Access
5th January 2016
It’s very definitely winter up in the hills with more snow to come. The ground is mostly unfrozen but it has become icy in exposed places above 900 metres.
With conditions shaping up I’ve been asked a few times recently about access, both on foot and with a bike. Most local estates have had damage to tracks/footpaths/bridges but most of them are passable unless told otherwise.
Damaged bridge and track.
The bridge beside Glen Muick car park is damaged but the estate has managed pedestrian access over it so Lochnagar can be accessed as normal. The road to Glas-alt-Shiel is intact and okay to bike, although there will be some rough bits, however the note from the Ranger there- ‘The footbridges at the west end of Loch Muick have all been washed away and rivers unfordable on foot when in spate’.
Elsewhere- Access to An Socach from the Baddoch may be tricky as the bridge is gone. I assume it’s fordable at the risk of wet feet although I haven’t been for a look.
Mar Lodge, with access to the main Southern Cairngorms, have no communications back yet so I can’t confirm if the footbridges are intact. Part of the small road bridge over the Quoich has gone.
Access to the Glenshee Munro’s is unaffected.
Please check road conditions before traveling.
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Steve Smart
5th January 2016 10:35 pm
Brilliant info, cheers.