Cook’s Cairn was once a Corbett before being remeasured. It’s summit elevation sits at 755m, just seven metres shy of Corbett height. This means it’s part of the list of Fionas, between 2000ft (609m) and 25000ft (762m). Cook’s Cairn is located to the south-east of Corryhabbie hill, which does qualify as a Corbett, and many people walk both mountains in one long outing. See a route on Walk Highlands. However, having bagged Corryhabbie hill previously, I decided to make a different approach to Cook’s Cairn, from the east at Aldivalloch, near Cabrach.
It proved to be a good way to reach the Fiona thanks to a network of tracks created by developers when building a large windfarm. The wind turbines are not very attractive and there are plenty in the vicinity of Cook’s Cairn but the advantages included the tracks, almost all the way to the summit, and signposting. It’s rare to follow waymarking all the way to a mountain top but it allowed me to switch off and enjoy other aspects of the walk.
Walking Cook’s Cairn from Aldivalloch
There is parking at Aldivalloch, near Cabrach, and south of Dufftown. I headed south on the A941 and then took a minor road through a farm, past another farm, to continue to the surprisingly large parking area at Aldivalloch.
The small settlement of Aldivalloch was once an important crossroads on an old drovers’ way, the Steplar road, to Glenlivet. Today, the “road” is a signposted walking trail “SP30 The Steplar“. A signpost told me it travels 15km to Glenlivet.
The parking area also included an information board with a map of the area and the wildlife I might see, including golden eagles, hen harriers, black grouse, lizards (I spotted a dead lizard, sadly) and small pearl-bordered fritillary butterflies.
Despite the construction of the windfarm, it felt like a remote place, which would be bleak in poor weather.
To start my walk, I headed through a wooden gate and followed the Steplar signpost, going west and strolling up a gently rising slope of sheep-shortened grass. The first summit aim was ominous sounding Dead Wife’s Hillock at 543m elevation.
Since I started at a height of around 350m, the climb totalled around 200m over a couple of kilometres so it wasn’t too arduous. I faced a fairly stiff head wind but the forecast rain had not materialised and there was the prospect of a bit of sunshine if the clouds lifted.
The grassy track turned to a wide man-made Landrover style track that was very easy to follow. Every so often, wooden signs topped with an orange marker pointed the way.
Looking back over my shoulder the views across wider Moray were pleasant. The landscape is rolling farmland and hills, and remarkably few houses.
As I reached Dead Wife’s Hillock, I wondered about the name and after the walk I did an on-line search. I found this: During a severe famine in the late 1600s, a woman starved to death on the hill while attempting to traverse the high ground. An alternative addition is that while the woman died, her child was still alive, reportedly still attached to her breast.
In any case, it would be a lonely place to die.
From the hillock, the route descended, still on a wide track, back to a low point of around 400m. Having crossed another wide track heading north-south (there are tracks all over the place to serve the windfarm), I needed to cross a river.
At first, the water level seemed low but I couldn’t find enough rocks to make a dry-footed crossing and so I headed north along the eastern bank for a while to try to spot another crossing point. In the end, I took a chance and only suffered slight water ingress into my trail shoes when I ran out of rocks.
I then tramped across some rough ground to regain the wide track and continued west. The route resumed an uphill gradient, easy-going at the start before it steepened. I ignored a number of tracks heading north and south and continued to follow the waymarkers.
At higher elevation, the track flattens to follow a contour of around 600m before then going downhill gently for a while. I kept checking the map because I was sure I needed to head right and uphill to the summit of Carin’s Cook but I was patient. I’d read that there should be a signpost directing me to the summit and, finally, there it was.
It is rare to follow a track and obvious path to the top of most Fionas. It is even rarer to have signposting all the way.
The route north followed a gentle shoulder to a height of 755m. The wide track turned into more of an ATV track and, at times, a bit of a trod, but it was very easy to follow.
I confess I was expecting to find a large cairn, since the hill is called Cook’s Cairn, but it was quite a small pile of rocks. I checked the map again to be sure I was at the highest point, and then sat for a while to have my lunch.
It had taken me around one hour and 40 minutes to walk the 8km.
Cook’s Cairn is apparently named because the cairn marks a spot associated with a person named Cook, although there is scant further details.
Return route of Cook’s Cairn
The wind, in my face and to my side, had been quite strong at higher elevation on the route to the top of Cook’s Cairn, so I decided to head off slightly to the east. I did avoid a little of the wind but I had to walk over and through thick vegetation. For ease, I would recommend you follow the same route for the return as for the outward walk.
In the end, I followed the line of a burn and in a more southerly direction than the south-easterly direction I’d planned but it worked out to be fine because after just over 1km, I regained the wide track again.
Back on the main route, I simply retraced my steps. At first, I headed downhill back towards the river crossing. I decided to make a go of crossing at the ford and I thought I might manage it despite a sketchy lack of rocks. Suffice to say, I ended up getting wet feet because I ran out of rocks. Thankfully, I was wearing my Dexshell waterproof socks, so I did get damp feet but they were not cold.
Looking ahead, the track seemed to rise quite steeply back towards Old Wife’s Hillock, but in the event I made good progress and I found myself quickly back on the high point. The final downhill was a pleasant stroll in sunshine.
This is a great route if you are looking for a good leg stretcher but do not want to have to spend too much time navigating.
Route details: Cook’s Cairn
Distance: 16km
Total ascent: 720m