I can still quote the first two lines of the Prologue to Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. Some of the magic is lost in modern English, but it goes: "When April with his showers sweet with fruit / The drought of March has pierced unto the root ..." And a
few lines later: "Then do folks long to go on pilgrimage ..." Or, in the case of hillwalkers, long to go to the high tops – and with better weather.
The drought of March? If only. This March was the wettest for over a decade. As for April showers, with continuing wet weather and cold north winds April saw a lot of fresh, soft snow on those high tops.
East of a line drawn between Glen Muick and Glen Clova is a vast area of rolling hills that occupies most of Ordnance Survey map 44. Only the highest hill, the isolated Mount Keen at 939m/3,081ft, makes it to Munro status. Its position as the most easterly of all Munros makes it an obvious target. The next two highest main summits, the Corbetts of Mount Battock and Ben Tirran, each lie some nine miles distant.
Mount Keen's conical peak and isolation make it a Corbett-like viewpoint, readily identifiable from afar. The name is a corruption of Monadh Caoin, meaning the pleasant, gentle or even smooth hill, perhaps referring to the lack of crags. This seems odd, since there are crags on the Corrach to the north, and the summit area is of typical Cairngorms grit topped by a stack of granite boulders.
Mount Keen can be approached from the north via Glen Tanar. Drive from Aboyne to Bridge o'Ess, or catch the main Deeside bus to Dinnet and walk the extra couple of miles, then to the car park before Glen Tanar House. It is six miles up this attractive glen and the track is of cycling quality. A more complex route, challenging navigational skills, is from Glen Muick to the west, yet it gives full flavour of this rolling, isolated countryside.
A few weeks ago, however, Jimbo, Lindsay and I went to Mount Keen, anticipating a less-than-challenging outing by the popular Glen Mark route from the south. With a track climbing to a height of 670m, then a Munro path going north to the summit, this is a good approach for a relative newcomer.
In 1861, Queen Victoria had it even easier ... she cadged a lift on a horse for much of the way on a north/south traverse from Glen Tanar to Glen Mark. The assembled party used the drove road, an ancient right of way – the Mounth Road – which crosses the west shoulder of Mount Keen, but there is no record that she actually made the detour to the top. At White Well, map ref 420829, she rated the water as being very pure, as indeed it is. Cue name-change: it's now called Queen's Well.
From Edzell follow the Glen Esk road to a parking place at map ref 447804, before crossing the Water of Mark. Walk west a short distance to the start of the signposted track on the east bank of the Water of Mark to enter Glen Mark, too open to be pretty, but there are crags on the south-west side. It is a 2 1/4-mile walk past the Queen's Well to reach Glenmark.
The track is rough at first, but improves to cycling
quality once the track from Invermark Lodge comes in. The track then heads NNW, crossing the Easter Burn and the Ladder Burn.
The climb now commences. The track continues by the side of the Ladder Burn, and then zigzags steeply for a mile before easing off to a cairn at map ref 405853. From there a broad granite path strikes north giving a gentle ascent to the summit trig point. On a clear day it would be almost impossible to get lost.
We certainly had a clear day, but also lots of that fresh, soft snow. As we went uphill the track disappeared altogether, leaving us to plowter through foot-deep glistening white and unbroken snowfields. Luckily it was a grand day, but arduous, meaning that we took over three hours to reach the top. Between the three of us Mount Keen had been climbed some 30 times, but this ascent was the toughest.
Once on top though we did appreciate the attractions of this peak – its solitary nature, remoteness and panoramic views.(
FactfileMap
Ordnance Survey map 44, Ballater & Glen Clova
Distance
10 miles
Height
700m
Terrain
Track, then Munro path
Start point
Parking place, map ref 447804, by end of Glen Esk road
Time 5 to 6 hours
Nearest village Edzell
Nearest refreshment spot
There is a good choice of coffee shops in Edzell
The full article contains 811 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
