Glas Tulaichean and Càrn an Rìgh

Glas Tulaichean and Càrn an Rìgh make a long mountain loop from the Dalmunzie drive entrance at Spittal of Glenshee. The mapped route is about 18.7 miles (30 km), with roughly 1,085 m of ascent; allow eight to ten hours. It climbs Glen Lochsie to Glas Tulaichean’s 1,051 m summit, crosses rough high ground to Càrn an Rìgh, then returns by Loch nan Eun and Gleann Taitneach. This is a demanding day for experienced hillwalkers, not a short add-on to a hotel visit. Shorter published totals differ; this measurement counts the whole approach from Spittal and the return drive, roughly 2 km each way from the hotel.

From the free parking by Dalmunzie’s private drive, walk the drive to the hotel, then continue past it toward Glenlochsie Farm. Follow the estate markers that bypass the farmyard through the field and rejoin the track. The route climbs beside the burn, passing the line of a small railway built in 1921 to bring stone for Dalmunzie Castle. Old concrete sleepers remain. The track steepens around Glenlochsie Lodge, then eases as it climbs onto the broad ridge and reaches the domed summit of Glas Tulaichean. Leave the track briefly for the trig point; the craggier Ghlas Choire lies to the east.

The ridge crossing is the hardest part to navigate. From Glas, descend northeast around the edge of the corrie, then turn north and keep left of Glas Choire Bheag. Boggy slopes lead to a stalkers’ path and the 771 m bealach. Leave the path for Càrn an Rìgh’s grassy, stony upper slope. Its untidy cairn marks the 1,029 m summit, with Beinn a’ Ghlò to the west. The ground is open and the tread is faint in places, so cloud makes route-finding much harder.

Retrace the line to the bealach and follow the path below Màm nan Càrn. It fades into bog before reappearing toward the south side of Loch nan Eun, a lonely loch near 800 m. From there, descend on the left side of the stream over a boggy path; a bulldozed track comes after about 1.5 km. The glen is steep-sided and the way down is long. Follow the track across the Allt Elrig side stream, then leave it at the footbridge over Allt Ghlinn Thaitneach and take the path on the west bank. It rejoins the outward route near the hotel; walk the drive back to Spittal.

Dalmunzie’s written records reach back to 1510, and the glens had farms and hamlets before 1800. Cottage footings still mark that older settlement. The railway is the more unusual remnant: it carried building stone in the 1920s, then served sporting guests into the 1970s. Gleann Taitneach was shaped by glaciation, and the estate notes mountain hares, deer and eagles among the wildlife visitors may spot there.