peaks ascent distance time start/finish maps	Lochnagar (Cac Carn Beag) (1155m, Munro 21) Carn a'Choire Bhoidheach (1110m, Munro 42) Carn an t-Sagairt Mor (1047m, Munro 83) Cairn Bannoch (1012m, Munro 117) Broad Cairn (998m, Munro 142) Conachcraig (865m, Corbett) 1280m (4,200ft) 26km (16m) running : 3:00hr, walking : 7hr Spittal of Glenmuick (N0310852) OS landranger 44
main route summary This group of munros forms a circuit around Loch Muick. The highest peak is Cac Carn Beag, which looks down into the dark coire of Lochnagar below, which is a favourite winter climbing area.
main route outline Getting there Get to Ballater, which is on the A93, 60km west of Aberdeen and 75km north of Perth. From there, follow the road down Glen Muick for 13km to it's end, where there are a couple of large car-parks. You'll need to pay and in summer the car-parks can be full. Lochnagar - Cac Carn Beag From the car-park, head over the bridge, past the ranger's hut to a junction in the tracks - turn right. Continue to the houses, then on a marked path, around them and into a forest. Meet up with the track again and follow it uphill, around the base of the corbett Conachcraig to the highest point. If you want to bag the corbett, it's only a 15 minute detour from here. At this point a cairn marks the path heading off left towards Lochnagar. This path has seen lots of work over recent years and is easy to follow up to the bealach between Lochnagar and Meikle Pap. If you're top-bagging, then a brief detour will take in this little top. From the bealach, just haul yourself up the path and around the boulders. Once on the crest, the ground eases and the route ahead on the path becomes obvious. Further on, the path veers off left - stick to the fainter path on the edge of the coire. Up steep bouldery ground for a bit, then a continue over fairly flat artic ground to a large cairn on Cac Carn Mor. In mist, this might be mistaken for the summit, however the summit is Cac Carn Beag, which is 500m to the north. A well-worn path connects the two cairns with a short scramble is needed to attain the viewfinder with its excellent expansive views. Carn a'Choire Bhoidheach Return towards the large cairn on Cac Carn Mor, but before reaching it, look for a path heading off right. Don't aim down the path marked with cairns, as this will take you directly down to Loch Muick (see Alternatives). The path drops to a wide wet bealach and starts to climb up beside steep ground off right (north). As the path starts to pull away from the edge, come off the path and start to bear slightly more left (south-west) onto more level wet ground and pick up a faint path to follow to the small cairn on Carn a'Choire Bhoidheach. This is a fairly dull munros summit and the views are not that great either, due to the hill's bulk. Carn an t-Sagairt Mor West next. After initially dropping down a brief patch of fairly steep ground, the gradient easies and the path following a burn is met. Follow this path south-west and cross the burn a bit further on. Now on the other side, follow the path until a line of old iron fence-posts can be seen coming down from the bealach between Carn an t-Sagairt Beag and Carn an t-Sagairt Mor. In mist, these can be used as a guide to get up Carn an t-Sagairt Mor, otherwise just head uphill over wet and heathery ground towards Carn an t-Sagairt Mor's crest. On the way, you should encounter some scattered plane wreckage, including a large section of wing. These pieces are the remains of a Canberra jet that crashed into the hill in 1956 (more info on Tommy, Flash n' Dogbreath's website). The summit has two cairns and excellent views. Cairn Bannoch There's very little ascent left ! From Carn an t-Sagairt Mor's southern cairn and on a faint path, head south-east downhill. The path becomes more obvious further down as the boulders are left behind and more gentle, grass covered ground is reached. Cross the wide bealach, meeting up with folk coming in on the path from Auchallater. The last few metres of climb up to Cairn Bannoch's summit require a bit of clambering over some large boulders. Broad Cairn From Cairn Bannoch, head south-east and up the bump marked 991m on the OS map. Downhill, south-east on a faint path over grassy ground to reach the unusual bealach with three summits radiating out from it. A quick jog over more flat ground and one more last clamber up bouldery ground to Broad Cairn's summit. Good views, particularly down Loch Muick to Mount Keen. Return Aim east next, down some more bouldery ground, which can be a pain. You'll see a track coming in from the right, join this and follow it down to the pony shed. Choice next - if the weather's poor, take the fine path heading directly down to Loch Muick and get out of the wind. If the weather is fine, keep on the high track for 3km, take in the views for longer, and drop sharpley to join up with the Loch Muick path. 4km of a quick jog will get you back to the car-park.

Zoomable OS 1:50000 and 1:25000 maps are here lochnagar area weblinks Get the local mountain weather forecast here See todays conditions on the nearby Cairngorm Webcam The Cairngorm National Park website is here More information on the area is on the Braemar, Ballater and Invercauld websites The Balmoral Castle website is here routes nearby The Braeraich and Cairn Toul munros are north-west The Ben Avon group is to the north Go multi-munro-bagging in the Glenshee group to the west alternatives In from Braemar It's straightforward to approach the munros from the north, though you'll probably need to exclude Lochnagar and Carn a'Choire Bhoidheach. To compensate, Tom Buidhe, Toll Mount, Cairn of Claise and Carn an Tuirc can be included to make a fine circuit. 3km south of Braemar, there's a bridge and car-park by Auchallater farm. A Right-of-way sign points the way in up the track. Bike up this track for 5km to Lochallater Lodge. Leave bikes here, and head up the path going around the lodge. The path climbs directly uphill for over 50m, then turns and climbs more gently around Creag an Loch. At around c900m, leave the path and strike directly up Carn an t-Sagairt Mor's summit. Continue over Carn Bannoch to Broad Cairn. From this munro, return west, climb Cairn of Gowal, then drop down and get up the Knaps of Fafernie. You've got a choice from here, depending on the weather and your fitness. You could pick up Jocks Road, and return to Loch Callater then back to Auchallater. Or alternatively you could head west, bag Tolmount, Tom Buidhe, Cairn of Claise and Carn an Tuirc, and then head down on a path back to Lochcallater Lodge. Ascent : 1430m, distance : 35km Lochnagar via the waterfall If you've done (or decided to do) Carn an t-Sagairt Mor to Broad Cairn separately, then Cac Carn Beag and Carn a'Choire Bhoidheach can be done together and straightforwardly from Loch Muick. From the Glen Muick car-park, head up Lochnagar and Carn a'Choire Bhoidheach as described in the main route. From Carn a'Choire Bhoidheach, there are two choices - either head down south-west, pick up the Allt an Dubh Loch, then Dubh Loch, and the path below Eagles Crag to drop to Loch Muick. Or alternatively, head back east, contour below Lochnagar and pick up the path heading down Glas Allt to enjoy a paddle in the surprising pools below the waterfalls before reaching the path down to and around the north side of Loch Muick. Ascent : 1100m, distance : 22.5km

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