Two weeks later I was back in the car, driving up to the Bridge of Cally Hotel on Friday evening after work, then getting up early on Saturday morning to continue on to Glenshee, with the aim of bagging the 6 Munros to the east of the ski centre.

I was impressed with the online parking registration form which encourages walkers to fill in their planned route and estimated time of arrival back at the car, so that mountain rescue can be called in the event you don’t arrive back in time. I duly filled in the fact that I was planning the round of 6 and that I hoped to be back by 7pm (I was actually hoping to be back by about 5pm but didn’t want mountain rescue to be called unnecessarily if I took longer than estimated).

I had read that the summit of Creag Leacach is steep and rocky, so had decided to do the route anti-clockwise, preferring to ascend Creag Leacach at the start of the day than descend it at the end of the day. This meant walking just over a mile down the road to the start point, and would also mean walking a similar distance back to the car at the end.

I had downloaded a GPX route to follow but in typical fashion, didn’t stop regularly enough to check I was on track and instead ended up following a clear footpath I could see heading straight up the face of Creag Leacach. At one point I found myself on a narrow, very exposed path traversing about 80m below what looked to be the summit ridge, and, fearful of losing my footing, decided I felt safer scrambling straight up the steep bilberry-and rock-covered hillside above it, where I could at least grab on to rocks and foliage to help myself up. This proved to be a good decision, and I soon made it onto shallower ground from where it was a very short walk to the actual summit.

At this point I was feeling very pleased with my decision to head up Creag Leacach rather than down it – the thought of having to try to go down that slope felt frankly terrifying. But as I headed from the summit towards Glas Maol, I spotted the clear path that I should have been on, which would have brought me up to the bealach between the two Munros, completely avoiding the steep face I’d scrambled up. If I ever do this round again, I will certainly be taking that path!

The weather for the day was mixed, mostly sunny but with a few short showers that did a good job of cooling me down, while not being heavy enough to ruin the enjoyment of the day. Navigation was fairly easy due to the good visibility and mostly clear footpaths; the only tricky part was getting back up to the ridge leading to Carn an Tuirc, from Tolmount. The path off Tolmount had descended into horribly wet bog, and the wide convex slope leading up to the ridge made for what felt like an interminable slog with the ridge never seeming to get any closer. Once I eventually reached the ridge, it was fairly straightforward to get to Carn an Tuirc, but if I ever do a second Munro round I’ll do Tolmount and Tom Buidhe from Glen Doll, and just do the round of 4 from Glenshee.

The descent from Carn an Tuirc was a bit steep and tricky at first, picking my way over boulders and rough foliage before eventually managing to pick up a boggy footpath. The views as I approached the roadside were superb, though, with the heather in full bloom and a beautiful burn winding its way down the valley.

I had got chatting to a dad and daughter, Steve and Emma, on the summit of Carn an Tuirc, and bumped into them again further down, which was fortunate timing for me as they had sensibly parked at the finish and offered me a lift back up the road to my car, saving me the final mile on the road – an absolute godsend on very tired legs and feet.

Then An Socach on Sunday – another lovely day out and a straightforward out and back (though I hadn’t studied the map properly so the final 3km trudge across the summit plateau came as an unpleasant surprise). Overall a beautiful walk up with the heather in bloom, and glorious views from the summit, of Ben Macdui and the surrounding Cairngorm peaks.