Glas Tulaichean and Carn an Righ
I climbed these two hills in June 2015 when staying in Braemar. The narrow road from Spittal of Glenshee ends at the Dalmunzie Hotel where you can park for £2.00. This saves another couple of mile's walk from the car park at the end of the public road further down the glen.
The walk starts along the private road through trees but...
...soon enters open country. This is the view up Glen Taitneach which will be my return route at the end of the day.
I spent some time talking to a very friendly and informative estate workere about various matters concerned with the estate and also about walking. He gave me several tips about the best places to walk but also mentioned the problems that a small number of inconsiderate walkers sometimes cause in the stalking season. The dates above are for the 2014 season. Clearly to climb Glas Tulaichean in the stalking season the approach should be via Glen Taitmeach.
The paved road continues for a short distance before....
....changing into a landrover track as it leaves Glen Shee and enters Glen Lochsie.
There used to be a narrow gauge railway from the hotel for shooting parties and this can be used as the walking route up the glen. Just before the first ford this level area with a wooden beam buffer stop can be seen and it is here that I left the landrover track.
At this point trains reversed up an inclined 'zig-zag' ....
....to another buffer stop before changing direction again..
...to head up the glen having gained some height.
The link below will take you to more information about this curious railway.
http://www.mountblairarchive.org/content/galleries/places-galleries/dalmunzie-hotel-railway
The trackbed allows easy walking and there are plenty of remnants such as this bridge with the bolts for holding the rails in place.
The line terminated just before the Glenlochsie Lodge which is now derelict. The landrover track, which will be followed almost to the summit of Glas Tulaichean, can be seen heading off uphill.
At the end of the railway trackbed the path drops down to a footbridge near the lodge.
Looking back down the glen from the land rover track.
The land rover track climbs steadily up the ridge of Breac-reidh...
...and after a short while the summit of Glas Tulaichean comes into view to the north at the head of the Allt Clais Mhor stream.
About five miles away to the west are the three summits of Beinn a' Ghlo near Blair Atholl.
The land rover track now climbs more gently up the ridge. The estate worker's land rover was parked here as he was watching for the activities of some of the local foxes which were causing problems.
Looking back down the ridge. The vehicle track must make this one of the easiest of Munros to climb. Nevertheless in bad weather it will be very exposed.
At the 1020m contour level the estate road starts to drop downhill and the path to the summit branches off to the east.
Visibility was excellent as this zoomed shot of the Lairig Ghru 16 miles away to the north west shows. Cairn Toul, Braeriach and Ben Macdui dominate the scene.
Seen directly ahead from the junction is Carn an Righ which will be the second Munro of the day. It's only a mile and a half away but to get to it I'll be walking more than twice that distance.
From the junction it's only a short distance to the summit of Glas Tulaichean (1029m)
The trig point on Glas Tulaichean. I'd taken about three and a half hours from the hotel to reach the summit, although probably about half an hour of this had been spent chatting.
Click on the photo to see a larger image. On the left across Glean Mòr is Carn an Righ and in the centre Beinn Lutharn Mhòr. Beyond are the Cairngorms summits. The clear path which cane be seen across the hillside is the route to Carn an Righ.
Sometimes the colours of water in the Highlands amaze me. This is a zoomed view of Lochan nan Eun seen down the ridge of Glas Tulaichean.
Heading off downhill from the summit the interesting side of Glas Tulaichean is revealed with the corrie of Glas Choire Mhòr.
There is a faint path that follows the line of some old fence posts down the ridge. At one point the posts slightly change direction....
....and the small hillock at point 858m comes into view.
The track comes out in a marshy area just before the rise up to the hillock...
...and it's now time to cut across to the path on the opposite side of the glen.
In very wet weather this could be a pretty miserable and boggy place but, on this occasion, there were no difficulties crossing the marshyground.
I intersected a fairly clear path through the grass and heather on the slopes of Màm nan Carn and turned south west along it.
It soon became stonier...
...and eventually dropped down slightly to join a parallel path which I would use on my return.
With the slopes of Carn an Righ in view ahead the path splits into several branches...
...but the one needed drops down to the burn.
There's a very heavily eroded track up the hill.
Looking back on the way I've come with Beinn lutharn Mhòr on the left and Màm nan Carn in the centre.
Click on this image to see a larger one.
Higher up the path becomes less stoney..
...before more rocks are crossed on the summit dome.
There's a cairn and shelter on the summit of Carn an Righ (1029m). It had taken me two and a quarter hours from Glas Tulaichean.
Another panorama looking across to the Cairngorms. Click on it to see the larger image.
On the way back down from the summit I had to photograph this marvellous view of the Lairig Ghru with Cairn Toul and Braeriach on the left and Ben Macdui on the right. The pass is fifteen miles away.
On my return from Carn an Righ I took the slightly lower path than the one I'd used earlier. This screen shot shows the parallel paths on the hillside
The two tracks merge by the side of the stream and head...
...for a coll at about 800m.
The Lochan nan Eun appears and shortly....
....a clear path emerges and heads uphill...
As I wanted to go down to the lochan I then left the path and followed the stream down to the water.
A track skirts the edge of the water before...
...reaching the lochan's outlet which has stepping stones.
This photo shows the start of the long walk back to Dalmunzie down Gleann Taitneach.
The Allt Easgaidh stream tumbles down a series of cataracts..
..with a steep but easy path by the side of it.
Looking back uphill after the initial steep descent.
For the next mile or so there is a clear path...
...which on a summer's evening was a delight. I felt I'd died and gone to heaven!!
Eventually the flat valley bottom is reached and..
...after a ford across the Allt Elrig is crossed ..
...there is a vehicle track down the glen.
A final look back up the glen.
The track makes for easy walking and getting up a good speed even at the end of a long walk.
There is another ford just before the bridge over the river - seen just to the right of centre in the photo above.
Once over the river there is a faint path along the river bank..
...until the Glenlochsie Farm come sinto view. The track heads across towards the estate road and then it's a short walk to the hotel.
It had taken me 3h and a half hours from Carn an Righ to get back to Dalmunzie. The whole walk took nine and a half hours including several extended breaks.