Glen Lui 21 WALK 2 Linn of Dee to Derry Lodge Distance 10.5km/6.5 miles Turn left and follow this through Glen Time 3 hours Lui, passing stands of Scots pine on the Start/Finish Linn of Dee car park surrounding slopes. Derry Cairngorm, GR NO063898 (parking charge) Ben Macdui and Beinn a’Bhuird are three Terrain Woodland and glen paths of Scotland’s highest peaks on show as and tracks you make your way through the glen. Map OS Landranger 73 Public transport Regular Stagecoach After crossing a bridge over the Lui Bluebird Service 201 from Aberdeen Water, the track swings left and continues to Braemar, 6 miles from the Linn through the open glen, home to red of Dee deer, buzzard and kestrel. Once populated by a number of townships, the This straightforward walk leaves from landscape of Glen Lui was transformed the natural gorge of the Linn of Dee by the decision to operate Mar Lodge and enters beautiful Glen Lui, one of Estate as a deer estate from the late 18th- the many gateways into the century, with the glen denuded of young Cairngorms. Excellent paths and trees by growing numbers of grazing tracks run to Derry Lodge, from which deer. Walk northwest along the track for experienced hillwalkers continue on another two miles to Derry Lodge. the challenging Lairig Ghru route to Rothiemurchus, by Aviemore. This The track maintains its northwest much shorter walk provides an ideal course and undulates gently alongside introduction to the wilder side of the heather-clad slopes, passing through a Cairngorms National Park without the strip of Scots pine woodland to reach navigation issues that walking in the now derelict Derry Lodge – once a much of the park can bring. hunting lodge and now a National Trust for Scotland property. This is where the From the Linn of Dee car park, take routes for the Lairig Ghru mountain pass the path signposted for Glen Lui, which and, to the east, the Lairig an Laoigh climbs gradually northeast through a drove road, both linking Deeside to section of pine woodland where red Speyside, diverge. A selection of paths squirrels and crossbill may be spotted. drop down to the Luibeg and Derry The path soon drops down to cross Burns where there are plenty of quiet a section of boardwalk and then climbs spots for a picnic. After enjoying the gradually, exiting the woodland beside wild character of upper Glen Lui, retrace a good track. your steps to the Linn of Dee. 22 Linn of Dee to Derry Lodge A Mar-vellous Landscape Glen Lui lies within the Mar Lodge Estate, which is a remnant of the historic Earldom of Mar. The estate contains four of the UK’s five highest mountains and is recognised as one of the country’s most important conservation landscapes. The National Trust for Scotland purchased the estate in 1995 and now cares for environmentally valuable habitats such as Caledonian pinewoods, wet and dry heaths, and montane acid grassland. Wildlife found here includes red squirrel, otter, golden eagle, dotterel and snow bunting. 23.