Number 118 of 282 by height · Southeastern Highlands
Cairn Bannoch
Càrn a' Bheannaich
3,320 ft (1,012 m)
Facts
- Grid reference
- NO 222 825
- Latitude, longitude
- 56.92774, -3.27841
- Area
- Southeastern Highlands
The walk up
- Distance, one way
- 7.0 mi (11 km)
- Climb
- 2,215 ft (675 m)
- Estimated time up
- 3 h 25 min
- Start
- Auchallater
Route picked by computer, not yet checked on the hill
Summit conditions
From Sunday 1 November, 20:25. Not live.
- Weather
- Fair
- Temperature
- 33°F (1°C)
- Wind chill
- 27°F (−3°C)
- Wind
- 6 mph (10 km/h) from the north
- Cloud cover
- 23%
- Rain or snow, next hour
- None
- Freezing level, rough estimate
- 3,573 ft (1,089 m)
- Sunrise, sunset
- 07:22, 16:31
The way up
From Auchallater, follow the track south-east for 0.6 mi, climbing gently from 1,200 ft to 1,350 ft. It then turns south for 1.4 mi, almost level. On the way you cross the Callater Burn by a bridge. It then turns south-east for 1.1 mi, almost level. On the way you cross the Allt Phàdruig. Then follow the path east for 1.7 mi, climbing steadily from 1,650 ft to 2,650 ft. On the way you pass Loch Callater on your right. It then turns south-east for the last 2.2 mi to the summit, climbing gently from 2,650 ft to 3,300 ft. The steepest part is between 2,450 ft and 3,050 ft, about 4.5 mi from the start. The summit is at 3,320 ft (1,012 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
Auchallater. Parking charge not known. This is where the walking route starts.
Driving directions to the Cairn Bannoch car park56.97736,-3.39000
By train
Nearest station: Aviemore, 22 mi (35 km) from the car park. Too far to walk in from.
By bus
Nearest bus stop on the map: Post Office, 2.0 mi (3.2 km) from the car park. Check the times first: many Highland buses run only a few times a day.
Near the start
- Hostel: Braemar Youth Hostel 1.8 mi (2.8 km)
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 Cairn Bannoch
- In Gaelic
- Càrn a' Bheannaich
Cairn Bannoch is one of the rounded summits of the White Mounth, the high plateau that stretches south and east of Lochnagar, and it sits on the border of Aberdeenshire and Angus. It rises only 249 ft (76 m) above the col that links it to higher ground, so it reads more as a bump on the plateau than a separate peak.
Carn a' Choire Bhoidheach, the nearest higher Munro, is 1.3 miles away, with Broad Cairn and Carn an t-Sagairt Mor also close by. Its tops are Fafernie, Cairn of Gowal and Craig of Gowal, and the summit is marked by a cairn.
Tops on Cairn Bannoch
3 lower summits in the Munro tables, not counted as separate Munros. Keen baggers tick these too.
| Top | Height | From the summit |
|---|---|---|
| FafernieNO 215 823 | 3,281 ft (1,000 m) | 0.5 mi (0.8 km) |
| Cairn of GowalNO 226 820 | 3,251 ft (991 m) | 0.4 mi (0.6 km) |
| Craig of GowalNO 231 809 | 3,041 ft (927 m) | 1.2 mi (1.9 km) |
Through the year
Hours of daylight on Cairn Bannoch 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Broad Cairn | 3,274 ft (998 m) | 1.3 mi (2.0 km) |
| Carn a' Choire Bhoidheach | 3,641 ft (1,110 m) | 1.3 mi (2.0 km) |
| Carn an t-Sagairt Mor | 3,435 ft (1,047 m) | 1.4 mi (2.3 km) |
Part of a bigger day: 8 Munros in one go, Glas Maol, Cairn of Claise, Tolmount, Carn an t-Sagairt Mor, Carn a' Choire Bhoidheach, Tom Buidhe, Carn an Tuirc.
Common questions about Cairn Bannoch
- How high is Cairn Bannoch?
- Cairn Bannoch is 3,320 ft (1,012 m), number 118 of the 282 Munros by height, in the Southeastern Highlands.
- How long does it take to climb Cairn Bannoch?
- About 3 h 25 min up and 2 h 20 min back down by our route from Auchallater, before stops: 7.0 mi (11 km) each way with 2,215 ft (675 m) of climbing. That is about average for a Munro. Most people take longer than these estimates.
- Where do you park for Cairn Bannoch?
- Our route starts at Auchallater.
- Can you climb Cairn Bannoch without a car?
- The nearest railway station is Aviemore, 22 mi (35 km) from the start, and the nearest bus stop on the map is Post Office, 2.0 mi (3.2 km) from the start. Highland trains and buses are few, so check times on Traveline Scotland before you go.
- Is Cairn Bannoch a hard Munro?
- By time and climbing, it is about average for a Munro, with 2,215 ft (675 m) of ascent over 7.0 mi (11 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.
- Can you climb other Munros with Cairn Bannoch?
- Yes. Cairn Bannoch can be linked with Glas Maol, Cairn of Claise, Tolmount, Carn an t-Sagairt Mor, Carn a' Choire Bhoidheach, Tom Buidhe, Carn an Tuirc along the ridge, for 8 Munros in one long day. See Big days for the full plan.
- When is the best time to climb Cairn Bannoch?
- 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. A computer picked the start as the car park with the quickest mapped way up, counting the climbing as well as the distance. Nobody has checked it on the hill yet, so it may not be the usual way up, and the path may be faint or missing on the ground. A line on a map is not a description of the ground.
- Path geometry: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), Overpass API extract fetched 2026-10-24T19:58:18.650Z. Start chosen automatically: the public car park on a public road with the shortest mapped-path route to the summit (busy roads and T4 paths weighted against).
- Elevation: Copernicus DEM GLO-30 (© DLR e.V. 2010-2014 and © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH 2014-2018, provided under COPERNICUS by the European Union and ESA), sampled every 50 m, 3-sample median, 5 m hysteresis on ascent.
- Summit position: Database of British and Irish Hills v18 (CC BY 4.0).
Built 2026-10-25.
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 25 min, 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. Cairn Bannoch is hill 468 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.