Date: Friday 26th June 2015
Company: Myself and Cuillin
Distance: 5km, Ascent: 320m
Time: 1Hr 25Mins
Today, I drove to Rhynie and then a short distance beyond, to the Tap o' Noth car park, where I parked for an ascent of Tap o'Noth. Despite Tap o'Noth being less than 30 minutes from home, I had only ascended it once previously. My previous ascent of Tap o' Noth was in 2009.
Click here to see a map of the route undertaken
From the car park, I followed the track from the car park all the way to the summit.
Hillfort sign at Tap o' Noth car park:
The track up Tap o' Noth is not as good as that of nearby Bennachie; much of the track is grass and today it was definitely in need of a cut.
Initial ascent up through a field:
During the ascent of Tap o' Noth I could see across to neighbouring The Buck o' Cabrach.
Looking across to the Buck o' Cabrach:
Tap o' Noth is a very prominent hill in North Aberdeenshire clearly visible from my kitchen window. Both it and Mither Tap of Bennachie have hillforts located at their summits. The hillfort on Tap o' Noth is the second highest hillfort in Scotland. The highest is on Ben Griam Beg in Caithness.
Tap o' Noth:
Looking towards the hillfort at the summit of Tap o' Noth:
Looking back towards the start:
Nearby Rhynie is very prominent from the hill.
Rhynie (zoom):
A short distance below the summit, I came to a map of Aberdeenshire. I can't recall seeing this on my previous ascent in 2009.
Map located circa 10m below the summit:
Into the hillfort, looking towards the summit:
Since my previous visit in 2009, there has been a proliferation of wind turbines in almost every direction. I think Aberdeenshire has lost the plot when it comes to its ever-increasing number of wind turbines; this definitely puts me off walking in Aberdeenshire.
Trig point at the summit of Tap o' Noth:
The Buck o' Cabrach from Tap o' Noth:
After taking a photo of Cuillin next to the trig point, we walked around the remains of the vitrified fort before returning to the car via the same route.
Cuillin at the summit of Tap o' Noth:
Walking along the vitrified hillfort:
Walking along the vitrified hillfort:
Looking back towards the summit hillfort during descent:
A very straight-forward walk if you have an hour or two to spare.