Lairig an Laoigh – Fords of Avon

After a pleasant walk or mountain bike to the site of the old Bynack Stable shelter, the path begins on the far side of a smart wooden bridge over the youthful, bubbling River Nethy. A steady climb leads to the wide, windy and wild plateau below the rocky cone of Bynack Mhor rising to the south. Taking a left fork at a cairn, the path descends to cross the Uisge Dubh Poll a Choin burn, becoming rougher and much quieter as the Munro baggers heading for Bynack Mhor are left behind. After another short climb, a short, steep descent and another burn crossing, you are following an old route through one of the most remote-feeling glens in the Cairngorms. On a good day the Barns of Bynack can be seen looming high up to the west like stone loaves, and the promise of the tiny, cosy shelter of the Fords of Avon refuge in a few miles keeps you walking on into the true heart of the mountains.

Mapping