Ballater Walking Festival Brochure 2020

Wednesday 20 th May 4pm Festival Gathering at Crathie Church Hall, 2 course meal and more! Strenuous Walk 10: Spittal of Glen Muick to Crathie via Conachraig Distance 16km/10mls Ascent 500m/1640ft Walking time approx 6.5 hrs Map Landranger 44 Departure 9 am Start NO 310 852 Finish NO 269 948 From the Spittal, we cross the River Muick and head up to Alt-na-guibhsaich and Clais Rathadan where we will get stunning views of Lochnagar. Leaving the track, we’ll climb up the rounded top of Conachcraig. A very short descent and ascent leads to Caisteal na Caillich before we head down to the landrover track via Little Conachcraig to Crathie Church Hall. Medium Walk 11: Balmoral and the Colonel in Chief’s Trail Distance 15km/9.5mls Ascent 320m/1050ft Walking time approx 5.5 hrs Map Landranger 44 Departure 10am Start NO 286 951 Finish NO 269 948 From Abergeldie, we will follow a quiet road to the Lochnagar Distillery and Easter Balmoral. After Rhebreck, we will pass several Royal cairns before heading down to the estate road. Further on, we reach The Colonel in Chief’s Trail meandering uphill and down. After crossing the River Gelder, from the Lochnagar track, we will go up over Creag an Lurachain with Prince Albert’s Cairn atop before finishing at Crathie Church Hall Easy Walk 12a: Balnacroft and the Genechal Distance 10km/6 mls Ascent 160m/520ft Walking time approx 4.5 hrs Map Landranger 44 Departure 11 am Start NO 264 949 Finish NO 269 948 We will start by walking from the car park to the Distillery and then along a back road to Balnacroft. Following a woodland track, we will make a detour to The Genechal, now a derelict cottage associated with Queen Victoria. Before we emerge onto open hillside, there is a stile to cross. The downhill route offers amazing vistas of Balmoral and the Eastern Cairngorms. We will retrace our steps from the distillery, back over the White Bridge to finish at Crathie Village Hall. Easy Special Interest Walk 12b: Around Crathie Distance 5km/3mls Ascent minimal Walking time approx 2 hrs Map Landranger 44 Departure 1.25 pm Start NO 264 949 Finish NO 269 948 Meet at the Hut on the Green in plenty of time to catch the Braemar service bus at 1.37pm alighting at Crathie. The walk will be at an easy pace on tracks around Crathie and include a tour of the Kirk which the Royal Family attend when they are resident at Balmoral and the cemetery where Queen Victoria’s servant John Brown is buried. We will finish at Crathie Village Hall.