Geallaig Hill and Glen Gairn

The walk starts from the small parking area opposite Braenaloin on the B976 between Glen Gairn and Crathie. A track climbs past grouse butts and zig-zags up to the broad heathery ridge and the summit of Geallaig Hill, 743 m, where a trig point sits inside a windshelter cairn. The route descends a track down the west side of the hill to the B976, follows the road past a prominent cairn, and takes the right of way to Tomintoul north across the moor, above the abandoned house of Blairglass, into upper Glen Gairn. It returns down the glen on tracks, past more abandoned farms, to Braenaloin.

It is 17.1 km (10.6 miles) with 437 m (1,430 ft) of ascent; allow about 5½ hours. The grade is Moderate.

For a modest hill the view is excellent: much of Deeside, with Lochnagar at its finest, the great dome of Morven and, far off, the tors of Ben Avon.

It is on tracks all the way, across exposed heather moorland with little shelter, with about 1.5 km on the B976. This is grouse moor, and the grouse shooting season runs from 12 August to 10 December.

Route drawn by Global Adventurer along OpenStreetMap paths (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL), with figures worked out from it. Check the forecast and the ground on the day: paths change.