Date: Saturday 19th June 2021
Company: Myself and Kate
Distance: 18km, Ascent: 715m
Time: 5Hrs 30Mins
During a weekend visit to Angus we decided to ascend Mount Keen. I first ascended Mount Keen with my school hillwalking club in 1982/83 and last ascended Mount Keen with my daughter and dog in 2015 with several other ascents in between.
We set off early from our weekend base just outside Forfar to arrive at the car park setting off walking by 6.30.
Click here to see a map of the route undertaken
We followed the standard walking route to the summit and back.
I opted to carry my heavy DSLR and lens (c. 4kg) in the hope of seeing some wildlife during the walk. Unfortunately we saw very little except for Meadow Pipits, Curlew, Oystercatcher, Wheatear and a very fleeting view of a Ring Ouzel. Surprisingly there were no grouse or ptarmigan to be seen.
Looking back during walk towards Queen's Well:
Approaching Queen's Well:
During an ascent of Mount Keen it is always nice to pay a visit to the Queen's Well.
At Queen's Well:
As I was carrying extra weight in my rucksack, and currently have back pain, the ascent was slow and steady.
Looking back to Glenmark during initial ascent:
Ascent alongside the Ladder Burn:
Looking back at initial section of ascent:
The tracks on Mount Keen and surrounding hills are excessively wide and obvious. I suspect much of this is infrastructure to cover these hills with wind turbines in the near future.
Looking back along the wide ridge:
Kate ascending Mount Keen:
Approaching the summit cairn and trig point:
At the boundary stone:
Summit of Mount Keen:
We didn't stay long at the summit as there were no views and no wildlife. We returned via exactly the same route back to the car.
Limited views from the summit:
Congratulations to Kate on ascending her first Munro.