Times are our own pace, with Katrina and Chase — and the total has our half-hour wrong turn taken off, though the distance still includes it. Recorded on the app: 10.93 km, 3 hr 20 min.

Always go back down the way you came up. Same rule as every walk on here — if you’re not sure of the ground, that’s the way you know.

Ben Aigan is a local hill of 471 metres sitting right above the Spey near Craigellachie. The day after Mount Keen we were back out — me, Chase and Katrina this time, her first hill on here since Tap o’ Noth.

Getting parked

The car park is a gravel clearing in the trees just off the A95, and we had it near enough to ourselves — the van, one other car and the sun coming through the pines.

From the car park, head towards the metal gate across the track. It’s padlocked, but you just go round the side of it — Chase was through and waiting before we were.

The gravel car park in the trees off the A95, the van and one other car in it

Past the gate the track is wide and easy through the forest, bracken either side and the sun coming through the trees. These tracks are shared with the mountain bikers, so keep an ear out behind you.

The padlocked metal gate across the track, Chase already through and looking back

Chase on the wide forest track, bracken either side

To the junction

After the gate it’s a straight walk along the track, gorse and young trees either side of it, until you come to a junction. Turn left here. Chase had found himself a stick by this point and wasn’t for putting it down.

The track running straight through gorse and young trees

Chase heading for the junction with his stick, the left turn ahead

Up to the quarry

From the junction the track climbs — straight up, nothing to think about, the forest opening and closing either side as you go. Keep going until you come to the quarry, and you’ll know it when you’re in it: a big scoop out of the hillside, and the rock is pink. The path carries straight on up the middle of it.

Chase with his stick on the long straight stretch of track

The track climbing between the trees, Chase's ears at the bottom of the frame

The quarry — a big scoop out of the hillside, the rock pink, the path running up the middle

Up the quarry path

There’s a wee path that runs up the right-hand side of the quarry — head up here. The view’s already opening out behind you by the top of it: the windmills along the ridge one way and the farmland squared out below.

Now pay attention at the top of the path, because we didn’t. We took a left first time and it was taking us away from the hill — the map on the app’s walk tracker showed us as much, so we headed back and took the right option, which had us back on track. That wee detour cost us the best part of half an hour, so learn from us and go right.

The wee path climbing the right-hand edge of the quarry, Chase leading the way

The view from the top of the quarry path — windmills on the ridge and farmland below

Katrina pointing out the right way at the top of the quarry path, Chase beside her

To the final climb

Keep going along the narrow path — mossy and close through the trees for a stretch — until you come to a junction. Turn left, and when you see the heather, turn right for the final climb to the top.

From there the trees fall away and it’s open hill the rest of the way, the path wet and stony through the heather. Katrina’s doing the pointing in the photos, so you’ve no excuse for going the way we went earlier.

Chase on the mossy path through the trees

Katrina pointing the left turn at the junction, Chase ahead with his stick

Katrina and Chase on the open hill, the top in sight

The views on the way up

The views earn their place on this climb — the windmills along the ridge behind you, the last of the light on the fields below, and the sun sitting low over the hill in front. Plenty of reasons to stop and look back.

Looking back over the heather to the windmills and the fields below

The sun breaking low over the ridge, Chase on the stony path

Chase in the low light near the top, his stick lying beside him on the stones

The top

The trig point sits on a pile of the same pink stone as the quarry, and from it you get the lot — the Moray Firth laid out along the horizon, the coast, and the light going gold over the water. For a local hill of 471 metres, that’s no bad going.

Chase got his trig photo this time — no wind to bother him, a seat taken and the view properly looked at. I took the seat that was going on top of the trig, and Katrina got hers behind it.

The trig point on its pile of pink stone, the Moray Firth along the horizon

Ross sitting on the trig point, the Firth behind him

Chase sitting at the trig point, looking out at the view

Katrina at the trig point, the sunset behind her

The views

From the top you’re looking down on Rothes and the whisky country along the Spey, the distillery steam rising out of the middle of it. The Moray Firth is out along the horizon, and on an evening like ours you can see right across it to the hills on the far side. The windmills are away the other direction, and the light kept moving across the fields the whole time we were up there.

The big hill on the skyline is Ben Rinnes. I’ve been up that one twice — before the blog existed, so it’s ticked on the tracker but there’s no report for it yet.

Rothes below the hill, the distillery steam rising, the Firth beyond

The light moving across the fields, windmills along the ridge

The stony summit path through the heather, Ben Rinnes on the skyline

The sunset over Rothes and the valley from the top

The way back

We stopped about 15 minutes at the top, then headed back down the way we came. Same rule as always.

Worth knowing

It’s about 11 kilometres there and back, and the times through this post are our own pace — with the wrong turn taken off the total, so give yourself longer and don’t think twice about it. The tracks are shared with the mountain bikers, so keep an ear out behind you. The gate at the start is padlocked but you go round the side of it, and the paths above the quarry were wet and stony when we were there — nothing difficult, just watch your feet. And at the top of the quarry path, go right. The left looks just as likely, and it cost us half an hour.

The star

Two hills in two days — Mount Keen on the Saturday, Ben Aigan on the Sunday, and this one’s a lot closer to home. The star’s been on the map since August — now it’s got the report to go with it.