Post Christmas Walks

Clachnaben Circular from Glen Dye

Having been indoors all day on Boxing Day it was lovely to get some fresh air. Not having been up a hill for a while and too lazy for an early start (me!) we opted for a circuit to take in Clachnaben. Parking at Glen Dye the track is good and makes for easy walking, Clachnaben popping up on the right.

We followed the track out to Charr Bothy, stopping here for a brief rest. It’s a cracking bothy, very clean!

Opposite the bothy a track heads uphill. We followed this for what seemed like a long time! A really well made track, Bruce suggested that we reverse the route if here again as it would make an easier descent route.

Finally after seeing Clachnaben tantalisingly close for quite some time we made it to the top!

Thereafter we followed the path back to the main parking area. Having met only a couple of folks on the way up, we were greeted by many on the way down.

Just ahead of the rise back up to the car park we veered off to the right, following the river path back to where we’d started at Glen Dye.

As with all good walks this finished with coffee, on this occasion in Ride (Banchory).

Pressendye

Today saw us head out to Tarland for a circular route of Pressendye. Parking up in the village centre we headed out of the square and began the walk along the minor road that eventually leads to the track up to Pressendye. The road section is a few miles, the upside being that it does gradually ascend.

Finally off the road, I paused to beautifully exemplify why Bruce takes most of the photos!

Up through the field we reached another gate, renewed since we were last here, and climbed over the ‘new’ stile.

This afforded us some lovely views of the surrounding area.

Beyond this some deer fencing and gates had greatly changed the landscape, regeneration of trees and the heather growing rapidly along the track.

Once onto the crest of the hill we’d done the hard climb of the day and were able to relax and enjoy the views fully.

We gently ascended before dropping a little, then going up again to reach the high point of the day.

The summit, Pressendye, is a Graham and is marked by a trig point and a windshelter cairn.

Beyond the summit we crossed biking routes on the Tarland Trails at a couple of points, occasionally seeing a biker. Our route then descended through the trees, finally reaching the beautiful avenue of silver birch trees, one of the highlights of the walk for me.

Back in Tarland, we stopped off at the Tarland Tearooms for coffee and a mega roll! Having eaten way too many sugary things over the last few days this hit the spot perfectly!

Although wee hills, a couple of days walking was just what we needed to blow away the cobwebs.