LITTLE LOCH OF THE NOISY SOUND

Normally, as soon as the Scottish schools break up for the summer holidays, the heavens open and we endure 6 weeks of poor weather. But this year has been a pleasant change, and the sun has shone almost continuously for several weeks now.

To say I am busy just now is the understatement of the year. My new film academy for kids is just around the corner, and there is so much still to do. However, I am aware of the old saying, that "all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy". I needed to find a way of taking a break, despite there being only days until the academy launch.

It's midgie season, so getting into the Scottish mountains is usually not a good option, but with such relentless heat the biting insect population is somewhat reduced, so Pauline organised a two night trek to take in five Munro's north of the Angus Glens, with the famous Lochnagar as the main goal, named after the small lochan in the mountain's northeast corrie.

With no public transport available at all, we reluctantly took my car. From Dundee we traveled the length of Glen Clova and arrived at the head of Glen Doll, on the edge of the Cairngorms National Park, around mid afternoon on the Saturday. Not surprisingly the car park was full of visitors, but within minutes of leaving the car we were alone on a track, leading north up the glen.

My achilles tendon on my left foot has been playing up in recent weeks, and the pain I experienced in the first few kilometers started to look like the trek would be over for me before it had even begun. I devised a routine to stop every so often to massage the ache out, and borrowed one of Pauline's walking poles to aid my ascent.

With long days and clear weather I had the opportunity to take it slowly, and by early evening we had climbed up to a saddle just below the first Munro, Broad Cairn, to camp for the night at 750m. Unsure of access to fresh water, we had decided at the bottom of the path to carry two litres each to the top. 

And let me tell you, water is heavy!

750m was high enough, combined with a slight breeze, to be free of the annoying midges, and after a late dinner, with views down to Loch Muick, we settled in for the night.

Another glorious day greeted us, and with most of the hard work done, we set off over the first Munro, a short distance from our nights camp. The area is very popular, and there is a well worn path along the whole route, but in some places this has grown to several metres wide, as many walkers have chosen to walk side by side, thus increasing the erosion.

Peak two, Cairn Bannoch, was probably our favourite Munro, mostly because of its bouldery summit and the view of the whole route ahead, all the way across to Lochnagar. There were few people at this early hour, which was very pleasant.

My achilles was once again reminding me of its presence, and I decided to sit several metres below the summit of Munro number three, while Pauline, having dumped her pack with me, ascended solo.

By now I was getting hungry. The path cut along the side of this Munro toward number four, and halfway along there was a crystal clear small river flowing, cutting across the path, so we parked ourselves for a while, munched our lunch, and watched the world go by.

Already on the route we had disturbed several female grouse, that displayed a behaviour designed to distract us. The reason being was because we had walked too close for her comfort to her young chicks. So small and cute, I imagine they were just a few weeks old.

As we moved on, over to our right on the hillside in the distance, were a herd of young red deer, mostly males, starting to move swiftly away, having detected our presence.

Munro number four, Carn an t'Sagairt Mor, was literally just a bump in the landscape, and not long after, we were approaching our main goal of Lochnagar. It was easily more than 30 years since I was last here. Clambering over its rocky main summit, called Cac Carn Beag, were several young walkers, and I remarked that the last time I was here, none of these people would have been born.

Clouds were gathering and the blue skies and relentless heat of the day was slowly diminishing. We circled round the top of the curve of cliffs that makes up Lochnagar, to catch a glimpse of its face from the eastern flank, with a view down to five deep blue pools at the head of the small lochan, in Lochnagar's northeastern coire, the Little Loch of the Noisy Sound.

On the way down, blending in well with the landscape, I spotted a Ptarmigan, motionless on a rock. It too had small chicks, which looked remarkably similar to the grouse from earlier.

Camp for the night was a little below the summit, at 950m, probably my highest camp in Scotland. It was by far a more comfortable spot than the previous evening. With everyone off the hill for the day, it was very pleasant to enjoy the evening and the landscape all to ourselves.

We awoke to thick cloud, and set off toward Loch Muick around 8.30am. The path is steep in places, hard packed and worn by many boots, which had ground down the granite rocks into tiny marble-like grains, which occasionally caused me to slide and lose my grip.

The going was slower than either of us had expected, but eventually we dropped out of the clouds beside a cascading waterfall, and down to the shores of Loch Muick. At the bottom of the path stands an abandoned, rather grand-looking lodge, built, so I'm told, for Queen Victoria to be able to take a boat trip up the loch for afternoon tea.

As you do.

We rounded the western end of the loch across a beach covered in geese footprints. Out on the water we could see large numbers of birds, most likely the ones that had left their prints on the beach, and we wondered if they were in fact resident there all year round.

Our final ascent was steep and long, but not as bad as it had looked from afar. The ridge ahead was shrouded in low cloud, but as we reached the summit it started to clear. We had come full circle, and stopped for our lunch just meters away from our first nights camp. We retraced our steps back to the car park, along the same track through the glen, beneath craggy peaks and wild flower meadows.

My achilles had held up not too bad, though by the end, after what was, afterall, a long hike from Lochnagar, I was grateful to be finished. Four Munros, albeit the hard work done on the first afternoon, felt quite satisfying. Five for Pauline, but it had been many years since I have stood atop any Scottish peak.

It felt good to be back.