| Tarland walks pages | Introduction | Alastrean | Corrachree | Drummy | Pittenderich |
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Walks around Tarland Corrachree Circular Walk |
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| View over Deeside to Mount Keen and Mount Battock |
| Parking / Start |
Drummy Car Park |
| Standard |
Country Hike |
| Way-Marked Colour |
Yellow |
| Distance |
4.5 km + 2 km |
| Time |
1.5 hours + 1 hour |
Introduction/Overview
This relatively undemanding walk explores some of the older routes to the SW of Tarland. It follows the perimeter of Drummy Muir, an area rich in evidence of Bronze Age settlement and farming. Underfoot conditions are generally good although there can be muddy stretches after wet weather. Most of the route is well away from traffic. A spur from the circular route leads to Knockargety Hill, the site of an ancient hill fortification with splendid views across Cromar to the hills and mountains of the Dee valley.
Route Description
From the car park (1), take the broad track leading uphill away from the village. This is the old road from Tarland to Ballater, via Ordie and Tullich. Drummy Muir stretches away to the right and Drummy Wood lies to your left. Just beyond the high point of the track (2), pause to take in the view across Deeside to the summits of Mount Keen, Lochnagar and Morven. Refer to the labelled panorama on this leaflet to help identify them.
Close on your right at this point are the remains of a kerbed Bronze Age cairn. It sits on top of a small hill overlooking the hut circles and field systems of the farmers who built it. .
Continue down the track towards the bottom of the hill where it bears sharp right (3). A few ruins remain here to mark the once thriving community of Crofts of Drummy.
High in the moorland to the right, saddle querns once used for grinding grain have been found recently. Together with other evidence, their presence indicates that Cromar has been a place where farmers have lived and worked for four thousand years or more.
Pass through the gate across the track (4) and continue past the derelict croft-house. The track winds through woodland and passes through another gate before climbing to the road at Burnside.
At this point (5), you have the option of cutting two kilometres from the route by turning right, or following the marked spur route to the left to take in the splendid views from Knockargety Hill.
If you have turned left, follow the tarred road for 200 metres and turn right through the gate at the start of the broad forest track leading into the pine woods (6). This track eventually swings left and then sharp right after about 300 metres. Leave the track at this latter bend by bearing left. Take the path through the trees to the left of the timber extraction lane and follow it until you encounter the fence marking the southern edge of the wood (7). Keep this fence on your left for 250 metres and take the opportunity to view the panorama over the Dee valley. At the far corner of the field on your left, follow the way-marked route as it bears right into a sparsely wooded area. You will reach a track leading to the summit of the hill (8) if you follow it to the left.
Enjoy the panorama before retracing your steps to rejoin the circular route.
As the track emerges from the edge of the forest near the summit of Knockargety Hill, you can see a small section of the ditch and rampart fortification which once extended around much of the hill summit (see plan). The feature is similar to those found around Iron Age hill forts in other parts of Scotland.
Back at Burnside (5), continue along the tarred road where the view to the right affords an excellent view over the Howe o’ Cromar and its encircling hills. When the road ends (9), bear right and follow the farm track for almost 1500 metres back over the ridge to the west of Drummy Muir.
After the stand of beech on the left, look out for Corrachree with its attractive pond and gardens. This is the former home of a branch of the Farquharson clan whose links with upper Deeside go back many centuries.
Turn right towards Tarland along the tarred road at the far end of the track (10) and use the verges to keep clear of traffic. After 500 metres (11), turn right again to return to the Drummy car park. Refreshments are available in Tarland Square.
A plan of the fortification on top of Knockargety Hill as recorded around 1900.
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| The panorama from the top of Knockargety Hill |
| Top of Page |
© Peter Craig
Based on leaflet published June
2004 by the Tarland Development Group
in association with Upper Deeside Access Trust