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Broad Cairn's dome of grey boulders rising from the grass of the plateau under a clear sky, a worn path leading towards it and one small figure on the top.
Glenshee, Lochnagar and Glen Clova

Broad Cairn

A Munro of 997 metres, number 145 of the 282.

On the hill todayI was up today
The hill

Broad Cairn stands on the border of Aberdeenshire and Angus, inside the Cairngorms National Park.

It is one of the White Mounth hills round the head of Glen Muick and Glen Callater, and at 997 metres it falls just short of the 1,000-metre mark.

Its northern side is the one climbers know. The Dubh Loch lies there, under the climbing crags that Broad Cairn shares with its neighbour Cairn Bannoch, about two kilometres to the north-west.

The Balmoral Estate's rangers manage public access to Glen Muick and the Lochnagar area, and look after about 100 kilometres of upland paths.

Starts from
The Outdoor Access Trust for Scotland's path to the top begins at the end of Loch Muick, a walk in from the Spittal of Glen Muick: see the bridge notice below. Auchallater and Glen Doll are the car parks on the other sides.
The ground
The Balmoral Estate's rangers manage public access to Glen Muick and the Lochnagar area. Invercauld Estate runs the car park for Glen Callater and owns the bothy in the glen. Check for stalking before you go.
Summit
Grid reference NO 240 815
Glen Muick
On 4 March 2026 the Southern Cairngorms avalanche forecasters reported the bridge from the public road to the Glen Muick visitor centre damaged and closed to vehicles and people on foot. Ask the Balmoral rangers before you set out. The estate says there is no public transport to the Spittal of Glen Muick.
Auchallater
Invercauld Estate's pay-and-display car park for Glen Callater, 3 km south of Braemar on the A93. In 2026 it charged £3.50 a vehicle for up to a full day, with coins only at the machines.
Glen Doll
Forestry and Land Scotland's car park, on the minor road from the head of Glen Clova, nearest postcode DD8 4RD. In 2026 it charged £3 for the day by coins, card or RingGo, free with a Blue Badge, and Angus Council keeps toilets there. In October 2026 part of the car park was closed from 24 August 2026 for up to three months, the Dounalt road was shut for forestry work with a diversion for Jock's Road, and the Capel Road Track was blocked by trees.
On the hill today
0° to 4°Drizzle on the summit, 997 m. Feels like −4° in the wind.

North-west wind to 16 mph, gusting 33
Rain, about 2 mm
Light from 7.47am to 6.09pm, ten hours

Sat 17Drizzle−1° to 3° on top · 14 mph, gusts 32
Sun 18Mostly clear−2° to 4° on top · 10 mph, gusts 19
Mon 19Drizzle−3° to 6° on top · 9 mph, gusts 18

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, Southeastern Highlands forecast, Broad Cairn, 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 steve whitmarsh, James Montgomerie and Corvette Gillon-Fergusson, via Google

From here the path leads up to the shoulder of Broad Cairn and then up through the boulder fields protecting the summit.The Outdoor Access Trust for Scotland, the charity that builds and repairs upland paths
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 NO 240 815
  • 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

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From the magazine
Read more elsewhere

For the route itself, take the map and read these.

Sleep and eat at its foot

Next along: Cairn Bannoch, Carn a' Choire Bhoidheach, Tolmount, Tom Buidhe. Checked on 10 October 2026. The facts on this page are the Outdoor Access Trust for Scotland's, Invercauld Estate's, Forestry and Land Scotland's, the Cairngorms National Park Authority's and the Scottish Avalanche Information Service's; the forecasts are the Mountain Weather Information Service's and the Met Office'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.