The Devil's Point

The Devil's Point, at 1,004 metres, rises sheer above the meeting of Glen Geusachan and Glen Dee — a striking rocky boss whose Gaelic name, Bod an Deamhain, actually translates as "Penis of the Demon," softened to its current English form after Queen Victoria's ghillie, John Brown, gave a more polite translation to avoid embarrassing her.

The route starts from the Linn of Dee, following either Glen Luibeg via Derry Lodge or the Glen Dee path directly, both converging for the long walk to Corrour Bothy — a distance of around 12 kilometres either way, making this a substantial undertaking even before the ascent begins. From the bothy, behind which the Devil's Point looms formidably, a renovated stalkers' path climbs into Coire Odhar, a shallow bowl of grass and heather with an attractive waterslide at its head — crossing this stream is usually straightforward in normal conditions, with a bypass path above though it offers no more stable going. The path zig-zags up, steepening right of the waterslide with views opening across the Lairig Ghru to Ben Macdui, before a short, steep, gravelly section near the top where hands may be useful for security. The route emerges onto the plateau at a saddle between the Devil's Point and the wider Western Cairngorms plateau, from where the summit — despite its forbidding appearance from below — is reached easily via less than 100 metres of further, gentler ascent.

Most walkers combine the Devil's Point with Cairn Toul, continuing north-west up wide, windswept slopes to Stob Coire an t-Saighdeir and onward to that higher summit, given the shared long approach makes a single-Munro day feel disproportionate to the effort involved.

The round trip to the Devil's Point alone from the Linn of Dee is around 24-26 kilometres, typically eight to ten hours; combined with Cairn Toul the day extends further still, often requiring an overnight stay at Corrour bothy or a nearby wild camp for all but the fittest parties.

The approach is remote and committing, with the final short scramble near the plateau edge demanding some care — full navigation skills and genuine stamina are essential given the sheer distance involved just to reach the foot of the mountain.

Parking at the Linn of Dee is chargeable; there is no public transport to the start, and a mountain bike is widely used to speed the initial approach to Derry Lodge.