Corgarff Circular

Ian Cordiner

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This walk starts by the roadside and descends along an old military road. A path off this leads to a more gentle dip before reaching a small wood. The track then descends to a small stream, which it follows for a short distance. The water is then crossed, but it is normally shallow enough to do so in walking-boots without getting wet. Before reaching a main road the route passes a small church called Our Lady of the Snows.

After a short stretch along the side of a tarred road the route returns to the edge of a wood, before reaching some grassy fields. It follows close to the River Don for a short distance before heading southwards. The pastoral land then gives way to open moorland once more, before returning to the military road to complete the circle back to the start.

The walk passes an 18th Century bridge made by the military road-builders. There are three bridges on the three-mile stretch of road and you may wish to do a detour at Waymark 9 to view the other two. The road led to Corgarff Castle, a military stronghold for the Hanoverian troops trying to maintain order and seeking out illicit stills after the Battle of Culloden (1746).

Scotland - Northeast Scotland - Aberdeenshire - Donside

Features

Birds, Church, Flowers, Great Views, Hills or Fells, Moor, River, Wildlife, Woodland
6/29/2016 - Ted Andrews

walked 29/06/16 Waypoint 2 is incorrect. The correct turn off is 57.14689N 3.178995 NJ 28760 06820 which is the second crossroad. The first leads off to the right on a sheep track which disappears but takes you down to a bridge over the Burn of Tornahaish at the southern extremity of the woodland. There is no path here to rejoin the correct route. The corrected waypoint takes you along the track as described in the guide. Confirm there is no layby at all at waypoint 5. On leaving the woodland at waypoint 6 the track is now clearly visible. The farm at Delavine is a very good marker to aim for. There are signs warning dog owners to keep dogs on leads because of ground nesting birds and there are sheep on the higher ground.

1/1/2014 - Gary Mackenzie

An enjoyable walk with good views.There's no sign of a layby at waymark 5 now but spotted the gap in the trees easily enough.It would be possible to shorten the walk and miss out the final ascent by parking near waymark 5 and following the route from there.I would give it 5 stars for dog walking as there were no sheep on the hills when I was there but I don't know if that would always be the case. J

3/24/2009 - Adrian & Alex Reeves

My wife and I walked this in March 09 on a wet and cold day but after setting off the sun came out briefly and then it snowed! But we did enjoy the walk, one thing we found on waypoint 5 there are no trees on the right and the track had become very wet and muddy here. We did get some good views up around Delavine. Very nice walk, we plan to it again in reverse in August when the heather is in full flower. Thanks Ian.