Walks of a Lifetime: Ben Macdui
This expedition to the heart of the Cairngorms takes in dramatic corries and glens, and culminates with a trek across a sub-arctic plateau.
Ben Macdui is a very special mountain. Not only is it Scotland’s second highest mountain, it is also the apex of Britain’s most pristine mountain wilderness. Britain has few places that have avoided human influence, and even in the furthest flung corners of the Highlands you’ll find the remains of settlements and the telltale signs of green ‘improved’ cultivation sites! The high reaches of the Cairn Gorm sub-arctic plateau is one rare exception. Amongst the collection of 4000ft summits, stony expanses and corries, the only signs of humanity you’ll find are the narrow ribbon of paths, the odd cairn and the remains of a handful of bothies. Beyond this little has changed since the last ice sheets retreated over 20,000 years ago.
There is a fine selection of routes to Ben Macdui that will appeal to all types of walkers. They can be started from either Speyside in the north, or Deeside in the south. The northern approaches tend to be shorter affairs and although they are well worth it and you will experience some wondrous sights, it’s the approaches from Deeside that really deliver the full Cairn Gorm experience. This is down to the added length. Unlike the north, which has the time (and distance) advantage provided by the ski road, the Deeside approaches have no roads and the only way in is via a very long track. This added approach is further enhanced by the indirect alignment of the glens that mean you have to circumvent some high and imposing summits just to get near Ben Macdui. As with many things in life, endeavours that require a lot of work often pay the highest dividends, and this is certainly the case with Ben Macdui. The long southern approaches might clock up the miles but they take you on a journey through a stunningly unique and beautiful range of mountain scenery.
Although this is a very long route the approaches and most of the ascent follow paths that have gentle gradients. Things steepen up a bit on the climb out of Coire Etchachan, and on the decent down Sròn Riach, but these are short-lived. The main issue with this route is navigation under snow cover, thick mist and/or with high winds. Locating and leaving Ben Macdui’s summit and clearing the plateau require particular care.
The route takes advantage of the stalkers road up to the old shooting lodge at Derry Lodge, from where it does a loop out via Loch Etchachan and then back via the long, forgiving ridge of Sròn Riach. Cycling to Derry Lodge takes some of the sting out of the distance, or you could make two days of it and either wild camp or stay at the Hutchison Memorial Hut in Coire Etchachan.
“Britain has few places that have avoided human influence. The Cairn Gorm plateau is one rare exception”
1 NO062897 The walk starts properly at Derry Lodge, which lies few miles further on up Glen Lui. There is no public road up the glen, so you need to leave the road at the car park at the Linn of Dee. A bike would make light work of this section and is worth considering, particularly if you plan to take just one day for the walk. From the back of the Linn of Dee car park, take the path north through the trees until you meet a track. Turn left onto it and follow it north up Glen Lui to a bridge over Lui Water. Cross the bridge then turn immediately left and follow the track alongside the east bank of Lui Water up to Derry Lodge.
2 NO041934 Derry Lodge sits at the confluence of Derry Burn and Luibeg Burn, formerly a shooting lodge. This fine building is now redundant and boarded up (planning has been applied for conversion to a hostel). It marks an important location on the southern side of the Cairngorms as many paths converge on the bridges that offer safe crossings of the two burns. Should you choose to use a bike there are lots of trees to hide it. The grassy flats are also popular wild camp pitches. From Derry Lodge, head north beside Derry Burn and follow the pleasant track through the trees and then up the glen towards the Lairig an Laoigh. This path is an important mountain pass that cuts deeply through the Cairngorm Plateau to link up with a main path intersection at the Fords of Avon. Follow it for 3km as it climbs steadily to a fork.
3 NO035990 The left branch is the Coire Etchachan Path and is followed into the heart of the impressively crag ringed corrie.
4 NO023997 Just off to the left of the path is the Hutchison Memorial Hut. This substantial stone bothy was built in 1954, and has a single main room and storm porch. A full refurbishment was carried out by the Mountain Bothies Association in 2015. Set in a superb location it provides an ideal overnight base for splitting the route or to use for exploring the eastern side of Ben Macdui. The ascent out of Coire Etchachan is particularly impressive, and although it involves a fairly stiff climb the adjacent backdrop of the buttresses of Creagan a’ Choire Etchachan are so distracting that the hard work soon skips by. The steep granite crags hold a stunning range of summer and winter climbs but sadly no scrambling routes.
5 NJ012003 As you pop out at the top of Coire Etchachan the path swings around to the south-west and skirts in a rising
traverse above Loch Etchachan. Sat in an open bowl on the shoulder of Ben Macdui and lying at a shade under 1000m this expanse of water is the highest large body of water in Britain. It is in a truly sub-arctic position and to reflect this, most years it has ice flows for up to six months.
6 NO000990 The path above Loch Etchachan builds to a climax at a narrow neck where it connects with the edge of the Ben Macdui summit plateau. From the neck a yawning drop opens out to one side down to the inner sanctum of Coire Sputan Dearg. This high and remote corrie is a fascinating sight and is one of the many secret gems of the Cairngorms.
7 NN997988 The path then eases at a broad saddle on the south- east shoulder. From here the route lies across a starkly beautiful landscape of wind-blasted and ice-shattered rocks and gravel. This landscape has changed little since the last Ice Age. Relatively undisturbed now, during WWII it was used for training mountain troops, with live firing regularly taking place.
8 NN988989 The summit can be tricky to locate in misty and/or snowy conditions. It is marked by a trig point on a raised stone platform but don’t count on it being easily visible, as winter snows can often bury it, with just the tip poking out of the drift. Also near the summit is a circular direction pointer, and a little way off to the east-south- east is the roofless remains of a hut. This was built in 1847 to shelter the surveyors of the Ordnance Survey when they spent a number of months on the summit mapping the surrounding area. Once finished on the summit, backtrack to the saddle on the south- eastern shoulder.
9 NN996986 From the saddle, turn right off the Coire Etchachan Path and head south down the long ridge of Sròn Riach. This ridge is a little indistinct at the top but soon shapes up along the top of the crags of Coire Sputan Dearg. Large cornices form over theses crags in winter and persist well into summer, so make sure you give the edge a wide birth in such conditions. After a short rise over a bump on Sròn Riach the path gives a continuous and steady descent into the upper reaches of Glen Luibeg. Follow the ridge to its end, then follow the path on the east side of Luibeg Burn to pass above Luibeg Bridge.
10 NO014942 The path then turns east and joins the one from the Lairg Ghru. Follow this one and turn east along Glen Luibeg and back to Derry Lodge. From Derry Lodge, retrace your steps back to the Linn of Dee.