From the most northerly to the most easterly!
Mount Keen is the most easterly of the munros. It lies across the border of two counties, Angus and Aberdeenshire. A long walk in awaits whichever route you choose and the options are, from the south east via Glen Esk; or from north via Glen Tanar. The southern option is the shortest and can be biked some of the way. Glen Tanar is longer, but you can travel further on your bike. I chose to climb from Invermark in Glen Esk.
Mount Keen is located in Invermark Estate. The estate is part of the Dalhousie Estates owned by Lord and Lady Dalhousie, 17th Earl of Brechin. Brechin Castle has been in the Dalhousie Family since the 17th Century and their estates cover over 55,000 acres of the Angus countryside.
The current castle was extensively renovated in the 18th century and was built atop the ancient castle which can be traced back to the 13th century. Brechin Castle featured in the First Wars of Independence in Scotland, and is where John Balliol, Toom Tabard, was forced to abdicate as King of Scots by Edward 1st of England. William Wallace retook the castle a year later. In 1303, Sir Thomas Maule of Panmure, defended the castle for three weeks against the English, until slain by a missile from a catapult.
After much toing and froing, the castle returned to the Maule family in 1639 when Patrick Maule, Sheriff Principal of Forfarshire, and direct descendent of Sir Thomas Maule, bought the lordship of Brechin and the castle. It was a descendent of Patrick's, Jean, who in 1782, married George, Lord Ramsay, the eldest son of William, 6th Earl of Dalhousie. Brechin Castle passed into the family of Ramsay of Dalhousie (although under the terms of the will George assumed, by Royal licence, the surname Maule).
Sorry! A longwinded summary of how the Earl of Dalhousie, owner of Invermark Estate and original inhabitant of Dalhousie Castle in Cockpen 8 miles south of Edinburgh, ended up with Brechin Castle and three estates in Angus!
Onto the main event then, below you'll find my stats, the route, and information you will hopefully enjoy and find useful.
Stats and stuff - munros; maps & timings
Munro number: 32 to go!
Munro name(s): Mount Keen 939m (3080ft)
Area: Angus
Maps: Lochnagar Map, OS Map of Glen Esk & Glen Tanar | Explorer OL54 Map | Ordnance Survey Shop
Distance: 10.8 miles (17.4km)
Ascent: 688m (2254ft)
Moving time: 3 hours 5 mins
Total time: 5 hours 13 mins
Ratings
Bogginess ☹️
Effort 😅😅😅
Navigation 🤔🤔
Enjoyment 😍😍😍
Local information
Eating: Glenesk Cafe; Panmure Arms Hotel (Edzell); Sinclair's Larder & Tuck Inn (both Edzell)
Accommodation: None! A wee day trip and home to my own bed! However; lots of B&B's and a few hotels in Edzell and Brechin.
Facilities: SPAR Edzell Convenience Stores Edzell | Shop Near You;
Don't miss: Museum | Glenesk Folk Museum | Scotland (has a cafe too!)
The route
As this was a day trip an early start was called for. A 5.30am depart from Stirling meant I was able to start the walk by 8.30 from Invermark car park. The car park is the end of the road and it's not possible to take cars any further up the glen. Take care on the drive up Glen Esk, I counted around 50 pheasants, 10 of them squashed on the road, and the rest definitely suicidal.
After leaving the car park head west past the church and take a track on the right towards Glen Mark. At the House of Mark, around 200m from the Church, there is a signpost for Mount Keen and Queen's Well.
I hadn't actually planned to climb again so soon after Ben Hope, but the weather window opened and I jumped at the chance. The forecast was 90% clear on the summits, but a steady 25mph wind, and up to 40mph on the tops, windchill -15 degrees! It was going to be a blustery one. Immediately, I was walking into the strong north westerly and this continued right to the summit.
The Invermark Estate is a working estate and it is clearly well maintained. The hill tracks are numerous and offer easy and fast access to moor and mountain. Softer alternative paths have developed on the verges of the road that are used by tired walkers on the return journey, and also, by the stalking ponies.
As you meander up the Glen it is clear to see the different aspects of estate business from the forestation, to heather burning and sheep farming.
There are also some interesting historical aspects to note. Firstly there is an ancient bronze age burial mound that once housed a cist. You would be forgiven for just walking straight past it!
The remains of a cairn can just be seen constructed of loose stones under the burnt heather. It was described in 1955 by Wainwright as "10m in diameter and 0.6m high with a central cist, lying north-northeast to south-southwest, and measuring 1.08m by 0.6m x 0.3m deep. The cist was formed of stone slabs set on edge on the north, east and west sides, but the south slab and the capstone had been removed." However; today, the cairn is much reduced and the cist has been fully removed.
A more obvious historical structure and one you are unlikely to walk past is the Queen's Well.
Queen Victoria was well known for being a wee adventurer herself!
She and the Prince Consort, Albert, often travelled through the highland glens visiting "neighbours" when they stayed at Balmoral. In September 1861, they did just that, and they rode 15 miles (24 km) from Balmoral to Glen Mark to meet with Lord Dalhousie beside an artesian spring that surfaces on the flat moor. Here they were refreshed by the spring water before continuing to Invermark Lodge where they stayed overnight. Little was she to know that her darling husband and best friend would be dead within 3 months.
Lord Dalhousie built a crown shaped memorial over the spring and added a plaque in memory of the visit.
"Her Majesty, Queen Victoria, and his Royal Highness the Prince Consort, visited this well and drank of its refreshing waters, on the 20th September, 1861, the year of Her Majesty's great sorrow."
It is not advisable to drink from the well today as years of coin donations and sheep pooh, have made the waters slightly unpalatable.
After leaving the Queens Well the road continues past Glenmark Cottage where the stalking ponies are kept, and up hill very steeply alongside Ladder Burn. It is more than possible to mountain bike up Mount Keen.
This very good road continues to 680m and even after that, the path to the summit is very smooth.
As mentioned the forecast was good, if not a tad breezy! What I hadn't expected was the first snow of my winter walking. It's always exhilarating being battered by blizzards and knowing you're safe and cosy wrapped up in your layers. The wind was stinging and the addition of snow numbed my face but made me feel alive.
Leaving the obvious road, a path now heads due north to the summit of Mount Keen. If you take the left hand branch of the path at the fork your walk will continue down to Glen Tanar avoiding the summit. This is a popular mountain biking trip.
Looking across the high moorland to the west you can see the wonderful cliffs of Lochnagar, and further north west and in the distance, the mighty Cairngorms.
Now the wind was a steady, continuous, gale. I trudged up the slow incline to the summit hoping there would be a wind break I could sink behind and I wasn't disappointed. There are actually quite a few, however, the one I chose was the deepest, and the sudden calm was welcome.
When I snuggled down to eat my lunch I was wearing everything I had been carrying. All that was left in my rucksack was emergency fleece, food, bivvy bag and first aid kit. I was very toasty. The snow was light and scattered by the wind. Heather tufts and clubmoss stood still, frozen and coated in an icy armour.
As mentioned, Mount Keen is on the boundary between counties and there is a boundary marker very close to the summit. It had a "B" on it which made me smile as I felt that Bill was up here with me.
Having plucked up the courage to lift my head above the parapet again, I leapt from my hole and headed swiftly downhill. The wind was now behind me an I made very good time back down into the glen. Before long I was back down in the glen and in short sleeves, wondering if I had really experienced such cold conditions on the top.
On my descent I was thinking about the landscape around me and the human impact upon it. It's a big responsibility looking after 55,000 acres of highland moors, rivers and mountains. How do they do this, specifically in relation to grouse?
Claire's top tip....
Not a top tip, but hopefully a interesting narrative on grouse moor management...
Grouse shooting is a big business in the highlands on most estates. The grouse are wild birds that are not reared or released. Their habitat is the hostile high moorlands and mountains. They feed primarily on heather. Other important plant foods include. common bilberry, black crowberry, bearberry, cloudberry, and seeds of grasses, sedges, and rushes.
Heather burning has a long history of use in managing moorland. It encourages the growth of new shoots, which are more palatable than older, woody heather. New heather and grass shoots provide food for red grouse, deer, mountain hares and livestock.
Burning small areas of heather in different years leads to a patchwork, with heather and other vegetation of different ages and heights. Red Grouse select heather patches of intermediate age, typically 2–4 years, avoiding very young or old stands.
The heather burn is called the "muirburn", a muir being Scots for moor. This year, it takes place between 1st October and 31st March in Scotland. The muirburn season aims to help protect ground nesting birds by not burning during their breeding season. The term muirburn has been adopted as the name of new legislation governing heather burning. The new muirburn-licensing scheme will come into effect in the autumn of 2026. This means that it will be illegal to hold a muirburn unless under a valid muirburn licence issued by NatureScot.
Generally the muirburn should be no more than 30m x 30m but in some cases can be larger. Often the 30m length can be extended giving the characteristic stripes on the hill side. More stringent rules and regulations will be introduced with the new legislation next year covering the areas that can be burnt, specifically peat rich areas, and the depth to which the burn can be allowed to travel.
There are alternatives to burning and these are cutting and grazing. However, the pros and cons of all systems need to be investigated and it's not as simple as one size fits all. Cutting or Burning ? | British Moorlands : British Moorlands
The muirburn is not without controversy and here are a few quotes from those for and against to mull over.
Quote from The British Association for Shooting and Conservation (Grouse Season 2025: Quiet moors, loud message - BASC):
"The conservation effort on grouse moors is tireless. This dedication is vital not only for red grouse but for a host of other species – including curlew, lapwing, redshank, oystercatcher and golden plover – that benefit from managed moorland.
The evidence is compelling. Research shows that up to six times more threatened wading birds are supported on managed moors. Ring ouzel, merlin, and hen harrier all gain from the predator control and habitat structure created by grouse moor management."
Response to the above quote from Parks Watch Scotland (Home - parkswatchscotland):
"This is not true. The whole point of muirburn is to produce more heather, on which red grouse feed. This means less of other vegetation, including trees, which are not so tolerant of fire. The result of the sort of extensive muirburn is a heather monoculture. While that benefits a few species, as monocultures do, it harms many others."
Final say from the Scottish Wildlife Trust (Scottish Wildlife Trust - Scotland's leading nature conservation charity):
"Muirburn.... is arguably the management practice with the furthest-reaching consequences for the environment. The blanket bogs in our uplands are globally important as a carbon store and as an internationally rare habitat type. These bogs contain more than 2000 years’ worth of locked-up carbon and, when in a healthy state, are home to a unique and diverse assemblage of species. Unfortunately, the majority of our blanket bogs are now classed as degraded and, alongside agricultural drainage and over-grazing by livestock, muirburn is known to be one of the main drivers of this.
Aside from its climate impact, muirburn can also be directly harmful to wildlife, particularly upland breeding birds. The smoke from burning heather can cause birds to desert their nests, and where fires become uncontrolled, can even cause the nests themselves to burn."
Hopefully I've managed to give you lots of information here to consider.
Please read this excellent Q&A by the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust
Heather burning - Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust
Coming next......
TBC!
Thank you for reading ❤️ xx
