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…
Glenshee, Lochnagar and Glen Clova
Mayar
A Munro of 929 metres, number 253 of the 282.
The hill
Mayar stands in Angus beside Driesh, above Glen Doll at the head of Glen Clova in the Cairngorms National Park.
The two Munros come as a pair, three kilometres apart, with Driesh to the east.
Its name is one of the park's old puzzles. The Cairngorms National Park Authority lists Mayar, along with Clova and Doll, among the older place-names whose meaning is uncertain.
Close by is Corrie Fee, a National Nature Reserve that Forestry and Land Scotland singles out for its geology, its wildlife and its rare arctic alpine plants.
- Starts from
- Forestry and Land Scotland's Glen Doll car park, at the head of Glen Clova.
- The ground
- Forestry and Land Scotland keeps the forest, and marks its routes only as far as the forest edge.
- Under snow
- There is no avalanche forecast for Driesh or Mayar, but snow brings the risk here all the same.
- Paths out of the forest
- Forestry and Land Scotland names two mountain access routes out of the forest, the Kilbo path and the Corrie Fee path. In October 2026 both were open, with timber lorries on the forest road, and every other waymarked trail at Glen Doll was closed by storm damage.
- Summit
- Grid reference NO 240 737
- Car park
- Glen Doll, Forestry and Land Scotland's, at the end of the minor road beyond the head of Glen Clova; the nearest postcode is DD8 4RD. In 2026 it charged £3 for the day by coins, card or RingGo, free with a Blue Badge. You may leave a car overnight for the hills, paid for each day, but not camp or sleep in it.
- Works
- Part of the car park is closed from 24 August 2026 for up to three months, for riverbank work and repairs. Forestry and Land Scotland asks drivers to use the overflow and the top end.
- Toilets and food
- Angus Council keeps toilets at the car park, open 9am to 4.30pm daily and longer in summer. The nearest places to eat are in Clova village.
On the hill today
0° to 5°Drizzle on the summit, 929 m. Feels like −3° in the wind.
North-west wind to 11 mph, gusting 25
Dry, or nearly
Light from 7.47am to 6.09pm, ten hours
Sat 17Drizzle−2° to 5° on top · 10 mph, gusts 24
Sun 18Mostly clear−3° to 4° on top · 8 mph, gusts 15
Mon 19Drizzle−6° to 6° on top · 9 mph, gusts 19
A weather model's forecast for the height of the summit, not a report from the hill. Read the mountain forecast the evening before: Southeastern Highlands forecast, Cairngorms National Park and Monadhliath forecast, Mayar.
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 Tamás Szabolics and Simin Li, via Google
These routes are suitable for experienced and well-equipped walkers onlyForestry and Land Scotland, of the hill walks to Driesh and Mayar from its Glen Doll 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 NO 240 737
- 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 Mayar 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.
- Mayar on WalkhighlandsA full route description with a mapwalkhighlands.co.ukThe route↗
- Glen DollForestry and Land Scotland on the car park, the forest and its trailsforestryandland.gov.scotThe start↗
- Mountain accessForestry and Land Scotland's advice for walkers who leave its forests for the hillforestryandland.gov.scotOn the open hill↗
- Walking in the Cairngorms National ParkThe park authority's list of blocked and closed paths, Glen Doll's among themcairngorms.co.ukClosed paths↗
- Southeastern Highlands forecastThe Mountain Weather Information Service's Southeastern Highlands forecast, written by forecasters three days ahead, which takes in the Angus hills. Read it with the Cairngorms onemwis.org.ukMountain weather↗
- Cairngorms National Park and Monadhliath forecastThe same service's forecast for the Cairngorms National Park, which Glen Doll is in. Read it with the Southeastern Highlands onemwis.org.ukMountain weather↗
- MayarThe Met Office's forecast for the summit itself: a model for one point, not a report from the hillweather.metoffice.gov.ukSummit forecast↗
- Glen Doll alertsForestry and Land Scotland: which paths out of the forest are open, the closed trails and the car park worksforestryandland.gov.scotNotices↗
Next along: Driesh, Tom Buidhe, Tolmount, Cairn of Claise. Checked on 9 October 2026. The facts on this page are Forestry and Land Scotland's, Angus Council's and the Scottish Avalanche Information Service's, and the hill's name is as the Cairngorms National Park Authority gives it; 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.