Through the Chalamain Gap on Cairngorms trail run

Published: 18:30, 18 November 2024

Timing is everything. The forecast for the Cairngorms was for a blustery day with a cloud base obscuring the tops of the higher hills.

Driving along the Glenmore road from Aviemore, however, there was blue sky above the Northern Corries and the wind down here in the glen was not too bad.

John approaching the edge of the woodland on the Lairig Ghru trail.

Up high, that doesn’t mean anything, though, so we packed our kit for a full mountain run. Conditions in the mountains can change very quickly and, even though this route follows well established trails, it is still a serious undertaking, especially at this time of year.

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I’d done a longer version of this run a few summers ago in blistering heat, when I enjoyed sitting by the Allt Druidh at the halfway point to soak in the atmosphere of the Lairig Ghru.

This time it was a bit different. Meg and I headed out from the visitor centre and followed the Old Logging Way past Loch Morlich towards Aviemore. It’s a nice gentle start to the run and allows for a good warm-up of the muscles before the serious climbing begins.

We also needed to warm up as there was a particularly chilly breeze, so we set off wearing jumpers over our running tops until we’d got the blood flowing a bit!

Shadows at the exit of the Chalamain Gap.

Soon in the swing of things, we followed the green signs to Aviemore where the route diverts away from the road, offering a fine view of Meall a’ Bhuachaille.

If we had the time and energy, we might add that hill onto our route at the end, as I did previously, but the climb to its summit looked a tall order after a tough week.

It was great to be out as we made our way to Coylumbridge on this excellent off-road route, with a few walkers and mountain bikers passed en route.

At Coylumbridge, the route turns left past the campsite – but first I had to pay a visit to the old right of way sign that points through the Lairig Ghru to Braemar. For the next stretch of the run, that historic drove route would be our guide.

Running towards the Lairig Ghru with Lurcher’s Crag up to the left.

After going through a couple of gates, you enter a different world, heading away from the road and into the maze of wonderful trails this area of the Cairngorms National Park has to offer. At a fork, we kept left, following the clear sign to the Lairig Ghru.

The pine forest here is delightful and the running surface makes for easy going up to the Cairngorm Club Footbridge. The bridge, built in 1912 by the Aberdeen-based club, has long provided access to the hills along this route, and we have so many great memories of trips crossing here.

A plaque in the middle of the bridge lists the distances and walking times to various locations between here and Braemar, 24-and-a-half miles to the south. Each spring since 1976, a hill race has taken place from Braemar to Aviemore through the Lairig Ghru, and the 2025 event will be its 50th anniversary.

A run through the pass can be a fantastic experience but needs to be treated as a very big mountain day – and one to keep for the summer when there is much more daylight, once you’ve considered the logistics of transport at each end.

Today, we were heading up to the Lairig Ghru and we could see the steep sides of the pass ahead as we made our way to Piccadilly, where our route turns right at this crossroads of paths.

The excellent trail heading up through the pine trees from Piccadilly.

It’s a bit of a climb, but this narrow trail that meanders over pine roots and twists around gnarly trees is great fun. You gain height quickly, and soon we could feel the wind was picking up – we’d need our jumpers back on when we emerged from the cover of the trees.

Following the line of the Allt Druidh, which was crashing down in the gorge far below our path, we were soon at the junction to Rothiemurchus Lodge on the edge of the forest. We paused here to add clothing and grab a bite to eat after the tough climb.

The next couple of kilometres can be hard going, and definitely were today. We’d done nine miles to this point and felt okay, but with a cold headwind and rocky, uneven terrain ahead, we were sure to slow down.

The path below Creag a’ Chalamain climbs further into the Lairig Ghru itself, and the grandeur of the location is something to behold. Again, memories of mountain days came flooding back as we headed up to the crossroads – with Braeriach across the burn to the right and our route up to the Chalamain Gap to the left.

Creag a’ Chalamain with the path leading to the Chalamain Gap ahead.

The path cuts sharply left to climb steeply up rock steps before easing to a runnable gradient – not that we ran all of it! There are some big drainage ditches crossing this well-made path, and the stepping stones are great fun to hop across.

At the high point, we reached the top of the boulder-strewn Gap, a real highlight of this route and one of the features that sets this route apart from a standard trail run.

It involves carefully making your way down through the maelstrom of large granite boulders – without twisting your ankles! This is a place to stop and take your time, and just enjoy being in this amazing place, while watching your feet, of course.

Coming out of the bottom of the pass, the path drops further, with incredible views over to the right of the wonderfully wild Northern Corries – which despite it being mid-November had no snow on them whatsoever.

Close to one of the reindeer enclosures further on, the path bends sharply to the right to drop down to Utsi’s Bridge, named after Mikel Utsi who brought the reindeer to the Cairngorms in 1952 and built the original bridge here – twice since replaced.

Meg on the path below the Northern Corries.

Immediately the other side, the route turns sharp left to follow the Allt Mor down a narrow path, crossing the ski road at one point before reaching a good track at a wooden bridge that leads to a car park.

We’d already decided that Meall a’ Bhuachaille was too much for today, so we turned right here, then followed the purple waymarked route left further ahead.

After crossing a footbridge, a trail signposted to the visitor centre leads up to the right – but a more direct route for our tired legs went straight ahead to meet the road at the Allt Ban car park.

We then turned right alongside the road to return to the visitor centre, which has recently been bought over by the local community. They have big plans for the attraction and work was under way with the renovations of the old café.

As we headed to Aviemore to find our post-run caffeine hit, we glanced up at the Northern Corries only to see a bank of cloud and rain hammering the hills. A couple of days later and they were covered in snow – as they should be at this time of year. It’s all about the timing.