📌 Braemar, Aberdeenshire
★★★★★
The formidable hulks of Beinn a’ Bhuird and Ben Avon comprise some of the highest and most inhospitable ground in the country. Both are extensive and remote plateaus: the former fringed by dramatic cliffs, the latter capped with a cluster of rocky tors. Both can be tackled in a single, epic day by one of the most memorable walks in the Cairngorms. At a monstrous 37 km in distance, this is a serious undertaking, passing through terrain miles from the nearest road. On a summer day in good conditions however, long daylight hours make the circuit feasible for experienced walkers, with wonderfully varied terrain keeping interest going as the legs inevitably tire. Just one highlight of the journey is that it passes the “Hidden Bothies”: possibly as many as three separate shelters blending into the hillside around the intimate upper part of Gleann an t-Slugain. They’re not marked on maps (and shouldn’t be confused with the more substantial ruin of Slugain Lodge) and are in fact so well hidden that we couldn’t find any of them. If you do manage to stumble upon it, let us know!
📷 Chronological photo guide
Quoich Water above the first bridge 
The Punch Bowl from the second bridge 
The Punch Bowl 
Glen Quoich 
View back to distant Lochnagar 
Beinn a’ Bhuird (summer) 
Beinn a’ Bhuird (spring) 
An Dìollaid 
Coire an Dubh-lochai from Dividing Buttressn 
Coire nan Clach 
Ptarmigan (with chicks) near Beinn a’ Bhuird summit 
Ben Avon from Beinn a’ Bhuird’s summit plateau 
Snow bunting near The Sneck 
Garbh Choire from The Sneck 
Slochd Mòr 
Approach to Ben Avon 
View back to the Sneck & Garbh Choire 
Ben Avon summit tor 
Glas Allt Mòr – steeper top section 
Glas Allt Mòr – flatter middle section 
View back to Coire na Cìche 
Gleann an t-Slugain 
Gleann an t-Slugain 
Ruined Slugain Lodge 
Invercauld Monument & Deeside from near Balnagower Cottage
🌍 Location
📌 Start / finish at minor road end 2 mi directly west of Braemar (longer by road)
🧭 O.S. Grid Reference: NO 117910
🛰️ GPS coordinates: 57.001983,-3.454854
❌ No public transport within 1 mi
🚗 Car park (charge)
📝 Key info
▶ 37 km / 23 mi | ▲ 1150 m | ⌛ 10-12 hr
Features: 🌊 Linn of Quoich ★★★; △ Beinn a’ Bhuird (1197 m, Munro); △ Cnap a’ Chleirich (1172 m); △ Ben Avon (1171 m, Munro); 🏚️ Hidden Bothy; ✞ Invercauld Monument
⬤ Very tough | Good tracks make for quick progress through Glen Quoich, then an excellent path – intermittent on the rocky plateau. Descent into / ascent out of The Sneck is steep and a bit loose. Good paths for remainder, becoming a track again in Gleann an t-Slugain. Fording Allt an Dubh-ghlinne is impossible in spate.
Download file for GPS➡️ Clockwise circuit with extension to Ben Avon: start – east bank of Quoich Water – cross back at Linn of Quoich – Glen Quoich – ford Allt an Dubh-ghlinne at 🧭 NO 080947 – An Diollaid – cliffs above Coire an Dubh-lochain – Beinn a’ Bhuird north top – Cnap a’ Chleirich – The Sneck – Ben Avon – return to The Sneck – Clach a’ Cleirich – Gleann an t-Slugain & Hidden Bothy – Balnagower Cottage & Invercauld Monument – start
🥾 On our last visit
Wildlife: Ptarmigan with several chicks on Beinn a’ Bhuird, as well as an inquisitive snow bunting.
Weather: Often sunny although with thunder clouds threatening on Beinn a’ Bhuird. A bit windy on the plateau, but hot in the glens on return. One or two remaining snow patches in the sheltered coires.
July 2013
