AREA WALK 8 - A'CHAILLEACH (The Old Woman)

From the square go up Glen Road (opposite the village Hall) to the end of the tarmac road at the Shepherds Bridge car park. At the parking area take the vehicle track to the right, shown in yellow on the map, which leads up the east side of the Allt a’Chaorainn (Allt a’ Chaorainn -- the burn of the rowan tree).As you make your way up the first part of the path looking over to the left you will see "Johnny Blairs garden", a small eminence which was used as a double palisaded enclosure in pictish times. On reaching the end of the track a cairn and post will indicate the way to a bridge over the burn. Ahead you will have a view of the red bothy and the A’ Chailleach summit which is 930 metres high, (3050 ft), one of the highest in the Monadhliath (Am Monadh Liath -- the grey mountain range).

It is an easy climb and has good skiing potential. It was one of the first hills to be used for downhill skiing when it was introduced to the area by the Ormiston family. Make your way up to the bothy by using the grassy areas cleared by the burning of the heather for the grouse, crossing several small burns on the way.

You climb for a further 80 minutes to the final cone on which there is a well-built cairn. Ptarmigan may be seen on the higher parts of the hill. Return by the bothy again or along the top of the ridge southwards over the subsidiary top of Geal Charn (An Geal Charn -- the white cairn) and Creag na h-Iolaire (Creag na h-Iolaire -- the eagle’s crag) and so down to the footbridge over the burn.