Ghru pass had to be replaced with a walk over the Ryvoan pass instead.
But this was beautiful in itself, passing the green loch of Lochan Uaine and then miles of peaceful moor and forest. And not a tough walk in any way.
For a change on day 3, I opted for a long hill walk over the Monadhliath mountains, on the west side of the A9 and railway, from Aviemore to Carrbridge. Parts of this reminded me of the Pennine way, but with occasional trees, but the landscape changed several times over the course of 18 miles, ending on one of General Wade’s military roads. Highly recommended, if tiring.
Finally, on my last day I managed to find an alternative route to the Lairig Ghru, via Loch Morlich. So while I’m not sure I’ll ever manage the two day trek from Rothiemurchus to Linn of Dee, it was nice to finally fulfil an ambition to walk a few miles of this legendary pass. Maybe I’ll manage a bit of the other end of it before too long!
All in all I managed to pack in 54 miles of hill, forest, moorland and lochside walking in four days which can’t be bad. Aviemore as a base is easily accessible, and handy (but hardly frequent) buses allow you to access Glenmore and Cairngorm. So highly recommended for all types of walking with lots of flat forest trails as well as the hills.
Perhaps next time I’ll even have a go at Cairngorm itself.
Across the Alps to the Adriatic 