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 Mheadhoin
A Munro of 1,183 metres, number 12 of the 282.
The hill
Beinn Mheadhoin, 1,183 metres, stands in the Cairngorms, about two miles in a straight line from Cairn Gorm and under three from Ben Macdui.
Its summit is a rock tor. The Mountain Bothies Association lists two shelters near it: the Hutchison Memorial Hut in Coire Etchachan and an emergency refuge at the Fords of Avon.
- Starts from
- Cairngorm Mountain's Coire Cas car park, 635 metres above sea level, is one way in, though not the only one.
- The ground
- The Mountain Bothies Association gives Abernethy Estate as owner of the Fords of Avon Refuge.
- Shelters
- The Fords of Avon Refuge is a small emergency shelter only, with no fire or stove. The Hutchison Memorial Hut is a small bothy with a stove, and no fuel nearby.
- Summit
- Grid reference NJ 024 016, a rock tor
- Car park
- Coire Cas, at Cairngorm Mountain. In 2026 it was free for 45 minutes, then £3.50 for up to 8 hours or £5.50 for up to 18, and free with a Blue Badge. There is no charge in the snowsports season.
- Closed in Glenmore
- In October 2026, after the wildfire, the Allt Mor car park in Glenmore was closed, with the Allt Mor path and the Lodge Trail.
- Bus, toilets and overnight
- The Aviemore Adventurer 30 bus runs between Aviemore and Cairngorm Mountain seven days a week. There are toilets at the Base Station. To leave a car overnight for the hills, at £5.50 a night, contact the Ticket Office beforehand and fill in the operator's digital route card.
On the hill today
−1° to 2°Drizzle on the summit, 1,183 m. Feels like −7° in the wind.
West wind to 19 mph, gusting 36
Rain, about 4 mm
Light from 7.49am to 6.10pm, ten hours
Sat 17Cloudy−2° to 2° on top · 14 mph, gusts 31
Sun 18Clear−3° to 3° on top · 11 mph, gusts 20
Mon 19Drizzle−4° to 5° on top · 12 mph, gusts 21
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 Mheadhoin, Northern Cairngorms avalanche 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 Ian and John Irvine, via Google
If you are planning to go out exploring it is essential that you go suitably prepared.Cairngorm Mountain, which runs the Coire Cas car park and its Ranger Base
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 024 016
- 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 Mheadhoin 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 Mheadhoin on WalkhighlandsA route description with a map, from the Derry sidewalkhighlands.co.ukThe route↗
- Cairngorm Mountain Ranger ServiceThe Ranger Base at the Coire Cas car park, and the digital route card for hillwalkerscairngormmountain.co.ukThe rangers↗
- Hutchison Memorial HutThe Mountain Bothies Association on the small bothy in Coire Etchachan, built in 1954 as a mountain refugemountainbothies.org.ukThe hut↗
- Fords of Avon RefugeThe Mountain Bothies Association on the emergency shelter on the north side of the River Avonmountainbothies.org.ukThe refuge↗
- Cairngorms National Park and Monadhliath forecastThe Mountain Weather Information Service's forecast, written by forecasters three days aheadmwis.org.ukMountain weather↗
- Beinn MheadhoinThe Met Office's forecast for the summit itself: a model for one point, not a report from the hillweather.metoffice.gov.ukSummit forecast↗
- Northern Cairngorms avalanche forecastThe Scottish Avalanche Information Service's Northern Cairngorms forecast: the mountains and corries round the Cairngorm plateau, with reports from the Loch Avon basin beside this hill. Check its area map. Full winter forecasts begin on 17 December 2026, sooner if winter comes earlysais.gov.ukAvalanche↗
- Southern Cairngorms avalanche forecastThe Southern Cairngorms forecast, the other area near the hill. No forecast does not mean no risk under snowsais.gov.ukAvalanche↗
- Path closures in the Cairngorms National ParkThe National Park Authority's list of closed paths and car parks, with the Glenmore wildfire closurescairngorms.co.ukNotices↗
Next along: Beinn a' Chaorainn, Cairn Gorm, Derry Cairngorm, Ben Macdui. Checked on 10 October 2026. The facts on this page are Cairngorm Mountain's, the Mountain Bothies Association's and the Cairngorms National Park Authority'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.