The original plan was to walk the 64-mile Cateran Trail in Perthshire. Poor weather forecast put paid to that and a lack of accommodation (it was a holiday weekend) eventually reduced us to two days in the village of Kirkmichael with an overnight in the Strathardle Inn, which turned out to be a great choice of place to stay.
The map above shows our complete journey, including the car journey at the end of the walk. The mileage is what was actually walked before we were picked up.
The map above shows our complete journey, including the car journey at the end of the walk. The mileage is what was actually walked before we were picked up.
When we arrived in the village at about 10.30 the sun was shining, albeit there was a snell wind rattling the letterboxes down the main street. We left our car at the inn and, crossing over the wee bridge on the River Ardle, turned right on to the Cateran Trail just after the school to enjoy a wee amble on a track just above the river.
The trail here is fairly even on a clear path and it is possible to make good progress on this lower section of the path. The land immediately surrounding the trail is rolling farmland with the higher peaks of the Grampian Mountains just visible over the foothills. Sheep abound in this environment and as you would expect at this time of the year, the fields were filled with very young lambs, some only a few days old. The number of carcasses we saw as the walk progressed on the higher levels evidenced their precarious hold on life in what can be a very harsh climate.
The quality of the light in the mid-morning resulted in a wonderful sense of space in Glen Ardle, that was magnified by the spacious fields and, as we went higher, by the soaring mountaintops in every direction. Leaving the village behind, we were very quickly in open countryside, passing by one of a number of mill cottages that sit on the river. On the hillside to our right, we could see the remains of what looked like a ruined broch. Later on we skirted the side of a small lochan before entering Kindrogan Wood for a short walk in dappled shade. Exiting the forest, we had a pleasant stroll across green fields, passing by a structure at Dalreoch that looked like the opening to a barrow burial mound.
After crossing the open ground we exited in to the recycling point at Enochdhu where we crossed the A924 to begin the long climb up to the Grampian Mountains. Leaving sea level behind, it is a long and continuous climb from the road to the pass through to Glenshee. On the way we passed Dirnanean Gardens, a place well visited by tourists in the summer months. In the grounds of the gardens peacocks and peahens wander freely and we were lucky enough to see one of the peacocks on the garden gate and the peahens on the ground below.
As the walk progresses and as you get higher in to the mountains the views become quite spectacular as more of the peaks of the Cairngorm National Park come in to view. As we passed by the Calamanach Woods there was a sizeable herd of red deer sheltering in the space between two stands of trees. They took about two seconds to size us up and disappeared in to the forest before we could even raise the camera.
At this point we were still walking on a clear track and despite the uphill making good progress. We had opted to take one rucksack and the faithful Sherpa, Joanna, was determined to carry it all the way up. At an opportune moment when Joanna took the rucksack off I nicked it and within a couple of hundred yards had succeeded in breaking the chest strap so that it was more difficult to carry. As the day progressed and tiredness crept in it became more of an issue as the bag sat back with the weight on your shoulders, instead of through your shoulders and on to your hips.
We could now see the route in front of us for some distance, having arrived at the plateau just before the final climb to the top of the pass. There is a very old ‘lunch hut’ here that has been used since Victorian times. Queen Victoria is one of the signatories to the visitor’s book, as is the current Queen who visited once when out cycling the route. It was noticeable on the walls that not everyone restricted themselves to siging the visitors book with someone by the name of Morven taking up considerable wall space. Did you ever pass this way Morven Dockery? We stopped here for lunch and brewed up a cup of tea on the Jet Boil. Before leaving, we duly signed the visitor’s book, adding our name to the list of important and historical characters.
We had a short bit of undulating track before the trail ended and we were on rough grassland for the final climb to the pass which goes between Creag An Dubh Shluic (728 metres) on the left and, Meall Uaine (794 m) on the right. On the way we passed by the Greenman of Spittal on one of the posts. Looking back there were wonderful views over to Beinn a’ Chruachain (617m) and in the far distance Ben Vuirich (903m). To the front of us the village of Spittal of Glenshee hid in the fold of the lower hills, dwarfed by Ben Gulabin (806m) on the left and Carn an Daimh (755m) to the right. The weather was bright and clear and we could see for miles. Although there was a cold breeze blowing it was fantastic walking weather.
Lulled in to a false sense of security by the very good weather we decided to try and complete a loop walk back to Kirkmichael by descending in to the Spittal of Glenshee and following the Cateran Trail as far as Dalnaglar Castle. There we would leave the trail to exit at Cray, cross the A93 (Old Military Road) and take a cross-country route from Glenshee back to Glen Ardle. The plans of mice and men!
We descended from the pass down in to the village, crossed the Shee Water and then the Allt a' Ghlline Bhig and started out on the moorland walk heading for Dalnaglar Castle. The route here was irritating at times as it moved you up and down the hillside to go round plots of land where we presumed the owners have refused permission for walkers to pass. After we had been walking for a wee while we had clear views down the glen and could see a weather system of some kind forming at the glen’s end. We hoped it was rain but when it reached us (which it did fairly rapidly) it was a mixture of snow and small hailstones. We were well equipped to deal with either snow or rain as we always carry good quality waterproofs when we are walking. So at this stage we were relatively unconcerned.
Initially, the snowfall remained consistent as a light to moderate shower that we were hoping would blow over. We had checked the weather forecast on a number of occasions before we left home and knew there was a yellow warning in place for the next day between 5am and 3pm but nothing for the day we were walking. As we progressed however, the snow started to get heavier and visibility was deteriorating quickly, making it difficult to see the route markings on posts, gates or stiles.
Although we were in open country, we did not yet feel in any danger; we knew to keep the river and the road close by on our right and we could leave the open countryside at any time on one of the many lanes that crisscross the land here. What the weather did do was to slow us down tremendously and we were shocked at how long it took us to walk the distance (5-6 miles) from the Spittal to Dalnaglar Castle. With the time delay came tiredness as we walked for longer to cover the distance.
Although we were in open country, we did not yet feel in any danger; we knew to keep the river and the road close by on our right and we could leave the open countryside at any time on one of the many lanes that crisscross the land here. What the weather did do was to slow us down tremendously and we were shocked at how long it took us to walk the distance (5-6 miles) from the Spittal to Dalnaglar Castle. With the time delay came tiredness as we walked for longer to cover the distance.
Shortly after the castle and with the snow continuing to fall we left the open countryside and went on to a lower path that eventually took us out on to the B951 road that joins up with the A93. Up until now the snow had not been lying on the roads but as we walked along the B951 the nature of the snowfall changed to much larger and heavier snowflakes and within ten to fifteen minutes the whole area was in a whiteout. Our plan had been to take a cross-country route marked on the OS map back to Kirkmichael. However, while it is marked as a path it is not a way marked route and given the whiteout conditions we decided it would not be feasible or safe to try and cross it. By now the camera was well and truly tucked away as it was too cold and too wet to have it out.
The other option was to continue to walk on the A93 to the Kirkmichael road end, then walk up Glen Ardle to the village, a distance of about six or seven miles. We had already walked about seventeen miles that day. If we were to do the additional miles, we would be very late in arriving at our inn for dinner and we did not want to cause alarm. So we called the inn to let them know we were okay and to advise them not to worry about us. In the course of the conversation with Joanna the owner of the hotel offered to ask her husband to come and pick us up, an offer we gladly accepted. We kept walking in the snow for about another twenty minutes. Despite the waterproofs we were both soaked through. As we walked, with the wind and snow blowing in to our faces, we began to resemble snowmen as the snow stuck to our trousers, jacket, hat and gloves and we constantly had to rid ourselves of the snow pack. Happy doesn’t describe how we felt when a large 4 x 4 flashed their headlights at us and pulled up at the side of the road to give us a ride back to the Strathardle Inn.
Tired, wet and weary we were glad to be back in the warmth and safety of the inn. There are not enough ‘thank yous’ in the world for us to bestow on Abby and Colin for their assistance. While we never felt in any great danger it was a lesson in how quickly the weather can turn on the Scottish hills and the limitations of weather forecast at a really local level.
As we had dropped out of Glenshee on to a slightly lower level at Glen Ardle at what locals call the quarry road, the weather improved substantially and for the remainder of the night we did not see the same snow as we had in Glenshee. As for the 'yellow warning' for between 5.00am and 3.00pm the next day, nothing transpired and we walked early the next morning in bright sunshine. Back in the inn for 6.30pm, by 8.00pm we were sitting down to a lovely meal in the bar and even stayed on to participate in the quiz night with the locals.
Modesty prevents me admitting we were last.
As we had dropped out of Glenshee on to a slightly lower level at Glen Ardle at what locals call the quarry road, the weather improved substantially and for the remainder of the night we did not see the same snow as we had in Glenshee. As for the 'yellow warning' for between 5.00am and 3.00pm the next day, nothing transpired and we walked early the next morning in bright sunshine. Back in the inn for 6.30pm, by 8.00pm we were sitting down to a lovely meal in the bar and even stayed on to participate in the quiz night with the locals.
Modesty prevents me admitting we were last.