Number 20 of 282 by height · Southeastern Highlands
Cac Carn Beag (Lochnagar)
Cac Càrn Beag
3,792 ft (1,156 m)
Facts
- Grid reference
- NO 243 861
- Latitude, longitude
- 56.96029, -3.24525
- Area
- Southeastern Highlands
The walk up
- Distance, one way
- 5.4 mi (8.7 km)
- Climb
- 2,533 ft (772 m)
- Estimated time up
- 3 h
- Start
- Car park near Spittal of Glenmuick Visitors Centre
Summit conditions
From Sunday 1 November, 20:25. Not live.
- Weather
- Fair
- Temperature
- 31°F (0°C)
- Wind chill
- 25°F (−4°C)
- Wind
- 7 mph (12 km/h) from the northwest
- Cloud cover
- 20%
- Rain or snow, next hour
- None
- Freezing level, rough estimate
- 3,642 ft (1,110 m), below the summit
- Sunrise, sunset
- 07:22, 16:30
The way up
From Car park near Spittal of Glenmuick Visitors Centre, follow the track north-west for 0.7 mi, almost level. On the way you cross the River Muick by a bridge. Then follow the path west for 0.3 mi, climbing steadily from 1,350 ft to 1,450 ft. Then follow the track west for 1.6 mi, climbing steadily from 1,450 ft to 2,250 ft. On the way you cross the Allt na Giubhsaich. Then follow the path west for 2.0 mi, climbing steadily from 2,250 ft to 3,500 ft. It then turns north-west for the last 0.7 mi to the summit, climbing gently from 3,500 ft to 3,800 ft. On the way you go over Cac Càrn Mòr (3,750 ft). The steepest part is between 2,350 ft and 2,950 ft, about 3.1 mi from the start. The summit is at 3,792 ft (1,156 m).
Written from the map, not from walking it. Paths on the ground can differ, so carry a map and compass.See it in 3D.
Getting there
By car
Car park near Spittal of Glenmuick Visitors Centre. Parking charge not known. This is where the walking route starts.
Driving directions to the Cac Carn Beag (Lochnagar) car park56.95265,-3.13795
By train
Nearest station: Laurencekirk, 27 mi (43 km) from the car park. Too far to walk in from.
By bus
No bus stop on the map within 5 miles of the car park. The nearest is Balmoral Rd End, 6.7 mi (11 km) away. Check the times first: many Highland buses run only a few times a day.
Near the start
- Toilets by the start
From OpenStreetMap. Places close or change hours, especially in winter, so check before you rely on one.
Public transport directionsBus and train times on Traveline Scotland
About Cac Carn Beag (Lochnagar)
- In Gaelic
- Cac Càrn Beag
- Means
- Small cairn of faeces
Cac Carn Beag is the highest point of Lochnagar, a big hill in the Mounth about 5 miles south of the River Dee near Balmoral, on the royal estate. The mountain is built around a great north-facing corrie, and the summit and most of the subsidiary tops sit on its rim. The English name comes from Lochan na Gaire, the small loch at the foot of the corrie. The true summit is a rock tor about 2 m north-east of the trig point.
Lochnagar rises 2,201 ft (671 m) above the col linking it to higher ground. It lies in the Cairngorms National Park, lends its name to the Deeside and Lochnagar National Scenic Area, and is protected for its breeding dotterel and golden eagles.
Few hills have such a cultural trail. Byron's poem 'Lachin y Gair', also called 'Dark Lochnagar', became the basis of a song set by Beethoven. John Brown and Disraeli climb it in the film 'Mrs. Brown', and it is the setting for 'The Old Man of Lochnagar', a children's story first told by Prince Charles.
Tops on Cac Carn Beag (Lochnagar)
4 lower summits in the Munro tables, not counted as separate Munros. Keen baggers tick these too.
| Top | Height | From the summit |
|---|---|---|
| Cuidhe CromNO 259 849 | 3,554 ft (1,083 m) | 1.3 mi (2.0 km) |
| Meikle PapNO 259 860 | 3,215 ft (980 m) | 1.0 mi (1.6 km) |
| Meall Coire na SaobhaidheNO 242 872 | 3,196 ft (974 m) | 0.7 mi (1.2 km) |
| Little PapNO 264 844 | 3,136 ft (956 m) | 1.7 mi (2.7 km) |
Through the year
Hours of daylight on Cac Carn Beag (Lochnagar) in the middle of each month. The shorter the day, the earlier you need to start.
Stag stalking season, 1 July to 20 October. On many estates, walkers are asked to keep to set routes on stalking days: check the Scottish Outdoor Access Code site's Heading for the Scottish Hills service before you go.
Nearest Munros
| Munro | Height | Straight-line distance |
|---|---|---|
| Carn a' Choire Bhoidheach | 3,641 ft (1,110 m) | 1.4 mi (2.3 km) |
| Carn an t-Sagairt Mor | 3,435 ft (1,047 m) | 2.5 mi (4.0 km) |
| Cairn Bannoch | 3,320 ft (1,012 m) | 2.6 mi (4.1 km) |
Common questions about Cac Carn Beag (Lochnagar)
- How high is Cac Carn Beag (Lochnagar)?
- Cac Carn Beag (Lochnagar) is 3,792 ft (1,156 m), number 20 of the 282 Munros by height, in the Southeastern Highlands.
- How long does it take to climb Cac Carn Beag (Lochnagar)?
- About 3 h up and 1 h 50 min back down by our route from Car park near Spittal of Glenmuick Visitors Centre, before stops: 5.4 mi (8.7 km) each way with 2,533 ft (772 m) of climbing. That is about average for a Munro. Most people take longer than these estimates.
- Where do you park for Cac Carn Beag (Lochnagar)?
- Our route starts at Car park near Spittal of Glenmuick Visitors Centre.
- Can you climb Cac Carn Beag (Lochnagar) without a car?
- The nearest railway station is Laurencekirk, 27 mi (43 km) from the start. Highland trains and buses are few, so check times on Traveline Scotland before you go.
- Is Cac Carn Beag (Lochnagar) a hard Munro?
- By time and climbing, it is about average for a Munro, with 2,533 ft (772 m) of ascent over 5.4 mi (8.7 km). Like every Munro it reaches over 3,000 ft, where the weather can be far worse than at the car park, so take a map and compass and check the mountain forecast.
- What does Cac Carn Beag (Lochnagar) mean?
- In Gaelic it is Cac Càrn Beag. It is usually translated as "small cairn of faeces".
- When is the best time to climb Cac Carn Beag (Lochnagar)?
- Daylight runs from about 18 hours in mid June to 7 hours in mid December, so summer gives the most time. From 1 July to 20 October it is the stag stalking season, when some estates ask walkers to keep to set routes. In winter, snow and ice turn most Munros into mountaineering terrain.
A guide only. Mountain conditions change fast: carry a map and compass and know how to use them, and read the mountain forecast for the Southeastern Highlands before you go.
Questions
Where can I get a proper mountain forecast?
Read the Mountain Weather Information Service forecast for the Southeastern Highlands, written by forecasters for walkers and climbers. In winter, also read the Scottish Avalanche Information Service report for the area.
Where does the summit weather come from?
From MET Norway's forecast model, fetched for every Munro once an hour at the summit's own height. It is computer output for one point, not a forecast written for mountains, so treat it as a guide. The past hours are what the forecast said at the time. Wind chill, the freezing level and sunrise and sunset are worked out by this site from those figures; the freezing level assumes temperature drops steadily with height, so it can be well out when cold air sits in the glens.
How was this route drawn?
It follows footpaths and tracks mapped on OpenStreetMap, from a public car park to the summit, with heights from Copernicus elevation data. The start and the line were chosen by hand from the usual way up. A line on a map is not a description of the ground.
- Path geometry: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), Overpass API extract fetched 2026-10-24T16:46:17.374Z, 12 OSM ways routed with Dijkstra (shortest distance; trunk/primary/secondary roads penalised so they are used only where no path exists).
- Elevation: Copernicus DEM GLO-90 via the Open-Meteo Elevation API, sampled every 50 m, smoothed with a 5-sample rolling median; ascent/descent summed with a 5 m hysteresis band; the 90 m DEM also rounds off summits, so maxElevM can sit below the surveyed height.
- Summit position: Database of British and Irish Hills v18 (CC BY 4.0).
Built 2026-10-24.
How is the time up worked out?
With Naismith's rule, the standard hill-walking estimate: an hour for every 3.1 miles (5 km), plus an hour for every 1,969 ft (600 m) of climbing, with no stops. For this route that gives about 3 h, one way. It ignores rough ground, weather, stops and the walk back down, so most people take longer.
Where do the car parks and bus stops come from?
From OpenStreetMap. Distances are straight lines, not the way you would walk or drive. A bus stop on the map says nothing about how often a bus calls: many Highland buses run a few times a day, some only on school days or by booking, so check Traveline Scotland first. The map cannot tell whether a car park is on a public road, so a remote one may only be reachable on foot or by train.
Where do the Gaelic names and stories come from?
From the hill's article on English Wikipedia and its Wikidata entry, put into a few words of our own. Meanings and pronunciations are only given where the article states them; many Gaelic hill names are old and their meaning is uncertain. Read the full article.
Where do the height and grid reference come from?
From the Database of British and Irish Hills, the surveyed list most baggers use. Cac Carn Beag (Lochnagar) is hill 457 there.
Sources: Database of British and Irish Hills (CC BY 4.0), OpenStreetMap (ODbL), MET Norway (CC BY 4.0), Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0) and Wikidata, Copernicus elevation data, Sentinel-2 cloudless imagery by EOX. All credits and licences.