Lochnagar

Lochnagar, at 1,155 metres, is one of the most celebrated mountains in Scotland, rising above one of the country's finest corries and immortalised in a poem by Lord Byron, who called it "the steep frowning glories of dark Lochnagar."

The standard route starts from the car park at the Spittal of Glen Muick, following a track across the glen floor before crossing a bridge over the River Muick and passing through forestry near Allt-na-guibhsaich on the edge of the Balmoral Estate. The path climbs steadily towards the bealach between Lochnagar and its outlying top, Meikle Pap, passing a memorial to a climber who died on the cliffs in 1953. From here the famous northern corrie comes into view — a dramatic curve of buttresses cradling a small lochan — before the route climbs a steep boulder slope known as the Ladder onto the summit plateau. The path then follows the corrie rim round to the true summit, marked by a viewpoint indicator and trig point on the rocky outcrop of Cac Càrn Beag.

Fitter walkers often extend the day into the full White Mounth round, taking in all five Munros on the plateau — Lochnagar, Càrn a' Choire Bhòidheach, Càrn an t-Sagairt Mòr, Cairn Bannoch, and Broad Cairn — returning past the dramatic cliffs of Creag an Dubh-loch.

The standard route to Lochnagar and back is around 18 kilometres with 870 metres of ascent, typically six to eight hours; the full five-Munro round is a considerably longer day of ten to twelve hours.

The Ladder slope is notorious for avalanches in winter conditions, and the corrie cliffs should be approached with caution at all times of year — Queen Victoria herself climbed Lochnagar and famously found the summit "cold, and wet, and cheerless," a reminder that this exposed plateau can turn quickly regardless of the glen below.

The Glen Muick car park at the Spittal is chargeable, with proceeds funding path maintenance on the Balmoral Estate.