Càrn a' Mhàim

Càrn a' Mhàim, at 1,037 metres, is a southern satellite of mighty Ben Macdui, joined to its parent by perhaps the narrowest section of ridge anywhere in the Cairngorms — an unusual feature for these generally rounded, whale-backed mountains — and guards the Lairig Ghru on the approach from Braemar.

The route starts from the large National Trust for Scotland car park at the Linn of Dee, following a footpath north through forest with boardwalk sections in places before joining the main Land Rover track heading up Glen Lui. The track crosses the Lui Water and continues through increasingly beautiful pinewoods to Derry Lodge, a former shooting lodge now boarded up and owned by the National Trust; nearby Bob Scott's bothy offers an open refuge for walkers. Beyond the lodge, the track forks past a rescue hut and crosses the Derry Burn via footbridge, with a boggy clearing in the pines before the going improves. A clear, recently reconstructed path branches off to begin the ascent proper, climbing north-west directly up steadily steepening slopes, with heather giving way to open stony ground above Coire na Poite's crags. The route bears slightly left to join the south ridge, with a first summit at 1,014 metres bypassed on the left — the true summit lies around half a kilometre further north-west across a shallow col, with excellent views of the Devil's Point and Cairn Toul across the deep trench of the Dee.

The mountain's finest feature is the narrowing ridge continuing north-north-west towards Ben Macdui, becoming a genuinely fine arête — well worth a detour along even for those planning to return the same way, and for the fit and ambitious, the natural continuation to the much higher summit of Macdui itself, with a final steep pull to gain the plateau.

The round trip to Càrn a' Mhàim alone from the Linn of Dee is around 22-24 kilometres, typically six to eight hours; combined with Ben Macdui and often Derry Cairngorm as part of a longer circuit, the day extends considerably, sometimes to ten or eleven hours.

The narrow arête demands a good head for heights, though it's not technically difficult in good conditions; the approach and return along Glen Lui is long, and a mountain bike is widely recommended to cover the initial miles to Derry Lodge more efficiently.

The Linn of Dee car park is chargeable; there is no public transport to the start.