📌 Strathdon, Aberdeenshire
★★★
🛠️ Some sections (especially upper part of ascent & lower part of descent) may be tricky due to storm damage – I’d welcome recent reports!
Half our battle in ascending this forested hill above Strathdon was the access track to the parking area. If your car survives in one piece, a pleasantly small but rocky summit rises above the trees. According to myth, one of the hollows in a boulder at the top never empties of water. For life fulfilment, the legend instructs visitors to leave a small object in the well and drink from it, but that doesn’t sound particularly hygienic! The summit affords great views over the rolling hills surrounding Strathdon and Glen Buchat, including Glenbuchat Castle, with the high start point and steep gradients making for a quick ascent. A waymarked route was available at some point in the past, but nowadays you really need a map.
📷 Chronological photo guide
🌍 Location
📌 Start / finish off minor road 1 mi northeast of Bellabeg
🧭 O.S. Grid Reference: NJ 374137
🛰️ GPS coordinates: 57.209667,-3.038715
❌ No public transport within 1 mi
🚗 Car park – rough access track unsuitable for vehicles with low ground clearance
📝 Key info
▶ 4 km / 2 mi | ▲ 240 m | ⌛ 1.5 hr
Features: △ Ben Newe (565 m, sub-2000′ Marilyn)
⬤ Moderate | Forest tracks & paths (rough / indistinct at times) with some fairly steep sections.
Download file for GPS➡️ Clockwise circuit: start – track junction just south of Eastertown – Ben Newe – Hill of Greenstile – Altdachie Plantation – start
🥾 On our last visit
Wildlife: Lots of frogspawn in various puddles on the outward track.
Weather: Cloudy but quite warm, although with a gentle breeze.
May 2013
