The weather forecast had been a great deal more promising than the early morning rain I awoke to at Glenmore, near Aviemore, on Sunday. My friend Rob and I had a long hike planned to reach the Corbett Creag Mhor and we did not fancy a full day of dreich. We decided that perhaps the forecast was a vague and it would clear up later in the day, so we set off anyway.
I have walked Bynack More at least twice before. The first time was with Hubby G and our whippet Wispa, when I described it as possibly the most perfect Munro. Another memorable outing was with two friends, Jane and Denise, when I combined the Munro with another Corbett, Meall a’ Bhuachaille, and a wild camp for a big adventure.
I have lost count of the number of times I have walked and run Meall a’ Bhuachaille, too, from Glenmore.
This meant that the track through Glenmore Forest Park, to the start of the remote Cairngorms mountains, was familiar. It is often busy with walkers and cyclists because this is the route to reach the well-known “green lochan” – An Lochan Uaine – and also Ryvoan Bothy.
Despite having walked here many times, I still greatly enjoyed the first section through the forest park and the superb tall trees, which are remnants of an ancient Caledonian Forest.
Although the sky was overcast, An Lochan Uaine shone an incredible green hue.
At a junction before the bothy, Rob and I took the trail to the right and continued along a track that took us further and further from other people. There is a wide network of tracks and paths all over the Cairngorms and, unlike some of the west coast Corbetts, it was possible to see a path undulating and rising ahead towards our first goal.
The gradients was rarely steep throughout the day and, over the course of some 32km distance, we climbed only around 1300m.
Summit one: Creag Mhor
Great granite tors top the summit of the Corbett Creg Mhor and we could see these ahead for many kilometres. Our path took us to the east of Bynack Mor, which towered much taller than our first summit.
As we walked and talked, the sky started to brighten and the cloudy mountain tops cleared.
On the walk uphill, we were caught up by a woman running. As she approached us she said: “Fiona Outdoors?” I laughed and nodded, then asked who she was. It turned out Emma follows me on social media and she recognised my standard dress code of Flanci skort and buff.
We had a short chat before Emma ran on and and Rob and I continued our walk.
At a small cairn at the side of the path, we started a hike uphill on rough ground. This was the most arduous part of the whole walk, although it still felt relatively tame compared to many other steep and pathless Corbetts I’ve encountered.
We tramped over heather and grass towards the ridgeline and then on to the large tor at the highest point of on 895m. We enjoyed lovely views across the rolling Cairngorms before heading south-westerly off Creag Mhor and back towards the path we had left earlier on.
Summit 2: Bynack More
The path led us south to the River Avon and past a tiny mountain hut. We stayed on the northern bank of the river and followed a boggy path westwards. This brought us to the shore of spectacular Loch Avon (Loch A’an).
I remember skiing to the loch from Cairngorm Mountain one winter a few years ago. The landscape looked very different on a sunny summer’s day.
At the edge of a sandy beach, we met another walker who was enjoying a day of summit bagging.
The path offered us splendid views of some of the other Munros in the area, Cairngorm, Ben Macdui and across to Braeriach.
In 2021, Rob and I completed a circuit of these mountains.
Further along the path, Rob and I had a choice, to return to the start via Strath Nethy and alongside the river, or to climb Bynack More. We chose the latter option.
This was my first ascent of Bynack More from the south and we passed a number of fabulous tors to reach the summit at 1090m elevation.
Just before making the ascent of the Munro, we met a couple, originally from France and now living in Aberdeenshire, who were part-way through a few days of walking and wild camping. They asked about the Munros but said they preferred to walk between and around the mountains, rather than to the top.
The weather forecast finally came true and Rob and I enjoyed the rest of the walk in warm conditions. We sat for a while on the Munro summit basking in the sunshine and taking in the beautiful views.
Across the glen, Creag Mhor looked small from our higher perch. From Bynack More summit, we walked north on the more popular route. As expected, this is where we met and passed the most people.
While Corbetts are often very quiet, many Munros these days are quite busy with walkers and runners. I can see the attraction of Bynack More with its obvious route from the roadside to the summit and back again.
Rob and I continued the descent and eventually rejoined the path we had walked to reach the Corbett.
As is always the case, the walk back to the start felt a lot longer than the walk in but there was little to complain about apart from tired feet. This was the longest mountain hike I have done for a while and my feet were telling me they needed a rest.
It would be possible to walk an out-and-back route to Creag Mhor, complete a circuit of Creag Mhor and Strath Nethy, or follow the same route as Rob and I over both the Corbett and the Munro Bynack More.
Walk of Creag Mhor and Bynack More
Route details: Strava and OS Maps.
Distance: 32km
Height gain: 1330m
Corbetts bagged: 122