Mount Keen is the most easterly of all Scotland’s Munro’s and can be accessed from Glen Esk or from the longer Glen Tanar route. I decided to go for the shorter 10 mile walk rather than the 16 mile route through Glen Tanar. The route I took also offers a reasonably good track all the way to the summit and, on a good day some nice views.
On the day I ventured up the glen it is was a dry sunny day with the temperature just into double figures which for me makes real good weather for walking.
This walk must have one of the longest walk in I have ever had to do to get to the start of a hill. At the 2 miles mark you reach the Queens’s Well which is a monument to a visit to the area by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert who it is said drank from the spring after riding 15 miles from Balmoral Castle which they had recently purchased.
A plaque commemorating the visit reads.
Her Majesty, Queen Victoria, and his Royal Highness the Prince Consort, visited this well and drank of its refreshing waters, on the 20th September, 1861, the year of Her Majesty’s great sorrow.
Just a few hundred yads further on from the Queen’s Well is the Invermark Cottage, the path goes by the cottage on to the Easter Burn which was in full flow the day I was there and good balance was needed to cross the burn on the stepping stones. I bet there were a few wet feet that day but old twinkle toes managed it without getting my boots wet.
Once over the burn it was easy to follow the track which zigzagged up the hill and required another burn to be crossed but this time there was an iron cattle grid which made it fairly easy to cross.
From here on in the path is fairly easy to follow to the summit. However, on my visit the final 500 meters to the summit was covered in low cloud so there were no views to be had. This wasn’t really a problem as the views on the return journey made up for that.
To the west is Lochnagar which was looking dark and majestic and in front are the hills that make up the Mounth. All of which makes the descent enjoyable.
One thing that does anger me when walking in the hills are people who bring very young children onto the hills when the children aren’t dressed appropriately for the journey. Scottish Munros range from 3,000 feet up to 4,411 feet of Ben Nevis. This might not seem high to some people but the weather can change very quickly from a lovely sunny day to high winds heavy rain or snow even in summer. This makes the Scottish hills dangerous and if you are properly prepared you can find yourself in trouble very quickly.
On my return journey I passed two sets parent carrying children. I’d say the children were both under 6 months old. Neither child was dressed appropriate to be on the hill. Neither had a hat and one looked distressed. One parent was wearing thin football shorts and trainers!!
Views are beautiful on your way down. Agree with you about people’s attitude to hill walking x