Aviemore to Braemar via the Lairig Ghru
Date(s) walked: 14-15 June 2026
Date(s) walked: 14-15 June 2026
Please note: the GPX track is for illustrative purposes only - I take no responsibility for its accuracy!
Ah, the Lairig Ghru. One of the most famous walks in Scotland and for a good reason: the majestic views. Hint:
I’d been putting it off because (a) too many people - I escape into nature to be alone, and (b) the logistics. I couldn’t really figure out how to break up the trip into reasonable chunks that would line up with public transport. Recently I’d been managing longer distance days, though, so I thought I might be able to get from Aviemore to Braemar in 2 days with a camp about halfway through. So much has been written about the Lairig Ghru that I don’t feel like rehashing it all here - a simple google search provides ample information. What I do find interesting is that the origin of the name is unclear. Well, lairig means pass but what Ghru refers to has been long debated. At some point, some mapmakers decided that it must be short for Ghruamach (“forbidding”) and called it such on some of their maps and that lived on but Gaelic speakers all poo-poo this name. A more probable theory is that it’s the pass of the Dhru/Dhruidh river (pronounced the same as the anglicised Ghru) which has its source in the north of the pass. I also like the theory that it’s the Lairig Ruadh (“red pass” - pronounced fairly similar to Lairig Ghru to English-speaking ears). This would make good sense as the Gairngorms are Am Monadh Ruadh (“the red mountains”) in Gaelic. The path was well-used by anyone needing to cross the Cairngorms in the 18th and 19th centuries. Particularly cattle (legally owned or not) were frequently taken across here - younger calves had to go by the neighbouring Lairig an Laoigh due to the tricky terrain in the Ghru. Since the 1900s it has just been used by us crossing it for the adventure, not because we must but because we want to. I was reading through old issues of the Cairngorm Club Journal (digitised all the way to the start in 1893!) and there were many reports of walks through the pass. Some crazier than others - I particularly enjoyed the story of two brazen youngsters deciding to travel through the pass on their bikes (issue no. 85, 1946-47) not realising what an impossible task that was. Feeling a bit morbid, I was also perusing all the accidents that have happened in the Lairig Ghru (the journal published a list of all accidents/misfortunes that occurred in the region in issues from 1976 to 1984 - with names and all!). Here are a selected few - nothing super gruesome but skip ahead if these things make you uneasy!
"On 5.3.80 a 39 year old Army Major left Aviemore to ski tour in the vicinity of the Lairig Ghru, intending to return to catch the overnight train to London on 6/7 March. His non arrival there was reported. A search was mounted and he was found on 8 March in the Lairig Ghru near Sron-na-Lairig. He had obviously skied over a very steep slope and lost control thus meeting his death. He was very well equipped and very well experienced."
"31.12.80 Neil Adrian Bailey (22), Blackpool, collapsed and died from hypothermia while hill walking with two companions in the Lairig Ghru.
"23.9.84 A brother and sister of 57 and 54 years were two of a party of nine organised by a Rotary Club to walk through the Lairig Ghru from Coylumbridge to Linn of Dee, Braemar. The two became detached from the remainder of the party in very wet and strong windy conditions and were not reported missing until the rest of the group arrived at Perth at 0030 hours the following day. Mountain rescue teams made a night search of the area and at 0520 hours found the woman on the shoulder of Carn a Mhaim, disorientated, confused and unable to stand up due to exposure and hypothermia. She recovered after two days in hospital but with no recollection of what happened on the night in question. At 0750 hours her brother was found dead from exposure in the Lairig Ghru some three miles from his sister." Many people walk this route every day without issue but it’s always good to remember that we are very small and vulnerable compared to the mountains.
Day 1: Aviemore to between Ben Macdui and Cairn Toul | 20.84 km
Again an early morning getting up at 6:30 on a Sunday to catch the Ember bus from Haymarket at 7:26. Pure blue skies greeted me on my walk to the bus. Picked up a sad supermarket iced coffee for the journey as most places were still shut so early on a Sunday. Had a bit of a strange journey with a bus driver shouting about eating on the bus (not at me, another passanger was eating crisps and the driver said eating on the bus was forbidden per Ember policy - not true, it’s just hot foods that are discouraged), he also had a loud moan about the Chinese electric buses Ember uses and was short with some Italian guys talking loudly right behind him the whole journey (they were annoying, to be fair). I’ve had super friendly drivers and some stranger ones on the Ember buses but they all drive very well, which is the main thing. I arrived in Aviemore to grey skies and light rain… very different from the departure weather and what was on the forecast (of course…). Picked up a few things from the Tesco and got walking properly a bit before 11 am. I followed the Old Logging Way to Coylumbridge and entered Rothiemurchus Forest.
Rothiemurchus is one of the only remnants of the prehistoric Caledonian Forest in Scotland, although it too is a poor relic of what it used to be because much of it was cut down in the 19th century for timber. Entering the forest proper after Coylumbridge I almost felt like I could have been in Finland.
Passed by Lairig Ghru Cottage - I can’t seem to find much of any information about it online but it appears to have been occupied not long ago - it now has a fair bit of fire damage.
From here the forest got very dense for a few kilometres and it was a bit of a gloomy walk.
Loads of cuckoo spit about as well.
Went to fetch water from the river and managed to slip on some rocks… no harm done, just an unnecessary dunking of the feet and legs. I had barely seen anyone when I was going through the forest but the moment I sat down to have food the spot turned into some kind of highway crossing. Several groups of cyclists and walkers were all queuing up to use the footbridge - could have done with traffic lights! I was particularly entertained by the cyclists trying to haul their bikes up and down the bridge, looked like hard work, particularly for the kids. Ended up rushing my lunch because the midges arrived! First time being properly bothered by them this year. There was not even a hint of a breeze and I was a bit worried about how bad they would be at camp. Crossed the bridge myself in between everyone else.
Quite abruptly you then emerge from the trees to the Lairig Ghru proper visible in the distance. It was also great timing for the sun to come out!
The path is clearly maintained but has some quite rocky sections.
Importantly (for my enjoyment, given my recent boggy escapades) it was mostly dry in this northern part of the Lairig Ghru - not the case as much on the other side of the pass, though. The ascent until you cross the main vein of the Allt Druidh is quite gradual on fairly featureless terrain. I remember thinking at this point that I wasn’t sure I understood why the Lairig Ghru was so hyped up - it was a nice walk so far but nothing exceptional compared to other walks I’d done.
Looking back the way I'd come.
The point where you cross the Allt Druidh is also a major trail junction - here you meet the trails that go through the Chalamain Gap or the main “highway” up to the Braeriach. The stream crossing is probably the coolest one I’ve ever done - the water impossibly seems to flow out of a rock wall!
The central section is also where you face the notorious boulder fields.
I had thought that they would be one continuous stretch of boulders but instead they were interspersed with sections of boulder-free path.
The boulder walking was a bit of a Russian roulette - most rocks were fairly firmly lodged in place but every once in a while you’d step on one that would roll under your feet. I was very glad to have my trekking poles (with snow baskets which prevented the poles from getting stuck in between the boulders). Going slowly, it took no more than an hour to get through. There are some cairns to help with general navigation but mostly you just have to find your own way through. Until the 1870s, every spring men from Rothiemurchus were paid to clear a path through the boulders (which would roll down to re-cover the path with winter avalanches) so that cattle could pass through. I can’t imagine how much work that must have taken! At the southern end of the boulder fields are the Pools of Dee and also the highest point of the pass (835 metres).
After the Pools, the views opened up south and what views they were! Now I got the hype.
View of Cairn Toul.
It is difficult to capture the grandeur in pictures - you need to be there in multi-D to appreciate it fully. The path down follows the Allt na Lairig Ghru and is mostly reasonably easy to walk but there are several smaller stream crossings and wet sections to navigate.
One of said stream crossings.
I was walking very slowly, soaking up the views in the evening sun.
I wasn’t quite sure where I was going to stop for the night but when I came across some suitable ground not too far into the decent I decided to call it a day and enjoy the views there.
I was just able to squeeze in the Lanshan!
At this point the wind had seriously picked up and I had to use some existing boulders to secure the tent pegs. It was freezing cold! But at least none of the dreaded midges from earlier were around. The sun set early behind the mountains and I crawled into my sleeping bag to keep warm.
Day 2: Between Ben Macdui and Cairn Toul to Braemar | 24.48 km
I’d set my alarm for early knowing I had a fair bit of distance to cover to catch the bus from Braemar at 16:40. I woke up warm but with a lot of condensation in the tent - I’d pitched the Lanshan low to block out the wind - with predictable consequences. It’s all a balance. I picked up the path where I left off the day before.
The path was mostly flat but quite rocky.
A bit before Corrour Bothy is Clach nan Taillear (“stone of the tailors”).
Supposedly three tailors had made a bet that they would dance at three different sites across one winter day and after having managed the first two sites they crossed the Lairig Ghru to get to the third site but got caught in a blizzard. They tried to shelter behind the stone that is now named after them but in the end the tailors died in the storm. Whether this is a true story or more of a legend I’m not sure. Corrour bothy is a bit of a landmark in the southern portion of the Lairig Ghru - you can spot the desolate building from miles away in either direction.
Desolate in terms of people it is not, though - it is probably Scotland’s busiest bothy. I didn’t make the trip to visit the bothy but I could see several tents pitched outside and groups of people hanging about. The bothy was originally built in 1877 for a deer watcher to learn the movements of deer for the autumn stalk but fell into disuse after a few decades. The Cairngorm Club and later the MBA took over the bothy as it was perfectly located as a base for the nearby hills. By the early 2000s the bothy had become an environmental hazard due to what the MBA has called “irresponsible toilet practices” by the masses of people using the bothy. A toilet has now been built at the bothy with volunteers doing monthly poo-runs and a yearly helicopter carry-out. The big peak hovering over the bothy is The Devil’s Point. The original name for it is Bod an Deamhain (“the penis of the demon”) - the English euphemism was created when a local ghillie was too embarrassed to tell Queen Victoria the real translation. The story of the English name is all over the internet - what I can’t seem to find is any proper origin story for the Gaelic name given the lack of any obvious phallic resemblance. To me it looks like Mörkö (apparently “The Groke” in English) from the Moomins, which if you know the character is a rather apt parallel.
“The Point” and the bothy from the south.
After the bothy, the path climbs a bit and then skirts around Carn a’ Mhaim with more open views.
This was such an idyllic spot - a bit of shade on a warm day and the sound of the water. I sat down and had a snack before carrying on.
Glen Lui is scattered with some really wonderful pinewoods.
It was also scattered with bikes!
This is a common sight in Scotland near the big hills where an approach can be shortened by cycling in. I’m not sure if I would feel comfortable leaving mine so close to a popular path. One of the biggest landmarks in Glen Lui is Derry Lodge.
Fording the Derry Burn... It was deeper than it looks!
The walk from Derry Lodge down to the road is a bit dull on a wide private road, still with nice views, though.
Instead of going down to the Linn of Dee, I cut through the forest and emerged at the road near Mar Lodge. I felt quite conspicuous walking through the grand grounds of Mar Lodge, particularly because there was a film crew and some fancy sports cars right outside the lodge (hence no pictures either) but it did say that walkers were welcome to take the path through. Past the lodge I was on the main road with 6 km to cover into Braemar. It’s not too busy a road but the locals (or possibly brave tourists?) do drive quite fast so I was having to stay aware at all times, particularly with all the bends in the road. I made it with a little time to spare before the bus and rested my legs after a long day. Annoyingly, Ember has changed the bus schedule and there is no longer a convenient transfer in Dundee so I ended up taking the train from Dundee to Edinburgh. The journey back is always a blur because I’m so tired - I have no memories from this one!
Concluding remarks
Did the Lairig Ghru live up to the hype? I think so! I would say that for me personally the northern section was fairly average but the southern part was undeniably spectacular. I think the weather does affect the experience a lot - I was very lucky to have sunshine for much of the trip. On paper the route has a good bit of ascent but I never really felt it as it was quite gradual (and I was distracted by the views). I had expected it to be much busier than it was - there was definitely a lot more people than I usually see but it wasn’t crowded at all. I can definitely see myself revisiting this one, you get a lot of variety and mostly good paths throughout!