My friend Abi and I had the most challenging adventure in the Cairngorm Mountains. From the Linn of Dee we walked 5km to Derry Lodge and pitched camp among the trees by Luibeg Burn. Having lightened our packs we took the path via Craig Bad an t-Seabhaig and Carn Crom to Derry Cairngorm (1155m). In glorious sunshine we picked our way through granite boulder fields to Loch Etchachan. A steep climb of 400m led to the Barns of Beinn Mheadhoin then onwards to the granite tors atop Beinn Mheadhoin (1182m).

We returned to Loch Etchachan and descended Coire Etchachan to the Hutchinson Memorial Hut, followed by the long walk along Glen Derry back to Derry Lodge. After a well deserved meal of pasta, beans and sausage we crawled into our tents for an early night.

The following morning was damp in comparison to the previous day. With the wee midges out in force we quickly packed up camp (leave no trace) and headed back to the Linn of Dee.

Our reward was the full breakfast at the Bothy cafe in Braemar.