The Cairnwell Chairlift – A Munro Top the Easy Way
A few hours.
The route
The Cairnwell chairlift at Glenshee carries you up to the top of a Munro without the climb, with the hills of the Cairngorms National Park spread out all round.
Ride back down, or take the easy track to the café on foot. It suits families, grandparents and dog owners who want the view from a mountain top the gentle way.
Before you go
Book accommodation nearby
If you are staying over: here are ours nearest where the day starts and ends.
The nearest of ours is Larch House, 9 miles away. Sleeps 6.
The day
Glenshee
A chair ride to the top of the Cairnwell, a long look round the hills from up there, then an easy track back down to lunch.
About two and a half hoursAbout 1.5 miles on foot
Glenshee Ski Centre
Glenshee Ski Centre is on the A93, the old military road between Blairgowrie and Braemar, with parking for about 1,200 cars at the foot of the Cairnwell chairlift. Parking is free for the first 50 minutes or with a chairlift ticket, and £4 for the day otherwise; the spaces in front of the café are for blue badges, motorbikes and bikes. From June to September the chair runs every day from 9.30am to 4.15pm, weather permitting, so look at the daily status on the centre's website before you set off. Buy tickets on the day in the Tea@TheShee café. At the time of writing a return is £16 for adults and £12 for under-16s and over-65s, a family of four £50 and under-5s £3. An adult single is £11, if you plan to walk down. The chair lifts you to the top of the Cairnwell, a Munro, with views all round the hills of the Cairngorms National Park and a bench made from recycled skis a short way from the top. The centre's own short walk back down to the café takes 30 to 40 minutes on good, well-marked Land Rover tracks. Dogs are welcome on the chair, as long as they sit still for the ride. This is high mountain ground: bring warm, waterproof layers even in summer. Then lunch in Tea@TheShee by the car park, open all year, with breakfasts, soups, pies, burgers, sandwiches and cake, and a licence for a cold beer.
If it rains
The chair stops for wind and the top is high, open mountain: in low cloud or rain there's no view, so ride another day and keep to Tea@TheShee.
Where to stay
Photograph by Simon Drury via Google