Càrn Dearg (Monadhliath)

Càrn Dearg, at 945 metres, is the first and remotest-feeling of the three Monadhliath Munros above Newtonmore — undistinguished in itself like its neighbours, but carrying more of a sense of genuine remoteness than the other two, with the long trek across the plateau giving a real feeling of space in good weather.

The route starts from the end of the minor road up Glen Banchor, from Newtonmore — an attractive, surprisingly wild little glen given its position close to the town. A track heads up the glen, almost immediately crossing a bridge over the Allt a' Chaorainn, then passes a plantation and the site of a deserted township before, just before a house and bridge over the Allt Fionndrigh, a track bends off to the right for the ascent. The going is rough for much of the lower route on tracks, becoming featureless higher up on the hills themselves, with a line of old fence posts offering navigational aid across the plateau.

From Càrn Dearg's summit, the route continues across the Monadhliath plateau towards Càrn Sgulain, a section that would be genuinely difficult to navigate in bad visibility without the guidance of the fence posts.

Combined with Càrn Sgulain and A' Chailleach, the round trip from Glen Banchor is typically six to eight hours; the Monadhliath range as a whole offers great walking country with a real sense of remoteness, despite lacking the sharp-pointed drama of the western Highland ranges.

The plateau terrain demands genuine navigation confidence in poor visibility, and while the tracks lower down are generally good, the featureless hills higher up require full route-finding skills — this is proper mountain terrain despite the gentle, rolling character of the underlying landscape.

Parking at the end of the Glen Banchor road is free; buses and trains serve Newtonmore, around 3 kilometres from the start.