Dinnet - Burn o Vat - Cambus o' May - Ballater - 7 July, 2023

Amazingly, more than half the year had passed before we managed a 2023 walk. Friday 7th July, 2023 and just 4 of us available - Ken, Andy, Nigel and me. It was another Deeside bus trip and the plan was to end up in Ballater for beers and food so we came up with a fairly simple idea - get off the bus at Dinnet and walk round Loch Kinord, then past Burn o' Vat, down to Cambus o' May then the Deeside Way to Ballater.

First photo was taken near the start at Loch Kinord:

It was a slightly overcast but a fine, warm day. We went round Loch Kinord on the south side then crossed the road and up past Burn o' Vat, stopping at the usual viewpoint for a team photo:

Finding the route down to the main road and across to the Deeside Way proved slightly troublesome for some, but soon we were marching towards our destination. It's a flat, slightly boring and seemingly endless walk in to Ballater but eventually we were able to slake our thirsts with Braemar Pale Ale in the busy Balmoral Bar where the screens were showing Andy Murray's match.

From there, we popped across to the Barrel - Deuchar's and Windswept Blonde were on. A table had been booked at the relatively newly christened Balmoral Arms. The service was a little on the slow side but the food and the ale (Ossian and Bitter & Twisted) were very good. We managed to catch an earlier bus than originally planned and we were all home not long after 8 pm.

Here's the stats from our walk: