After the Lochnagar epic the day before, Ben and I chose a nearby Corbett that would not be too testing. The 12.5km walk to Càrn na Drochaide summit, with an elevation gain of 575m, proved the perfect half-day hike.
A track starts from the car park at Linn of Quoich, west of Braemar. After about 2.5km, look out for a narrow path that heads uphill. The path comes and goes, tracking uphill through heather and other vegetation.
At no point is the gradient too arduous, but rather it’s a steady climb uphill. At higher altitude, we picked up a definite trod and headed north-westerly on to the rounded summit.
On the way up, we also visited a minor summit of Creag a’ Chleirich at 651m.
The terrain flattens on to an undulating plateau as you head towards Càrn na Drochaide, with various cairns marking a few minor summits. A large cairn at 818m is located at the true summit.
Ben and I enjoyed a stop for our picnic lunches and to take in the views, including many peaks of the Cairngorms and the glens that lead to Lochnagar.
We followed a mostly similar route to return to the car park.
See: OS map route
Corbetts bagged: 124.