Tuesday 22nd May 2018. An ascent Am Suidhe 541m/125m, in the Monadhliath, near Kincraig, Highland. 12.5km, with 515m of ascent. 3hrs 10mins.

Day 3 dawned, as forecast, wet and windy. We had designated the day for some rest, ready for a big walk on Day 4 when the forecast was looking good. After a morning pottering about Aviemore, we headed back to Kincraig for a quiet afternoon. By then the weather had improved somewhat, so I suggested a short outing up the local hill directly from the house. I got two volunteers. BC decided to wander around the village, trying to find the house he had stayed in during his youth.

We set off through the village. Consulting the map, my plan was to find a spot to cross the A9 safely, then head up various estate tracks which would bring us up to the west shoulder of the hill. Things did not go to plan. My map did not take into account the recent expansion of the A9 in the vicinity to a dual carriageway, and access was barred by high barbed wire fences. We were obliged to walk south on the old road for nearly two kilometres away from our objective, before coming across a road tunnel under the A9, and access to the western side.

Safely under the dual carriageway, we walked up the lane and left onto a track into the Dunachton Estate. We passed a dog kennel close to a house, which gave rise to a good deal of barking. However, the dogs were confined and we passed without incident. A woman came out of the house to see what had caused the ruckus. She quickly popped inside again when she saw us in our walking gear, clearly satisfied we were not of concern. Such are the benefits of the Scottish access legislation.

We continued on the track to a new-build farm, not marked on my map, and then onwards into woodland. As we entered the wood, a small herd of deer leapt away out of sight. We exited the wood higher up, with our objective now much closer. Turning north-west at a track T-junction, we followed the edge of the forest up the west shoulder of Am Suidhe. We could see no path up the hill, so we made our own way up, following the occasional deer track where it headed the right way.

The summit was not in doubt, sporting a large cairn that had been remodelled into a wind shelter. The view on a good day would have been wide and wonderful, but low cloud today restricted it. After a few minutes engaged in 'summit rituals' we headed down, finding a better route to the forest than that of our ascent. We returned by our outward route, arriving back at the house much later than planned.