Cock Cairn

About Cock Cairn

Perched on the vast Mounth plateau between Glen Mark and Glen Tanar, Cock Cairn is a 727m Graham that often plays second fiddle to its neighbor, Mount Keen. It offers a lonely, windswept experience where the navigation is as testing as the 'will-I-lose-a-boot' peat hags.

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Did You Know?

• •The fell sits precisely on the border between Angus and Aberdeenshire, serving as a silent sentinel for the high boundary between the two historic counties.
• •It forms part of the expansive granite heights of the Mounth, an area once crossed by ancient 'drove roads' used to move cattle from the Highlands to southern markets.
• •Despite its respectable height, it is frequently bypassed by peak-baggers racing for Mount Keen, the most easterly Munro, leaving Cock Cairn to those who prefer solitude over checklists.
• •While the nearby settlement of Cock Bridge is famous for its road signs being frequently stolen by souvenir hunters, the summit cairn remains safe due to being significantly harder to fit into a car boot.
• •The terrain in this region is a masterclass in 'Hag-Hopping,' a technical sport where one misplaced step results in a boot full of cold black sludge and a complete loss of dignity.