MOUNTAIN PORTRAIT
This mighty Cairngorms mountain may be forbidding – but its rare wildlife and special atmosphere are truly unique, says Jim Perrin
WHENEVER I PASS the Linn of Dee, I always think with a shudder of Menlove Edwards, the major Welsh rock-climbing pioneer of the 1930s, swimming down when it was swollen with snow-melt at Easter 1933. To reassure his companions, he agreed to tie on to a climbing rope so that they could drag him out if necessary. In the first pool of the descent after the confluence with the Geldie Burn, his head went through a loop of the rope. Somehow he survived. I’d not recommend that you try to repeat the experience. Instead press on along the track to Derry Lodge in Glen Lui. The track continues as a well-marked moorland path to reach the southern entrance of Lairig Ghru, and in doing so provides the most enjoyable approach to Cairn Toul, despite the lengthy and potentially ankle-snapping boulder fields you’ll need to cross further along the way.
Don’t panic that the path takes you up the east bank of the Dee whilst your objective rises from the west bank. There’s a footbridge close to the watchers’ bothy of Corrour, near the main salmon gathering pool in the mighty burn’s headwaters, to allay proper fears of Scottish river crossings. Once you’re across it, you’ll find yourself in the shadow, literally, of The Devil’s Point (the Gaelic name is habitually earthier). You’ll probably encounter hard snow here well into the summer months. A stream spills down the hillside in front of you, foaming white in the shadow. You’ll need to keep it on your right-hand side as an immense ascent brings you to the saddle between The Devil’s Point and Cairn Toul. You may as well follow the contours round to the left upon reaching the plateau and take in the summit cairn of The Devil’s Point – at 1004m/3303ft a Munro itself and a very fine viewpoint – before re-focusing on the task in hand and setting your sights on Cairn Toul.
But you’ll want first to soak up the atmosphere of this very special place. Where else in Britain matches the spacious, barren grandeur of the Cairngorms plateau? You might think it lifeless, but don’t be deceived. Look closely and the likelihood is that, at the right season, you’ll glimpse three mountain birds of outstanding ornithological interest – the snow b
