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Guided weekend hiking over the Glenshee Munros
South of Braemar and Ballater, The Mounth is a high level plain with many peaks and coires.
The vast and remote expanse can be exceptionally difficult to navigate on, even in clear conditions.
Glenshee divides this area, with its high col making an ideal starting point from where to hike from and bag 9 Munros over 2 days.
At a glance
- A weekend of hiking up high mountains in the Eastern Highlands
- Walk along wide plateaux and rugged terrain tracing the ramains of old walls and tracks
- Reach fine vantage points from where expansive views can be savoured over the Cairngorms and south to the Lomonds of Fife
- Bag 9 Munros in the area including Glas Maol, The Cairnwell, Tolmount and Carn an Tuirc
- Join a small group led by an experienced leader with a good knowledge of the wildlife, flora and geology
Dates and booking
General info
This 2 day event is a weekend of guided hiking in the southern Cairngorms with one of our experienced and qualified leaders.
Your guide will know the remote area well and be able to give you insight into the flora, fauna and geology.
Our maximum guide to client ratio on this event is 1:6.
You would be very welcome to join us for part of the trip, the cost of which is £69 per day.
Outline of trip
Day 1 : Eastern Glenshee Munros
A grassy circuit with some bouldery sections bagging up to 6 Munros !
| Summits : | Creag Leacach, Glas Maol, Cairn of Claise, Tom Buidhe, Tolmount, Carn an Tuirc |
| Grading : | 'demanding day' |
| Stats : | distance : 22km, ascent : 1150m, time : 8−10 hours |
Starting from the ski-centre in Glenshee, we are hiking over the 6 Munros west of the glen in one day.
The pace is not as arduous as it sounds and we'll have plenty time watch wildlife bound around and stop at summit cairns to take in the views.
We'll set off from the highest point on the pass near the ski centre in Glenshee and initially on a fine track, head uphill.
Around the base of
Glas Maol, we'll detour to the rough summit of
Creag Leacach for fine views south to the Lomonds of Fife.
Following faint paths, we'll then hike northwards over
Glas Maol to
Cairn of Claise.
Out to the remote and featureless area in which
Tolmount and
Tom Buidhe reside, your guide will show his navigations skills, particularly if mist blows over.
Carn an Tuirc is our last Munro summit before returning to the roadside.
Map of intended route
Day 2 : Western Glenshee Munros
A delightful grassy circuit taking in the 3 Munros west of Glenshee
| Summits : | Carn Aosda, Carn a'Gheoidh, The Cairnwell |
| Grading : | 'moderate day' |
| Stats : | distance : 12km, ascent : 700m, time : 4−5 hours |
The Cairnwell at 933m is not a particularly high hill, but it dominates the view on approaches from the south.
Just behind is Carn Aosda and combined, these two hills make for an easy circuit above Glenshee ski centre.
We'll detour over heather and grassy plains to add in Carn a'Gheoidh to this hike, which will make our day more rewarding !
We'll begin as yesterday from the Glenshee Ski Centre on ski-tracks and paths.
Onto the crests, we'll head for
Carn Aosda first, a bouldery summit with fine views north and eastwards.
We'll then start to pull away from the ski-tows and the scarred hillsides and head into a fairly remote and quiet area to aim for
Carn a'Gheoidh.
Map of intended route
Experience and fitness »
The routes for the most part are on grassy slopes and crest with some bouldery sections on Carn an Tuirc, Creag Leacach and Carn Aosda.
We do expect to be crossing snow and some ice.
Saturday's hike is predominantly on easy terrain, but due to the length we've classed it 'demanding'.
Sunday's hike is classed as 'moderate'.
To join this guided hiking weekend, we ask that you have a decent level of fitness, have done a good few hillwalks and had exposure to 'British mountain weather'.
More information is detailed on our
Events Grading page.
Gear you'll need »
You'll need your general hiking and hill-walking gear appropriate to the conditions and time of year.
More information on this gear along with a checklist to download and Pinterest board for specific suggestions can be found on our
Mountain Gear page.
We are likely to encounter winter conditions at this time of year and if this is the case, we ask that you come appropriately equiped.
We can help with some of the necessary gear (eg ice-axe, crampons) and coach you in their use if needed.
More details and some helpful advice are on our
Winter Gear page.
Getting there »
The hills lie either side of Glenshee, a few miles south of Braemar.
Our starting point on both days is from the Glenshee Ski Centre, which is on the A93.
Unfortunately there are no reliable public transport links to this area.
We may be able to help with transport, perhaps from Braemar on the days.
We intend to set up a 'Whatsapp' chat group for this event to help participants organise car-share.
Please note that our expertise lies in offering you great guided days in Scotland's mountains and not in providing transport - ultimately it is up to participants to arrange this. Please see our
FAQs for more information.
Accommodation »
Below is a list of accommodation that previous guests on our trips have recommended.
Other accommodation can be found at
Visit Scotland.
Previous trips »
Below on our Blog or on Flickr are some previous trips similar to this one.
