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The cliffs of the corrie above its dark loch in sun.
Glenshee, Lochnagar and Glen Clova

Lochnagar - Cac Carn Beag

A Munro of 1,156 metres, number 21 of the 282.

On the hill todayI was up today
The hill

Lochnagar, 1,155 metres, is in Aberdeenshire, inside the Cairngorms National Park.

The Balmoral Estate calls it one of Scotland's most popular mountains.

The estate's rangers keep a visitor centre at the Spittal of Glen Muick and maintain about 100 kilometres of upland paths, the main Lochnagar path among them.

The start
The Balmoral rangers' visitor centre is at the Spittal of Glen Muick. Read the route before you go.
The ground
The Balmoral Estate's rangers manage public access to Glen Muick and the Lochnagar area, inside the Cairngorms National Park.
Cornices
Whenever there is snow on the ground in the Scottish hills, Mountaineering Scotland warns, there will be cornices. The avalanche service has recorded cornice collapses on Lochnagar.
Summit
Cac Carn Beag, grid reference NO 243 861
The road
The Spittal of Glen Muick is some ten miles from Ballater, and the estate says there is no public transport to it.
At the Spittal
The Balmoral Ranger Service opens the visitor centre all year, usually with a ranger on hand early in the morning and late in the afternoon. The day's weather forecast is on display, and the avalanche forecast in winter.
Food
The nearest shops are in Ballater.
On the hill today
−1° to 3°Drizzle on the summit, 1,156 m. Feels like −6° in the wind.

West wind to 17 mph, gusting 36
Rain, about 1 mm
Light from 7.47am to 6.09pm, ten hours

Sat 17Drizzle−3° to 2° on top · 13 mph, gusts 30
Sun 18Clear−5° to 3° on top · 12 mph, gusts 24
Mon 19Drizzle−7° to 5° on top · 7 mph, gusts 15

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, Lochnagar, 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 Chris Bryson, Julia Bryce, Liam Maclean and Kev Welsh, via Google

Up to date weather forecasts are displayed every day, as well as avalanche forecasts during the winter months.The Cairngorms National Park Authority, of the Balmoral rangers' visitor centre at the Spittal of Glen Muick
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 243 861
  • 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: Carn a' Choire Bhoidheach, Carn an t-Sagairt Mor, Cairn Bannoch, Broad Cairn. Checked on 9 October 2026. The facts on this page are the Balmoral Estate's, the Cairngorms National Park Authority's, Mountaineering Scotland'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.