Loch Muick south bank, Corrie Chash, Black Burn, Aberdeenshire
[15.9 km] Wed 15 May 2013

A very wet start as I started my drive north towards Braemar. I’d driven out of the rain by the time I left England and entered Scotland. At Perth I stopped to top up on fuel then on through Blairgowrie, Braemar and the long one way road to the Spittal of Glenmuick. I’d made good time and arrived before 13:00. The car park was £3 for the day which I thought reasonable.
Grid Ref: NO 3100 8513
I was soon on my way in slight drizzle. My plan wasn’t a particularly long walk, just along the Loch side and back over the un-named hill. It was fairly gloomy at first but the track was easy walking and many people were coming the other way, having walked round the loch.

At Black Burn there is a wooden footbridge and the path splits. There were 2 collapsible bikes there indicating someone had avoided the long walk in. I took the right path and continued along and above the shore of Loch Muick. I was now on a path which was still easy to follow. At the end of the loch I took a left branch to head straight up Corrie Chash.

The path was straight and well engineered. As it was only footpath width I can only assume it is not modern. Neat the top were nice views back along the loch but the weather was variable and some rain about. For a brief moment some sunshine came out and with it clouds of midges.

I was glad when it went in and got colder again making the midges return to where they’d come from. I came to a substantial vehicle track and made a short detour to the right to investigate a hut I’d seen on the map. It was intact but fairly dirty and not maintained. It did give me some shelter from the wind and rain. A seat at the side had ‘Sandy’s Seat” scratched on a board above.

The track ran along the top edge of the steep scree down to the loch and would have spectacular views in good weather. The vehicle track made a spectacular descent to Black Burn and must take some skill to drive along. At the bridge I was on the track I’d used earlier and walked back the way I’d come.