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
Sgor an Lochain Uaine
A Munro of 1,258 metres, number 5 of the 282.
The hill
Sgòr an Lochain Uaine, 1,258 metres, is the fifth highest Munro and stands beside Cairn Toul in the Cairngorms.
The National Park Authority gives the name as the peak of the little green loch, known in English as Angel's Peak. Visit Cairngorms says it has been a Munro only since 1997.
- Starts from
- Visit Cairngorms describes going up the Lairig Ghru from its northern side, and says that coming from Deeside makes a long day even longer.
- Stalking
- Mountaineering Scotland counts the first three weeks of October the busiest of the stag season. Hind stalking currently runs from 21 October to 15 February.
- Summit
- Grid reference NN 954 976
- Car park
- The Linn of Dee, near Braemar, is one of the ways into the Lairig Ghru. When it and the Quoich car park are full, drivers are sent to an overflow car park just before the Linn of Dee, and when that fills too, asked to go elsewhere.
- No telephone
- The emergency telephone at Derry Lodge has been removed, Braemar Mountain Rescue Team says. Do not count on a phone signal in the glens.
- Food
- We know of no café or shop at the Linn of Dee or in the glens beyond it. The nearest places of ours to eat are in Braemar.
On the hill today
−2° to 1°Drizzle on the summit, 1,258 m. Feels like −8° in the wind.
North-west wind to 22 mph, gusting 37
Rain, about 4 mm
Light from 7.49am to 6.11pm, ten hours
Sat 17Fog−3° to 1° on top · 17 mph, gusts 32
Sun 18Clear−3° to 2° on top · 11 mph, gusts 18
Mon 19Drizzle−4° to 4° 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, Sgòr an Lochain Uaine, Southern Cairngorms avalanche forecast, Northern 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 Liam Maclean and Ross Harman, via Google
The emergency telephone at Derry Lodge has now been removed.Braemar Mountain Rescue Team, the volunteer team for the Southern Cairngorms
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 NN 954 976
- 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 Sgor an Lochain Uaine 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.
- Sgòr an Lochain Uaine on WalkhighlandsRoute descriptions with mapswalkhighlands.co.ukThe route↗
- Baked and befuddled on BraeriachA walker's own account of heat and a navigation error on a round from the Linn of Dee that was to take in this hillmountaineering.scotA near miss↗
- Place-Names of the Cairngorms National ParkThe National Park Authority's place-names leaflet: this hill's name, what it means and how to say itcairngorms.co.ukThe name↗
- Mountains and the plateauxThe National Park Authority on the high ground of the Cairngorms and its extremescairngorms.co.ukThe plateau↗
- Cairngorms National Park and Monadhliath forecastThree days of mountain weather for the Cairngorms and the Monadhliath, written by forecastersmwis.org.ukMountain weather↗
- Sgòr an Lochain UaineThe Met Office's forecast for the summit: a computer model for one point, not a report from the hillweather.metoffice.gov.ukSummit forecast↗
- Southern Cairngorms avalanche forecastThe Southern Cairngorms avalanche forecast, which counts Cairn Toul, the hill beside this one, among its outlying mountains, observed in turn as the winter goes on. Full forecasts begin on 17 December 2026sais.gov.ukAvalanche↗
- Northern Cairngorms avalanche forecastThe Northern Cairngorms forecast, which counts Braeriach and the Sgorans among its outlying mountains, so read both. No forecast before 17 December does not mean no risk under snowsais.gov.ukAvalanche↗
- Path closures in the Cairngorms National ParkPaths and car parks closed in the National Park. The Authority suggests checking with the ranger service or the estate as wellcairngorms.co.ukNotices↗
Next along: Cairn Toul, Braeriach, The Devil's Point, Ben Macdui. Checked on 10 October 2026. The facts on this page are Visit Cairngorms', Mountaineering Scotland's, Braemar Mountain Rescue Team'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.