Lochnagar from Glen Muick

Explore beautiful landscapes in the Cairngorms

The famous Lochnagar Walk

Lochnagar from Glen Muick is a big day out, but a good one. You start on the broad, boggy floor of Glen Muick, climb through Scots pine and open moorland, then eventually find yourself picking a way through granite towards the high plateau. Much later, you come back down past Glas Allt and finish beside Loch Muick.

It is hard to think of many walks near Ballater that pack quite so much into one circuit.

On a clear day the views from the higher ground stretch across Royal Deeside and deep into the Cairngorms. Of course, clear days are never guaranteed up here, which is part of why this is a walk to plan properly rather than just turn up for.

Lochnagar walk at a glance


Distance	Approx. 19 km / 11.75 miles
Time	Around 6–7 hours
Ascent	Approx. 930 metres
Highest point	Cac Càrn Beag, 1,155 metres
Start and finish	Spittal of Glen Muick
Route	Circular
Terrain	Tracks and mountain paths, with rough granite higher up
Munro	Yes

Allow around six or seven hours, but don’t build your day around being back at a particular minute. A long lunch, plenty of photo stops or bad visibility can easily stretch things out.

Getting there from Ballater

If you’re staying in Ballater, Glen Muick is pleasantly close.

Cross the River Dee and turn right at the T-junction on the south side of the river. About 0.6 miles later, take the signed road for Glen Muick and follow it to the Spittal of Glen Muick car park at the end of the public road.

The Glen Muick road is single track with passing places. There’s no point hurrying it.

For anyone staying with Path & Pine, this is one of the reasons Ballater works so well for a walking break. Lochnagar feels properly wild once you’re up there, yet the start of the walk is reached without spending half the morning in the car.

Before setting off from Ballater

Take the mountain forecast seriously. A mild morning in Ballater can turn into cold wind and cloud higher up, so look at the summit forecast rather than the village weather. Wind speed, temperature, cloud level and visibility are the useful bits.

Check the latest Glen Muick access and parking information too.

Take a map and compass and know how to use them. Phones and GPS are useful, but download your maps first and don’t make a mobile signal part of the plan. Start with a charged phone; a power bank is sensible on a long day.

Waterproofs, extra layers, food, water and a headtorch should be in the bag even when the forecast looks decent. Tell someone where you’re going and when you expect to be back.

If you’ve forgotten lunch or need extra water, Ballater is the place to sort it before driving into the glen.

Snow and ice are a different proposition altogether. In winter conditions, Lochnagar is a winter mountain day and may require winter skills and equipment. During the winter forecasting season, check the Scottish Avalanche Information Service forecast for the Southern Cairngorms.

Parking at Spittal of Glen Muick

The walk starts from the large car park at the Spittal of Glen Muick, at the end of the public road.

There is a parking charge. We haven’t put a fixed price here because charges and access arrangements can change, so it is better to check before travelling.

The Balmoral Ranger Service visitor centre is at the Spittal, and public toilets are listed at the start of the route.

From the car park, follow the track towards the Spittal and pick up the route for Lochnagar.

How hard is Lochnagar?

It is a mountain day, not a casual extension of the Loch Muick walk.

The circuit is roughly 19 km with around 930 metres of climbing. The early part is straightforward enough under normal conditions, but the ground gets steeper and rougher as you gain height. Once you’re on the high ground, exposure and poor visibility matter as much as tired legs.

If you’re used to full days in the hills, those numbers will tell you quite a lot. If you’re not, the route may feel considerably bigger than 19 km sounds.

Your fitness and experience matter, and so does the day you choose. Lochnagar in settled summer weather and Lochnagar in low cloud and strong wind are not the same walk.

How long does it take?

Around 6–7 hours is a sensible allowance for the usual circuit from Glen Muick.

You may be quicker. You may be much slower. Neither matters particularly. Stops, rough ground and weather all eat into the day, and once autumn arrives, daylight starts to matter too.

Route map and navigation

This is where your route map or GPX should sit:

[Add route map or GPX embed here.]

The lower route is generally easy enough to follow, but don’t let that lull you into assuming the whole day will be obvious. Once you’re up on the plateau, cloud can make an open landscape surprisingly hard to read.

If your phone is part of your navigation setup, download the map before leaving and have another way of navigating if the phone dies or gets damaged.

Walk Directions.

The beginning

The walk starts at the large car park at the end of the Glen Muick road. Head towards the Spittal of Glen Muick and out across the floor of the glen.

The first 20 minutes or so are fairly soft and boggy in places. You’ll pass peaty pools, heather banks and patches of almost unnaturally bright green moss.

Then the path begins to climb through Scots pine.

Not long afterwards you leave the trees behind and come out onto open hillside. From here, the day starts to feel less like a glen walk and more like a mountain one.

Going up

This is where you earn the summit.

The path climbs steadily for about an hour, and the views improve almost without you noticing at first. Every time you look back, a little more of the moorland has opened up below.

The route follows the Allt na Giubhsaich towards the higher ground beneath Lochnagar. Reach the high pass and you start to see north across the Dee Valley towards the Cairngorms.

The path then crosses a long spread of broken granite on its way towards the saddle between the summit ridge and Meikle Pap.

By this point the softer ground lower down has gone. It’s granite, open hillside and the huge northern corrie of Lochnagar in front of you.

The Ladder and the plateau

From the saddle, the route heads up the rocky section known as the Ladder.

It’s steeper and rougher here. The path works through granite boulders before finally topping out on the plateau.

On a clear day, this is where you’ll probably slow down without meaning to. The views are worth looking at.

The route stays near the rim of Lochnagar’s corrie on the way towards the summit. The cliffs are impressive, but don’t creep towards the edge for a better photograph. Give them space, especially in poor visibility or when snow is lying.

The summit

The highest point is Cac Càrn Beag at 1,155 metres. This is the true summit of Lochnagar and the top of the Munro.

If the cloud stays away, the views reach across Royal Deeside and the surrounding Cairngorms.

It can also be surprisingly cold up here. The sheltered morning you left behind in Glen Muick may bear very little resemblance to the wind on the plateau.

Have a stop if conditions are good. Eat something. Take in the view.

Then remember you’ve still got quite a lot of walking to do.

Down towards Glas Allt

The circuit leaves the summit area towards the south and southeast, heading down in the direction of Loch Muick.

The path drops over open heather into the upper Glas Allt. Gradually the bare feel of the plateau disappears and the ground softens again.

Lower down, you reach the Glas Allt burn and pass the waterfall. When the heather is purple, this stretch is particularly good.

Keep descending towards the trees and Loch Muick.

Glas-allt-Shiel and Loch Muick

The route reaches Glas-allt-Shiel through a stand of Scots pines. The lodge sits beside Loch Muick and is associated with Queen Victoria.

After several hours of granite, wind and open hillside, getting back among trees and water feels rather good.

Turn right at Glas-allt-Shiel and follow the track along Loch Muick.

The pace becomes easier here. You’re still a fair way from the car, but the hardest ground is behind you and the route follows the loch eastwards.

The boathouse and the last stretch

Keep following the loch towards the boathouse near its eastern end.

From there, the route leaves the shore and heads northeast until it meets the wider track back towards the Spittal of Glen Muick.

Follow that back to the car park.

By the time your boots come off, you’ve crossed peat, pine woodland, moorland, granite boulders and a high mountain plateau, then come back by waterfalls and Loch Muick. It’s a long loop, but never a monotonous one.

A word about the ground

The lower route is mostly on estate tracks and mountain paths, although wet and boggy patches are normal in Glen Muick.

Higher up, expect rougher granite and steeper walking. The Ladder and the approach to the plateau are the parts where you’ll notice the change most.

The plateau is exposed. In clear conditions it can feel wonderfully open; in cloud it can become much harder to navigate.

And of course the weather matters. Rain, ice or snow can turn familiar ground into something quite different.

Weather and navigation

Use a mountain forecast, not a general Ballater forecast. Check the wind at summit level, temperature, cloud base and visibility, along with any rain, snow or ice expected.

Carry a map and compass and know how to use them.

Phones and GPS units are very useful, but they’re not infallible. Batteries die. Screens break. Download the mapping you need before leaving and carry a backup.

What to take

For a normal summer mountain day, you’ll want proper walking footwear, waterproof jacket and trousers, warm layers, food, water, navigation equipment, a headtorch, first-aid supplies and a charged phone.

We’d throw a hat and gloves in too. They weigh next to nothing and can feel very welcome higher up.

Winter needs more thought. Depending on conditions, suitable winter boots, crampons and an ice axe may be needed, along with the knowledge to use them.

Is Lochnagar a Munro?

Yes. Lochnagar’s highest point is Cac Càrn Beag at 1,155 metres.

Where does the walk start?

At the Spittal of Glen Muick car park, at the end of the public road through Glen Muick.

How far is it?

The usual circuit is about 19 km, or 11.75 miles, with roughly 930 metres of ascent.

Is it suitable for beginners?

That depends much more on the person and the conditions than on the word “beginner”.

The useful question is whether you’re comfortable with a 19 km mountain day, around 930 metres of ascent, rough ground and the possibility of navigating exposed high ground in poor visibility.

If that sounds like a big step up from the walking you’ve done before, choose your day carefully and don’t be afraid to save Lochnagar for another time if the weather isn’t playing along.

More walks from Ballater

If your legs still have anything to say after Lochnagar, there are plenty of other walks around Ballater.

Before you leave Ballater make sure you walk Sgor Buidhe & Loch Muick Circuit. They are stunning!

They’re very different walks, which is exactly why both are worth having on the list.

Staying in Ballater for a walking break

This is where Ballater makes life easy.

You can head into Glen Muick in the morning, spend a full day on Lochnagar and be back in the village for the evening. Stay for a few nights and Loch Muick, Sgor Buidhe and plenty of other Royal Deeside walks are close enough to mix and match depending on the weather.

If you’re coming to Ballater mainly to walk, have a look at our self-catering cottages. That’s exactly the sort of trip they’re well placed for.