The date and venue for this year’s Society “hillwalk” have now been set. The walk this year will not really be a hillwalk and it is hoped that members who find the term hillwalk off-putting will come along.
The chosen route is the Seven Bridges Walk starting and finishing in Ballater. This was the plan for 2017 except that two bridges which were still closed because of damage caused in December 2015 by Storm Frank. The overall distance is about 11 kilometres (7 miles).
The rendezvous will be at 10.30 am in the main car park in Ballater, behind the Glenmuick Church. There are toilets here and when last checked there was no parking fee or time limit. The walk will be led by Richard Shirreffs.
The route is largely level and on reasonable tracks or paths. From the car park we will leave Ballater by Queen’s Road and Dundarroch Road, picking up a track following the line constructed (before Queen Victoria vetoed it) for the westward extension of the Deeside Railway. After skirting the A93 just east of Bridge of Gairn, we pick up country paths which take us to the Polhollick Bridge. From there a forestry track leads across to the South Deeside Road, but we will take a detour to the riverside and a fishing lodge once used by the Queen Mother, where we can have a lunch stop. From Bridge of Muick a series of new tracks just above the road keeps us mainly clear of walking on tarmac, and then it is over the final bridge back into Ballater – and some refreshment!
A close counterpart of this route is described online but our starting point will be different and the detour to the riverside is an extra.
If you are interested, please let Maria Robertson know, preferably by e-mail. If you are interested but do not want to commit yourself, please nevertheless let her know of that.
Country Walk 2019 full details with map.