The Cairnwell, seen from the A93 to the south Related Links Gavin Shaw The Cairngorms Sub 3000 Braes o Mar Nigel Spencer Cairn Gorm and Beinn Mheadhoin Accommodation Braemar Youth Hostel The youth hostel is set in fine ground and is comfortable inside with plenty of kitchen and dining space. The drying room is effective and the rest of the hostel was generally warm in winter. The main drawback was the size of the dormitories - too many beds and not very much personal space. 'Rucksacks Braemar', Braemar Braemar Lodge Bunkhouse, Braemar Travel Aberdeen - Braemar Timetables, Stagecoach

Introduction
Braemar is in royal country. Nearby lies the Balmoral estate which houses Balmoral Castle and Lochnagar. The village of Braemar has won awards for best village in Scotland and the coach loads of tourists in the summer testify to that. The area that you can walk in is vast and includes the Cairngorms to the north, Glen Shee to the south, The Dee valley and Lochnagar.

The approach on the road to Braemar is finest from Ballater, large forests of native pine and birch domimate the valley. Small foot hills lie next to the river Dee, these rising up to the massive mountains of Lochnagar and Ben Avon. This scenery continues westwards from Braemar to the Linn of Dee. The southern road approach takes you over the pass of Glen Shee - the highest major road in the UK at 665m.

The expansive panorama out west
from Glas Moal to Glas Tuielachan

The Lochnagar plateau seen from Glas Moal

While many of the hills are comparatively rounded, the utter wildness of these compensates quite nicely. Deep corries dominate the scene in Lochnagar and the southern Cairngorms providing many classic climbs - and a few nice camp sites as well!

Many of the approaches are very long and often an overnight stay in a bothy is the order of the day. Otherwise a bicyle or pair of skis will be found to be very handy.