Druim nam Bo

Ascending from Glen Derry, this 'Ridge of the Cows' provides a direct, if somewhat leg-sapping, route toward the Munro Beinn a’ Chaorainn. It offers a spectacular sense of isolation in the heart of the Cairngorms, perfect for hikers who find the main plateaus a little too crowded.

• •The name translates from Gaelic as the 'Ridge of the Cows', suggesting that historic Highland cattle were significantly more athletic than the ones you see on modern postcards.
• •It is officially classified as a Munro Top, a peak over 3,000 feet that serves as the high southern shoulder to the more prominent Beinn a' Chaorainn.
• •The ridge sits within the Mar Lodge Estate, a massive conservation area where some of the oldest surviving remnants of the ancient Caledonian pine forest still cling to the glens.
• •Geologically, you are walking on a massive slab of Cairngorm granite that formed roughly 400 million years ago, though it feels significantly older when you are halfway through the ascent.
• •The climb is so relentlessly uniform that it provides the perfect environment for summit hallucinations, where every medium-sized boulder briefly takes on the appearance of a cairn or a cold pint.