Morrone

Coordinates: 56°58′49″N 3°25′53″W / 56.98040°N 3.43140°W / 56.98040; -3.43140
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
For other uses, see Morrone (disambiguation).

Morrone
Grampians
OS gridNO131886
Topo mapOS Landranger 43, OS Explorer 387
Braemar as seen from high up on Morrone.

Morrone (

Scottish Gaelic: Mór Bheinn, or Mór Shròn) is a Scottish hill immediately southwest of the village of Braemar in Aberdeenshire
.

Geography and topography

The hill reaches a height of 859 metres (2818 feet) and qualifies as a

hang-gliding. The hill is occasionally referred to as Morven and it is given both names on Ordnance Survey maps, although Hamish Brown says I’ve never heard it called Morven.[3] In point of fact, the pronunciation of Morrone does not correspond closely with the pronunciation of Mór Shròn, and the derivation of Morrone is a complex question. Watson and Allan come down on the side of Mór Bheinn.[4] Morrone is not to be confused with Morven, the highest point in Caithness, or with the local Morven
, a mere 29 km (18 mi) to the northeast.

Morrone has a prominent profile, dominating the village of Braemar, and lives up to its name, which translates as Big Hill or Big Nose, but the hill is otherwise undistinguished, having few topographical highlights. It has a long south ridge, continuing from its summit over undulating ground to link with the Munro of An Socach nine kilometres to the south. Its eastern flanks are drained by the Coldrach Burn and the Allt Coire na Sgreuchaig, both flowing into the Clunie Water to join the River Dee just north of Braemar. The northern and western slopes are drained by a series of streams running directly into the Dee as it passes to the north of the hill. Morrone has three named but unexceptional corries on its slopes, the Coire Allt a' Chlair to the west of the summit, the Coire nam Muc to the north and the Coire na Sgreuchaig on the north eastern slopes.

Morrone Birkwood

The hill's lower northern slopes are the site of the Morrone Birkwood

twinflower, interrupted club moss and globeflower. There are tufa-forming springs on the site, and it is the habitat of the endangered Geyer’s whorl snail. In the past the wood has been subject to high levels of grazing by deer, but since its declaration as a conservation area, the wood has been fenced to exclude deer and some natural regeneration has taken place.[6]

Ascents and view

A Panoramic View From The Summit of Morrone.

Morrone is usually climbed from the village of Braemar.[7] From the centre of the village, Chapel Brae is followed to the car park by the duck pond. From here a track goes south through the woods to reach a viewpoint with a plaque identifying the surrounding mountains. The main track swings right to the Birkwood, but the route is to the left for a hundred metres, and then takes a footpath on the right up the open hillside. It is then a two kilometre climb south west to the summit.

Nearing the summit, one has a bird's-eye view of Braemar. The top of the hill is adorned with a radio mast and buildings dating from 1969, part of a

trig point and a large cairn
. The view is extensive, with an all-round mountain panorama from the Cairngorms to Lochnagar and the Glenshee Ski Centre. The descent from the mountain can be varied by following the vehicle track serving the summit structures, which runs south and then east to end on the old military road in Glen Clunie, from where it is a short walk back to Braemar.

References and footnotes

  • Climbing The Corbetts, Baton Wicks, 1996, Hamish Brown,
    ISBN 1-898573-08-5
  • The Corbetts and Other Scottish Hills, SMC, 1990, Scott Johnstone et al.,
    ISBN 0-907521-29-0
  • The Corbett Almanac, Neil Wilson Publishing, 1994, Cameron McNeish,
    ISBN 1-897784-14-7
  • The Place Names of Upper Deeside, Aberdeen University Press, 1984, Adam Watson and Elizabeth Allan,
    ISBN 0-08-030403-6

Footnotes

  1. Wikipedia - List of Marilyns in Southern Highlands.
    Gives prominence as 155 metres.
  2. ^ "Climbing the Corbetts" Pages 150 (No mountain walk starts from a town).
  3. ^ "Climbing the Corbetts" Pages 150 (Never heard it called Morven).
  4. ^ "The Place Names of Upper Deeside" Page 118
  5. ^ "The Past and Present Vegetation of the Morrone Birkwoods National Nature Reserve" (“The wood is the sole surviving example in Britain of a sub-alpine birch-juniper wood on basic soils“).
  6. ^ Joint Nature Conservation Committee. Gives rest of info on Morrone Birkwood.
  7. ^ "The Corbetts and Other Scottish Hills" Page 93 (Gives routes of ascent and descent).
  8. ^ "Climbing the Corbetts" Pages 150 (Gives info on summit buildings and masts).

56°58′49″N 3°25′53″W / 56.98040°N 3.43140°W / 56.98040; -3.43140

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