📌 Logie Coldstone, Aberdeenshire
★★★
Morven perfectly embodies the spirit of Aberdeenshire (unless you’re thinking of the hill with the same name in Caithness). The domed, heathery summit is typical of this part of the Cairngorms, rising prominently but undramatically out of rolling farmland. (Less typical were the dozens of wasps which had colonised the summit cairn on our visit!) The hill’s 872-metre top height is greater than most of the other local summits, and consequently commands wide views from Lochnagar in the south to Bennachie in the east. Beware the numerous false summits – many with cairns to rival the final one – making the objective appear closer than it really is.
📷 Chronological photo guide
🌍 Location
📌 Start / finish at track junction on minor road 2 mi west of Logie Coldstone
🧭 O.S. Grid Reference: NJ 410044
🛰️ GPS coordinates: 57.126808,-2.976257
❌ No public transport within 1 mi
🚗 Space to park at track junction
📝 Key info
▶ 9 km / 6 mi | ▲ 640 m | ⌛ 4 hr
Features: △ Morven (872 m, Corbett)
⬤ Moderate | Fields to Balhennie then steep, narrow hill path, becoming wider and gentler with height. Fainter, occasionally boggy but gentler paths for return loop.
Download file for GPS➡️ Out-and-back walk with variant for part of return: start – Balhennie – Little Cairn – Mid Cairn – Morven – return to plateau between Little Cairn and Balhennie – bridge over Coinlach Burn at 🧭 NJ 394033 (don’t cross) – Balhennie – start
🥾 On our last visit
Wildlife: Bizarrely, scores of wasps on the summit cairn. A couple of basking lizards on the ascent; sheep appeared to have taken over the abandoned buildings at Balhennie! Bird of prey soaring high above us.
Weather: Warm sunshine, but windy higher up with thick haze.
August 2013
