Geo-Trips :: The 'Low Road' round Ben Rinnes

Banffshire

A walk from The Beatshach, Fri, 16 Apr 2021 by Anne Burgess

We left a car in Aberlour and drove in another one up to the the small car park at Glack Harnes, which is used by people walking to the summit of Ben Rinnes. Instead of walking up, we walked mostly down, along an estate track that undulates along the north slope of the hill, with good views of Ben Rinnes and also the Convals to the east. The track rejoins the public road at Benrinnes Distillery, and we made our way through Edinvillie to Glenallachie Distillery, then via the Aberlour Burn and the Linn of Ruthrie and past Aberlour Distillery to retrieve the first car and then drove back to collect the second one.

Click the blue circles to see a photograph taken from that spot and read further information about the location. The blue lines indicate the direction of view. There is also a slideshow of this trip. ( )

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NJ2835 : Parked Cars at Glack Harnes by Anne Burgess
Parked Cars at Glack Harnes
It's a pleasant warm spring day and the car park is full, with cars straggling up... more

NJ2836 : Underwater Tracks by Anne Burgess
Underwater Tracks
We were intrigued by the snaking trails on the bottom of this puddle, but could... more

NJ2836 : Foal's Stable by Anne Burgess
Foal's Stable
This sluggish channel is the headwater of the Beatshach Burn, which rises here... more

NJ2736 : Track to Millstone Craig by Anne Burgess
Track to Millstone Craig
This is the oldest part of the track along the north slope of Ben Rinnes which led... more

NJ2736 : Beatshach by Anne Burgess
Beatshach
The Beatshach, or Batchach as it appears on the first edition of the six-inch... more

NJ2636 : Roadside Pond by Anne Burgess
Roadside Pond
There were several ponds like this all the way along the north Ben Rinnes track.... more

NJ2636 : Burn and Pond by Anne Burgess
Burn and Pond
Like [[[6811064]]], this drains (at least some of) the water from the road round... more

NJ2636 : Pond by the Road by Anne Burgess
Pond by the Road
One of a series of ponds just off the road along the north slope of Ben Rinnes.... more

NJ2636 : Ice Stalagmites by Anne Burgess
Ice Stalagmites
Although it was warm and sunny, there were a few collections of ice stalagmites... more

NJ2636 : Ben Rinnes Low Road by Anne Burgess
Ben Rinnes Low Road
Looking back towards the Beatshach from part way along low road on the north slope... more

NJ2636 : View from the Ben Rinnes Low Road by Anne Burgess
View from the Ben Rinnes Low Road
A 'panoramic' view that gives some idea of the wide sweep of moorland below the... more

NJ2636 : Argo Track by Anne Burgess
Argo Track
Although signposted from here, the track, such as it is, has become overgrown and... more

NJ2636 : James' Burn by Anne Burgess
James' Burn
This is one of many burns that cross the low road and have to be forded, though... more

NJ2636 : North Ben Rinnes Track by Anne Burgess
North Ben Rinnes Track
Looking back the way we had come from the Beatshach.

NJ2536 : North Slope of Ben Rinnes by Anne Burgess
North Slope of Ben Rinnes
This is the view up in the direction of the summit, which is not visible from... more

NJ2536 : Ben Rinnes Granite by Anne Burgess
Ben Rinnes Granite
This is the surface of a boulder at the side of the track. The pink feldspar... more

NJ2536 : Ben Rinnes by Anne Burgess
Ben Rinnes
Looking across the moor towards the tors on Scurran of Well, which is in the next... more

NJ2537 : Hair Moss (Polytrichum) by Anne Burgess
Hair Moss (Polytrichum)
Probably Common Hair Moss (Polytrichum commune) but it is difficult to tell the... more

NJ2537 : Ben Rinnes by Anne Burgess
Ben Rinnes
The foreground is in this grid square, but the upper parts of the view are in the... more

NJ2537 : Rowantree Burn by Anne Burgess
Rowantree Burn
This is the largest of the numerous burns we had to cross on the low road, but it... more

NJ2537 : Nameless Ruin by Anne Burgess
Nameless Ruin
The ruin is marked on the 19th century large-scale maps but not named. It is on... more

NJ2537 : Is It a Grouse Butt? by Anne Burgess
Is It a Grouse Butt?
We notice several strips of heavy right-angled metal at intervals along the track,... more

NJ2537 : Lowing Burn by Anne Burgess
Lowing Burn
It's not easy to see the Lowing Burn because it is in a gully it has carved and... more

NJ2537 : Hard Fern (Blechnum spicant) by Anne Burgess
Hard Fern (Blechnum spicant)
This is a common and widespread fern, lurking here in the shade of a damp peat hagg.

NJ2538 : Simple Style of Stile by Anne Burgess
Simple Style of Stile
We were impressed by the simplicity of this stile, especially the piece of wood... more

NJ2538 : New Planting by Anne Burgess
New Planting
The plastic tubes protect a variety of young trees planted on the moor above the... more

NJ2539 : Benrinnes Distillery by Anne Burgess
Benrinnes Distillery
The distillery from the track down Tom of Ruthrie.

NJ2539 : Lingering Snow by Anne Burgess
Lingering Snow
The ability of snow to linger often amazes me. This drift is mostly in full sun,... more

NJ2539 : Ben Rinnes Distillery by Anne Burgess
Ben Rinnes Distillery
The obligatory chimney is reflected in the equally obligatory pond at the back of... more

NJ2539 : Reservoir at Benrinnes Distillery by Anne Burgess
Reservoir at Benrinnes Distillery
I'm assuming that it's a reservoir, because there are many similar ones in the... more

NJ2639 : Salt Encrustation by Anne Burgess
Salt Encrustation
This is a pile of sand and salt by the roadside, put there by the roads department... more

NJ2640 : Milltown of Edinvillie by Anne Burgess
Milltown of Edinvillie
The village - if indeed is qualifies as a village - stretches out along a road... more

NJ2639 : Craighead by Anne Burgess
Craighead
Craighead Farm is on the far side of the Burn of Aberlour, the course of which is... more

NJ2639 : Milltown of Edinvillie by Anne Burgess
Milltown of Edinvillie
The roads on both sides of Milltown descend steeply to the bridge over the Burn of... more

NJ2640 : Free Range Children by Anne Burgess
Free Range Children
The sign featured in [[[186124]]] and [[[741369]]] seems to have migrated across... more

NJ2640 : One Black Sheep by Anne Burgess
One Black Sheep
One almost-black and several almost-white sheep eyeing us curiously as we passed... more

NJ2640 : Eilidh's Eggs at Bush Farm by Anne Burgess
Eilidh's Eggs at Bush Farm
There was one box of half a dozen eggs available, but we left them for another... more

NJ2640 : Gooseberry (Ribes uva-crispa) by Anne Burgess
Gooseberry (Ribes uva-crispa)
Flowers on a semi-wild gooseberry bush at the side of the road.

NJ2640 : Burn of Aberlour by Anne Burgess
Burn of Aberlour
Looking downstream from beside the road bridge at the Daugh of Ruthrie.

NJ2641 : Glenallachie Distillery by Anne Burgess
Glenallachie Distillery
From this direction, you don't see the name of the distillery which is painted on... more

NJ2641 : Burn of Aberlour by Anne Burgess
Burn of Aberlour
Looking downstream near Birkenbush.

NJ2641 : Burn of Aberlour by Anne Burgess
Burn of Aberlour
Looking downstream in the Wood of Birkenbush.

NJ2641 : Reservoir by Anne Burgess
Reservoir
This is another of the numerous curved concrete covered reservoirs found all over... more

NJ2641 : Linn of Ruthrie by Anne Burgess
Linn of Ruthrie
This was as close as I cared to get to the top of the waterfall at Linn of Ruthrie.

NJ2641 : Waterfalls at Linn of Ruthrie by Anne Burgess
Waterfalls at Linn of Ruthrie
This is not an easy waterfall to photograph well, because it's in the shade almost... more

NJ2642 : Pedestrian Footpath Only by Anne Burgess
Pedestrian Footpath Only
And just what other kinds of footpath are there? (The footpath is not in fact open... more

NJ2642 : Gas Installation by Anne Burgess
Gas Installation
The notices outside the small compound say that it is to do with the Aberlour Distillery.

NJ2642 : Burnside Cottages by Anne Burgess
Burnside Cottages
Sadly, these two stone cottages are lying empty and boarded up. Surely someone... more

NJ2737 : A Fragment of Masonry by Anne Burgess
A Fragment of Masonry
This ruin is shown on the relevant maps, but none of them gives it a name.

NJ2743 : Mitred Gable by Anne Burgess
Mitred Gable
This cottage next to [[[6811713]]], the former St Margaret's Rectory, has a... more

NJ2743 : Former Rectory by Anne Burgess
Former Rectory
This was originally the rectory of St Margaret's Episcopal Church next door.

NJ2749 : Demolition Site by Anne Burgess
Demolition Site
This is the site of [[[1134684]]] which is now completely demolished. What remains... more

All images © Anne Burgess and available under a Creative Commons licence external link.

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