UKC

I'm heading to the Cairngorms for the first time at the end of March with a couple of friends. None of us have much winter mountaineering experience so we'll be sticking to the valleys and lower ranges. Thinking about a multi-day circular route from Aviemore, taking in as much scenery as possible and staying in bothies along the way. Does anyone have any recommendations for routes? It'd be for 2-3 nights and walking ~10 miles a day. Thanks!

Hi Lydia, the classic multi-day walk through the Cairngorms is via the Lairig Ghru..

https://www.walkhighlands.co.uk/cairngorms/lairig-ghru.shtml

It can be attempted from either side of the 'Gorms (Speyside, namely the ski road from Aviemore, or Desside, namely from near Braemar).

From either direction it's a right slog. From Deeside, you can stop at the Corrour Bothy, and then go on to stay in the recently restored refuge in Garbh Coire under Braerich, then make your way back over Braerich, or go back the way you came.

Bear in mind that some sections will feel more like mountaineering than hillwalking, and the glen, as well as Garbh Coire, can get heavily snowed up, or heavily stormed in March.

For these reasons, it's quite an undertaking and there are no signposts for the mainpart. If this is your first time out in the Highlands in winter, it might be more advisable to try a few more manageable day-munros where the weather and the terrain isn't quite as gnarly as the Cairngorm. 

happy to offer some further tips if you'd like them

John C

That bothy (Garbh Coire) is in such a lovely position, albeit slightly off the Lairig Ghru. It's not large, it's neat and simple and clean and tidy. I looked in on the way up to the scramble to The Angel's Peak in November on the Sunday that it chucked it down again (for several days),  from Derry lodge until I got home at 4.30am, and nearly didn't get through the water near Blairgowrie. So don't forget that precipitation can be a real problem.

With less experience, I'd consider John's thought to do Munros or similar. Possibly see if you could hire the Steall hut at the end of the road section of Glen Nevis, and do some of the Mamores +/- The Aonachs if the weather is good enough with your experience.

Alternatively stay at the bothy beneath Stob Ban at the end of the Grey Corries, and do some of the Corbetts and Munros from there. 

Have you looked at the dull maps in the Bothy Bible? They may give an idea. You could head to Somewhere like the Coran Bunkhouse, next to the ferry, and depending on the weather head further north to beyond Fort William, or west for some of the less high hills, or back south to hills further south than Glen Coe, such as ones around Glen Orchy, or Crianlarich. I'm saying follow the better weather, so you could head much further east if rain is in the west, by travelling to Spean Bridge, and head to Newtonmore/A9 (Drumochter hills can be swift to do from the the area of the pass)

It's getting late on a Sunday, and I apologize for waffling somewhat.

I walked from Blair Atholl to Aviemore in the first week of January with a pal. Camped two nights and stayed in the Red House bothy for one. Pretty standard route up Glen Tilt to the Red House, White Bridge and over the Lairig Ghru. We did continue to Inverness and caught the train back to the start. The only issue was the three river crossings just before the Red House.

For a route through the glens, the obvious choice is through the Lairig Ghru and back by the Lairig an Laoigh, which can be done in two days or, more reasonably in winter, over three. Practical stopovers en route are Corrour Bothy in Glen Dee, Bob Scott's Bothy at Luibeg, and the Fords of Avon Refuge or Ryvoan Bothy.
In poor weather, your highest point is the boulder field in the Lairig Ghru, although the high point of the Lairig an Laoigh could be more challenging from a navigation point of view.
Both routes are very well described in the excellent new SMC Hillwalkers' Guide to The Cairngorms & North East Scotland, along with a number of other options.
If you follow the two Lairigs route (it can be done in either direction), a look at the map will show you can fairly easily extend it if desired to take in the relatively new Redhouse Bothy in Glen Geldie (although the path between Redhouse and Corrour can get very muddy the further north you get).
If you do go to the Redhouse, whether you've gone vie the L Ghru or L an Laoigh, another option instead of continuing on that circuit, could be to continue up the Geldie and down the Feshie, to stay at the Feshie Bothy (Ruighe Aiteachain), although that will give you two quite long days.
These are all well-trodden ways on mostly quite good (by Highland standards) paths. Some of the river/burn crossings can be problematic in heavy rain or thaw conditions; there is usually an alternative, although sometimes that can be quite arduous in itself. I can expand on that if you're sufficiently interested.

Lots of options of multi day walks in the Cairngorms incorporating bothies,  lovely time of year for it too! 

A word of warning about the Garbh Coire refuge, it isn't a bothy as previously suggested, it's a refuge shelter. Its small and is there for refuge in case of emergency, the general advice is not to use it otherwise. If you're not carrying tents with you, it's a long way to go to other shelter for the night if it's already occupied. 

You'll have loads of other options though, even more if you take tents and that gives you more freedom. The Harvey's map for the Cairngorms is a great planning tool! Enjoy!

The Lairig Ghru, the undisputed king of Scottish mountain passes, is an absolute must in my opinion, but it is not a soft option, being high, remote and rough, and at the end of March there may well be a fair bit of snow about. I found it quite arduous last July when I crossed from north to south after climbing Ben Macdui, but it was an unforgettable day. An account, with plenty of photos, can be found at https://www.walkhighlands.co.uk/Forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=119611

After a night in Corrour Bothy you have a choice of low level routes, either head east to Derry Lodge and then north over the Lairig an Laoigh to the Fords of Avon and so back to Glenmore, staying at the Hutchison Memorial Hut (if the weather was good you could perhaps head on over past beautiful Loch Etchachan to the head of Loch Avon).

The alternative is to head south then west into Glen Feshie, as already mentioned, staying at Ruigh Aiteachain bothy before returning to Aviemore - plenty of space there, and it even has a toilet! Glen Feshie is being 're-wilded' and really is a magical place. 

Corrour Bothy in particular is small and popular, and there is chance that it could be full, so you had best take tents, just in case.

Note that the number 30 bus runs frequently between Aviemore and Glenmore.

I also have my eye on a walk from Blair Atholl to Aviemore (both have railway stations) via Glen Tilt and Glen Feshie - this route doesn't go nearly so high as the Lairig Ghru. You could stay at the Red House Bothy previously mentioned, and Ruigh Aiteachain in Feshie. A long first day though (18 miles). You could cut the last day short by finishing at Kingussie (train).

Re Glen Feshie, last I heard the route in from the Red House was described as blocked by landslide with no reasonable detour. Do you know if that situation has been improved?

There's a bypass path, just stay on the east bank. It's easy to find going north. Coming from the south it starts about 200m before the first ford.

Good to know- thanks 

Ah yes, I had heard that there had been a recent landslide in upper Glen Feshie, but thought that there was a way across. However, after reading this, I'm not so sure.

https://www.facebook.com/walkhighlands/posts/a-further-landslip-on-the-glen...

Edit - this is where I first heard about it - https://www.walkhighlands.co.uk/Forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=121349

Edit2 - when I walked down Glen Feshie in 2018 I had a bit of trouble about 1km SE of the new landslide, loose active scree in a steep gully that was a bit tricky to cross with a heavy pack, but nothing like the pictures on Facebook.

In reply to WildAboutWalking:

Edit - the route from Loch Etchachan to the head of Loch Avon that I mentioned is across a steep north facing slope at high altitude, and is likely to be snowed up and quite possibly icy in late March - ice axe/crampons territory, which is not what you are after.

The route from Loch Etchachan to the head of Loch Avon goes left to right in this pic, taken on Saturday 24th February 24. 

Wonderful!

Yes, the route plunges into deep shade far right.

Aye the route goes diagonally left to right of the obvious burn seen here centre right of pic (taken on same day as previous pic.)

Whatever you chose, and there are several great options...
If on the map, it says Ford, and not FB (Footbridge), then be prepared for a full trousers, socks and boots off wade across! 
They are not fun when there's snow on the ground, but being prepared for them makes it easier. 
 

Photo of inside of Garbh Coire bothy (from a slide). For those that don’t know, it ain’t much bigger than the photo makes out. Please dont note the provisions we took. 

The inside of the Garbh Coire bothy since it's refurbishment. Pic from 2018. 

Using Corrour and the Hutchison hut, the Lairig Ghru and Lairig an Laoigh circular is the obvious choice (obvious because it is arguably the best big glen-based walk in Scotland):

https://www.ukhillwalking.com/articles/destinations/the_big_routes_the_lair...

A couple of points:

In late March it could be very wintry still, and if there's deep snow at lairig level then it can be arduous if not impassable within the timeframe, on foot.

Weather in the Ghru can be pretty wild - it's a wind funnel, and the base is higher than the summit of a lot of UK mountains. Think twice if it's forecast to be stormy.

There's one major river crossing  - the Fords of Avon - which can only sensibly be considered when it's not in spate. Again, weather preceding and during your trip is key.

Corrour and the Hutchison can both get very crowded. Bring tents in case (always sensible anyway - what if you don't reach the bothy?)