An SGARSOCH & CARN an FHIDHLEIR -
ROUTE DESCRIPTION:
Location:
An Sgarsoch, Perthshire / Aberdeenshire
Long Grade: Long and remote mountain walk
Distance: 23 miles, 39km
Time: 10-12 hours One for the summer - and the very fit. Across
the Cairngorms and across the broad plain-of-a-glen that is Glen Geldie
lie two remote and seldom visited mountains, An Sgarsoch and Carn an
Fhidhleir. Rising from the
headwaters of the Geldie Burn, the River Feshie and the Tarf Water,
these huge heather-covered domes form the northern edges of the vast
peaty desert of Atholl, a magnificently wild area that is best
appreciated by tackling the marathon trek round the Ring of Tarf, a
long expedition that links up the four Munros of Beinn Dearg, Carn a’
Chlamain, An Sgarsoch and Carn an Fhiclhleir.
The latter two are not particularly grand hills, as big hills go, but
their relative inaccessibility adds to their attraction, with only long
treks yielding them up to Munro-baggers. A lengthy pull up Glen Tilt
from
Blair Atholl gives what is possibly the most scenic route, while a
shorter route runs in from Braemar via the White Bridge and Geldie, a
route
that can be made significantly easier by using a bicycle. This is the
route described in the accompanying summary.
Tumultuous is a fair description of the Feshie in spate, and where it
fights and wrestles through pine-clad gorges. The rough footpath passes
dangerously close to the edge of some of these gorges and a slip on the
muddy trail could well mean a headlong plunge into the boiling waters
below.
The desolate hills and moors of Atholl with Beinnn a’ Ghlo and its
outliers stand clear. Northwards, the high tops of the Cairngorms
stretch out with the long, bare slopes of the Moine Mor leading up to
Braeriach and Beinn Bhrotain, with Ben Macdui appearing between them.
It is an easy descent over short grass and mossy slopes to reach the
high col that connects with An Sgarsoch. This big hill lies half in
Aberdeenshire and half in Perth, although Carn an Fhidhleir goes one
better. It has a third of its great humped mass in Inverness-shire too,
in the meeting of the three counties if you like. But An Sgarsoch's
chief
claim to fame is as an ancient meeting place where the locals sold
cattle and horses on the flat summit, an event known as the Feill
Sgarsaich and the
highest marketplace in the land. Why they chose the summit of a 3000ft
mountain for a market, nobody seems to know - another of those quirky
antiquarian facts whose origin has been lost to time. ROUTE PLANNER Map: OS 1:50,000 Landranger sheet 43 ( Braemar
& Blair Alholl )
Distance: About 23 miles / 39km
Approx time: 10-12 hours
$tart / Finish: Linn of Dee car park, 10km west of Braemar ( GR:
NO064897 )
Information: Braemar TIC Route:
Follow the N bank of the River Dee for 5km to White Bridge.
Cross the bridge and follow the track S tor 1.5km before turning right
into Glen Geldle.
Follow the track on the N bank of the Geldie Bum then cross the river
to the mined Geldie Lodge.
Follow a bulldozed track WSW to its highest point from where you can
reach the NE slopes of Carn an Fhidhleir.
Climb to the summit.
Descend SSE along a broad ridge and then down the E side of the ridge
to reach the col at 700m.
Climb to the flat summit of An Sgarsoch.
Retum to Geldie Lodge over Sgarsoch Bheag and the earlier bulldozed
track.
A bicycle can be ridden as far as the crossing of the Geldie Burn,
saving a considerable amount of time.
