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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Parked Cars at Glack Harnes
It's a pleasant warm spring day and the car park is full, with cars straggling up... more
Underwater Tracks
We were intrigued by the snaking trails on the bottom of this puddle, but could... more
Foal's Stable
This sluggish channel is the headwater of the Beatshach Burn, which rises here... more
Track to Millstone Craig
This is the oldest part of the track along the north slope of Ben Rinnes which led... more
Beatshach
The Beatshach, or Batchach as it appears on the first edition of the six-inch... more
Roadside Pond
There were several ponds like this all the way along the north Ben Rinnes track.... more
Burn and Pond
Like [[[6811064]]], this drains (at least some of) the water from the road round... more
Pond by the Road
One of a series of ponds just off the road along the north slope of Ben Rinnes.... more
Ice Stalagmites
Although it was warm and sunny, there were a few collections of ice stalagmites... more
Ben Rinnes Low Road
Looking back towards the Beatshach from part way along low road on the north slope... more
View from the Ben Rinnes Low Road
A 'panoramic' view that gives some idea of the wide sweep of moorland below the... more
Argo Track
Although signposted from here, the track, such as it is, has become overgrown and... more
James' Burn
This is one of many burns that cross the low road and have to be forded, though... more
North Ben Rinnes Track
Looking back the way we had come from the Beatshach.
North Slope of Ben Rinnes
This is the view up in the direction of the summit, which is not visible from... more
Ben Rinnes Granite
This is the surface of a boulder at the side of the track. The pink feldspar... more
Ben Rinnes
Looking across the moor towards the tors on Scurran of Well, which is in the next... more
Hair Moss (Polytrichum)
Probably Common Hair Moss (Polytrichum commune) but it is difficult to tell the... more
Ben Rinnes
The foreground is in this grid square, but the upper parts of the view are in the... more
Rowantree Burn
This is the largest of the numerous burns we had to cross on the low road, but it... more
Nameless Ruin
The ruin is marked on the 19th century large-scale maps but not named. It is on... more
Is It a Grouse Butt?
We notice several strips of heavy right-angled metal at intervals along the track,... more
Lowing Burn
It's not easy to see the Lowing Burn because it is in a gully it has carved and... more
Hard Fern (Blechnum spicant)
This is a common and widespread fern, lurking here in the shade of a damp peat hagg.
Simple Style of Stile
We were impressed by the simplicity of this stile, especially the piece of wood... more
New Planting
The plastic tubes protect a variety of young trees planted on the moor above the... more
Benrinnes Distillery
The distillery from the track down Tom of Ruthrie.
Lingering Snow
The ability of snow to linger often amazes me. This drift is mostly in full sun,... more
Ben Rinnes Distillery
The obligatory chimney is reflected in the equally obligatory pond at the back of... more
Reservoir at Benrinnes Distillery
I'm assuming that it's a reservoir, because there are many similar ones in the... more
Salt Encrustation
This is a pile of sand and salt by the roadside, put there by the roads department... more
Milltown of Edinvillie
The village - if indeed is qualifies as a village - stretches out along a road... more
Craighead
Craighead Farm is on the far side of the Burn of Aberlour, the course of which is... more
Milltown of Edinvillie
The roads on both sides of Milltown descend steeply to the bridge over the Burn of... more
Free Range Children
The sign featured in [[[186124]]] and [[[741369]]] seems to have migrated across... more
One Black Sheep
One almost-black and several almost-white sheep eyeing us curiously as we passed... more
Eilidh's Eggs at Bush Farm
There was one box of half a dozen eggs available, but we left them for another... more
Gooseberry (Ribes uva-crispa)
Flowers on a semi-wild gooseberry bush at the side of the road.
Burn of Aberlour
Looking downstream from beside the road bridge at the Daugh of Ruthrie.
Glenallachie Distillery
From this direction, you don't see the name of the distillery which is painted on... more
Burn of Aberlour
Looking downstream near Birkenbush.
Burn of Aberlour
Looking downstream in the Wood of Birkenbush.
Reservoir
This is another of the numerous curved concrete covered reservoirs found all over... more
Linn of Ruthrie
This was as close as I cared to get to the top of the waterfall at Linn of Ruthrie.
Waterfalls at Linn of Ruthrie
This is not an easy waterfall to photograph well, because it's in the shade almost... more
Pedestrian Footpath Only
And just what other kinds of footpath are there? (The footpath is not in fact open... more
Gas Installation
The notices outside the small compound say that it is to do with the Aberlour Distillery.
Burnside Cottages
Sadly, these two stone cottages are lying empty and boarded up. Surely someone... more
A Fragment of Masonry
This ruin is shown on the relevant maps, but none of them gives it a name.
Mitred Gable
This cottage next to [[[6811713]]], the former St Margaret's Rectory, has a... more
Former Rectory
This was originally the rectory of St Margaret's Episcopal Church next door.
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 .