At One with the Mountains - An interview with Nick Gardner
Issue 6: Nick Gardner and his wife Janet were living an idyllic life on a croft…
The Cairngorms
Beinn a' Bhuird
A Munro of 1,196 metres, number 11 of the 282.
The hill
Beinn a' Bhuird is one of the big hills of the Cairngorms National Park, on the border of Aberdeenshire and Moray, and the eleventh highest of the 282 Munros.
Its Munro summit is the North Top, and Ben Avon is its neighbour about four kilometres to the east.
When the National Trust for Scotland took on the Mar Lodge Estate, one of its first big jobs was to remove a vehicle track that had been bulldozed up Beinn a' Bhuird to over 1,000 metres. The estate's rangers still look after paths on the hill.
Up here too are the Garbh Choire and Mitre Ridge, known for remote rock climbing and golden eagles.
- Starts from
- Invercauld Estate runs a pay-and-display car park at Keiloch, by Braemar.
- The ground
- Invercauld Estate keeps the Keiloch side, and the National Trust for Scotland's Mar Lodge Estate looks after paths on the hill. Both estates stalk deer.
- Summit
- Grid reference NJ 092 006
- Car park
- Keiloch, by Braemar, is one of Invercauld Estate's two pay-and-display car parks. In 2026 it costs £3.50 a vehicle for up to a full day, and the ticket machines take coins only.
- On the estate
- Invercauld asks walkers to follow its signs, which are there to help them and the estate's work on the land, and warns that some paths can be very rough.
- Food
- The nearest cafés and pubs are in Braemar.
On the hill today
−2° to 2°Snow on the summit, 1,196 m. Feels like −7° in the wind.
North-west wind to 18 mph, gusting 38
Snow, about 0 cm
Light from 7.48am to 6.10pm, ten hours
Sat 17Fog−2° to 2° on top · 15 mph, gusts 33
Sun 18Clear−4° to 2° on top · 11 mph, gusts 20
Mon 19Drizzle−5° to 5° on top · 13 mph, gusts 22
A weather model's forecast for the height of the summit, not a report from the hill. Read the mountain forecast the evening before: Cairngorms National Park and Monadhliath forecast, Beinn a' Bhùird, North Top, South Grampian and Southeast Highlands mountain forecast, Southern Cairngorms avalanche forecast.
October2026
MTWTFSS
Going another day?
Choose the day you mean to climb.Near or far: the light you will have, and what the summit is likely to be doing.
Photographs by Craig Cherrie, Ross Aitken and Martin Mulholland, via Google
The winter months bring greater challenge and reward to climbers, of course, but please remember that experience, the correct equipment and caution are all essential for safety.Invercauld Estate, which keeps the Keiloch car park
Before you go
Carry
- A paper map and a compass, and the skill to use them
- Waterproofs, warm layers, hat and gloves
- Food and drink
- A head torch, a whistle and a first aid kit
- A survival bag
- Boots with a good grip
Under snow and ice this is a different day, with short light and the risk of avalanche. It needs an ice axe, crampons, winter boots and the skill to use them.
If something goes wrong
- Dial 999, ask for the police, then mountain rescue
- Give a six-figure grid reference: the summit is NJ 092 006
- Say how many are hurt, how many are with you, and your number
- Register to text 999 before the day: text the word register to 999
The summit is optional. Turning back is the right decision whenever the cloud, the wind or the light say so.
How to call for help in the hills · Safety and skills for the hills · ThinkWINTER
From our readers
Nobody has written from Beinn a' Bhuird yet. If you were up, yours would be the first.
Tell the next person
Were you up? Three words is enough.A free account, a word for the weather and a line if you like.
Read more elsewhere
For the route itself, take the map and read these.
- Beinn a' Bhùird on WalkhighlandsRoute descriptions with mapswalkhighlands.co.ukThe route↗
- Walking and cycling at InvercauldInvercauld Estate on its car parks, its paths and what it asks of walkersinvercauld.estateThe estate↗
- Mar Lodge Estate's review of 2024The National Trust for Scotland on the vehicle track it took off the hillntswebstorage01.blob.core.windows.netThe track↗
- Deer stalking and hill accessMountaineering Scotland: stags can be stalked at any time of year, and the first three weeks of October are the busiestmountaineering.scotStalking↗
- Cairngorms National Park and Monadhliath forecastThree days of mountain weather for the Cairngorms and the Monadhliath, written by forecastersmwis.org.ukMountain weather↗
- Beinn a' Bhùird, North TopThe Met Office's forecast for the summit, which it calls North Top: a computer model for one point, not a report from the hill. It links to the North Grampian mountain forecastweather.metoffice.gov.ukSummit forecast↗
- South Grampian and Southeast Highlands mountain forecastThe Met Office's other mountain area here, taking in the south and east of the Cairngorms National Park: read it beside North Grampianweather.metoffice.gov.ukMountain weather↗
- Southern Cairngorms avalanche forecastThe Southern Cairngorms avalanche forecast, which counts this hill among its outlying mountains, observed in turn as the winter goes on. Full forecasts begin on 17 December 2026; until then, no forecast does not mean no risk under snowsais.gov.ukAvalanche↗
- Path closures in the Cairngorms National ParkPaths and car parks closed in the National Parkcairngorms.co.ukNotices↗
Sleep and eat at its foot
Next along: Ben Avon - Leabaidh an Daimh Bhuidhe, Beinn a' Chaorainn, Beinn Bhreac, Beinn Mheadhoin. Checked on 10 October 2026. The facts on this page are Invercauld Estate's, the National Trust for Scotland's and Mountaineering Scotland's; the forecasts are the Mountain Weather Information Service's, the Met Office's and the Scottish Avalanche Information Service's. Height and position from The Database of British and Irish Hills, v18.3, adapted, CC BY 4.0. This page is not a route description and does not replace a map.