Walks about Tarland, Royal Deeside Scotland 4

Tarland walks pages

Walks around Tarland

Pittenderich Circular Walk

View over the Howe o’ Cromar to Lochnagar and the White Mounth

Parking / Start	Knappieround Car Park
Standard	Energetic Hill-top Loop
Way-Marked Colour	Red
Distance	11.5 km (with optional shorter loops)
Time	3-4 hrs

Introduction/Overview

This walk will take you to the hills directly above Tarland to enjoy stunning views of Deeside and beyond. The route climbs through a variety of woodland environments towards the 508m summit of Pittenderich, 350 metres above the village. The return loop follows a quiet estate road to Tarland. Much of the walking is on good footpaths, tracks and roads with dry underfoot conditions.

Route Description

The described route starts with a gentle ramble through Muirton Woods. This route avoids the hazards of the Aberdeen road but, after 1.2 km, crosses the road (4) 200m NE of the car park (1).

Leave the car park (1) by the gate furthest from the road and follow the woodland paths indicated by the red-topped posts. The route passes close to Alastrean House (2) before turning left to follow one of its access drives.

Follow the drive for about 150m until it crosses a small stream, appropriately named Smallburn. Take the path to the left before the bridge (3) and follow Smallburn upstream.

The large field that opens up on your left is the venue for the annual Tarland Show held every August. The Show has gained a reputation for being one of the best showcases of all types of livestock in the NE of Scotland.

Cross the Aberdeen road (4) with care and continue upstream with the Smallburn on your right. Nearing Smallburn croft, look out for the way-marking post which will guide you away from the buildings to continue following the left bank of the stream. Soon, you will encounter a double line of beech trees (5), one of the distinguishing features of the local landscape.

Turning left here will take you quickly back to the village.

To carry on to Pittenderich, turn right, cross the footbridge and climb towards Doune Hill taking the beech trees path straight ahead. At the top of the slope turn left (6) onto the woodland track which skirts the western side of Doune Hill for almost 1km, overlooking the fields of Ranna farm on the left with the Howe o’ Cromar below and Morven looming large beyond.

Another shortcut to join the road back to Tarland is to descend between the next row of double beeches on the left (7) after about 300 metres on this track.

Continuing round Doune Hill, the slopes of the Pressendye ridge appear behind Ranna farm buildings.

The contrast between the these infertile slopes and the immediately adjacent arable land is explained by the underlying geology. The fertile arable land is underlain by base-rich gabbro whereas the higher slopes are all underlain by granitic gneisses. There are very few localities in these northern latitudes where even south-facing slopes can be cultivated to this altitude (up to 350 metres).

The track soon rises obliquely away from the fields and joins another track. Continue along this way-marked track towards the electricity pylons. Turn right at the power line (8) and follow it until the path falls to another track. Turn left along this track for a short distance.

Note the deep gully on your left at this point. It is the lower end of a system of melt-water channels eroded beneath the ice sheet that covered this area during the Ice Age over 10,000 years ago.

The main track soon forks left (9) and leads steeply up to the edge of the woods where open moorland begins. Go through the fence and bear right (10), keeping the small quarry on your left. Follow the forest track as it climbs to the NE giving a superb view over mid-Deeside.

Look out for Clochnaben on the horizon, identified by the prominent granite tor on its shoulder. Immediately to the left of Clochnaben, at the bottom of a curve, is a distinctive ‘notch’. This is another, but much larger, glacial melt-water channel through which large volumes of water escaped south to the Mearns from the Dee valley. Many such features can be seen in the hills of Deeside and Donside.

As you climb and approach the next plantation, look back to see the distinctive conical profile of Mount Keen with the contrasting rounded profile of Braid Cairn immediately to the east. Continue upwards through the pine plantation, keeping left at the track junction (11) where the main track drops steeply to the right. Where the track emerges from the trees again, follow the short section of old track to the left indicated by the two way-marking arrows. This leads you to a more modern track at a forking junction. Double back sharply to the left (12) on to this track and follow it away from the junction.

Enjoy the respite from the ascent as the track contours round the face of Pittenderich before climbing again as it swings to the right. Continue upwards while curving to the right and the heather slopes of Pressendye appear ahead. This is the highest summit on the long ridge that forms the northern rampart of the Howe o’ Cromar.

As the track levels out, look for the way-marking post opposite a gap in the plantation above the track. Turn right here (13) and follow the rough Land Rover track upwards until the summit cairn of Pittenderich appears through the stunted trees. The easiest route to the cairn follows a path that comes into view just after you appear to have gone past the cairn on your right. At the cairn (14), you can appreciate the full impact of the spectacular panorama.

To return to Tarland, retrace your steps down the Land Rover track and along the forest track as far as the lay-by on your left (15). Bear right and take the way-marked track that heads in the direction of Tarland and Mount Keen. Out in the open heather moorland, look for turning points marked by way-marking posts as you descend towards a distant gate leading into another plantation (16).

As you approach the gate, you will see on your left the upper end of the melt-water channel whose outlet you passed earlier. Although it drained water to the east, it starts with a slight uphill gradient in this direction. This is taken as evidence that this channel was eroded underneath an ice sheet with water being forced to flow uphill under pressure contained by the enclosing ice.

Your route now continues downhill through a mixed plantation of spruce, pine and larch until the track swings to the right and emerges from the plantation at a gate (17). Follow the way-markers straight ahead from here and then turn left on to the track at the end of the line of beeches (18). Keep on the track for 700m and continue in the same direction when you come to the tarred road (19).

The road will lead you to Tarland via Ranna farm and Douneside House. After the first long straight descent, keep to the right at the small dam (20) and follow the road that skirts behind Douneside.

Owned by the MacRobert Trust, Douneside is the former home of Lady MacRobert who gave a Stirling Bomber ('MacRobert's Reply') and a number of Hurricanes to the RAF in the second World War in memory of her three sons; two killed on operational sorties when serving with the RAF in 1941 and one in a flying accident.

Approaching Tarland, you can continue to the end of the Douneside road (22) and turn left to return to the car park. Alternatively, you can take the track to the right (21) just before the new MacRobert Trust offices and seek some well-earned refreshment in the village (23).

Winter view of Morven from road-side NW of Ranna (19)

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Leaflet published June 2004 by the Tarland Development Group

in association with Upper Deeside Access Trust.