Culblean Hill – Sunday 13th December

Our next day meet is on Sunday 13th December and will leave by Minibus from St Margaret’s School in Aberdeen ) AB10 1RU) at 8.00 am. We may be able to pick up on route through Deeside to Cambus o’May.

As well as an ‘almost winter solistice’ hill walk the other main objective of the day will be to spend some time at the Boat Inn in Aboyne on the return journey for a meal and suitable pre-festive refreshments.

Details of the proposed President’s Party walk are below. Depending on the weather and ground conditions on the day the Presidents Party route may be modified. We will also be constrained by the available daylight with sunset at at 15.33pm and our booking at the Boat Inn.

Distance: 16Kms, Ascent: 630m

Description of the walk: We will start from the carpark at the Cambus O May Car park (NO 40388 98157). We will follow a waymarked path in the forest for 1 km before ascending to the Historic Cambus Granite quarries with some fabulous views of the Dee valley on a clear day. From the quarries we will follow a narrow mountain bike track (known locally as “final destination”) heading on a northerly bearing which zig-zags its way above the quarries through some rocky nooks and very pleasant woodland of mainly Scots pines to ascend the south-west spur of Culblean hill. We will follow the ridge line path on a north-easterly bearing eventually picking up a main track at a junction. There are great views over Loch Kinord and the Howe of Cromar from this point and we will head on this track in a westerly direction on the north side of Culblean hill. After approximately 3 kms we will leave this track to head south down the Culsten valley. We will leave this path after approximately 0.5 Km to ascend the northern ridge of Crannach hill. This is a pathless section in deep heather. Once on the summit there is a path we will follow south along the ridge before taking an easterly bearing just after the second top with a steep descent through Scots Pine woodland to pick up the main track heading down the Culsten valley passing a beautiful loch before crossing the main A93 road to access the historic Tuillich kirkyard and then a return of 1.5 KM to our starting point via the Deeside way.

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Shorter Options – depending on weather and progress of the group on the day we may opt for a shorter return to the start to avoid the Deeside way section and/or the Crannach Hill climb by heading straight down the Culsten Valley.

Strolling/Bad Weather Options : For those that want an easier day with little climbing there are lots of options to explore the Cambus O May forest trails and the Burn O’ Vat/Loch Kinord trail systems.

Nature of terrain: Mixed. The start of the route (ascent of Culblean) is on a steep mountain bike track with steeper eroded sections which are potentially slippery in wet weather. The ascent and descent of Crannach Hill is on pathless deep heather with some boulders in the forest on the descent. The majority of the walk is otherwise on good tracks.

We will aim to leave the Cambus O May car park at 4.15 pm latest so that we arrive in time for our table booking at the Boat Inn in Aboyne.

Equipment: It is December and it is Scotland so be prepared for wet and cold conditions. Please bring full waterproofs, extra warm layers, hat/gloves, a personal first-aid kit, map and compass, headtorch, adequate food and water and if you require them walking poles.

Cost: £18 (for Minibus)

The organiser for this event is Colin Larmour. Please contact them with any questions before booking a place.

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Ticket Price: £18.00

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