Meall a’ Bhuachaille

This was to be the very first walk we embarked on in the Cairngorms. The very helpful website, WalkHighlands, recommended this as one’s first hike in the Cairngorms, which turned out to be very good advice indeed.

The walk started gently, through thick forest, which provide welcome relief from the blazing sun (a rare sight in Scotland indeed!). As we left the cover of the trees, we were welcomed by the sight of Meall a’ Bhuachaille stretching out before us, and the mountain range to our right.

Then we began the steady uphill climb towards the summit. As is often the case with these kinds of walk, every time we turned around to look at the views, they got better and better.

At the summit, we were rewarded for our efforts with beautiful views over the entire park, and beyond! Looking away from the Cairngorm mountain, we could see as far as the sea to the North, and an unidentified mountain range to the West. At that point, I really counted myself lucky for the beautiful weather.

After a lunch at the summit, we began to make our way down. We passed by what turned out to be a bothy – small huts dotted around the Scottish highlands to provide refuge to hikers in case the weather turns (not uncommon this close to the Arctic Ocean), or an emergency occurs.

Eventually, we entered into the forest again, where we walked, for a hour or two, flanked by ancient trees. We did pass by one of the nicest sights in the Cairngorms – An Lochan Uaine (the Green Lake). At this point we also realised that we had walked the route backwards, as this was meant to be something we see at the very start.

After the long walk through the forest we made it back to Glenmore, and we eagerly collapsed in our room, exhausted from the long day.

I would personally recommend doing this route our way – start at the end of the WalkHighlands route. This way you get An Lochan Uaine at the end, as a dessert, rather than an appetiser. Either way, the edges of the route are not particularly inspiring, but the highlights (the summit and An Lochan Uaine) are well worth the trek.