Morrone Totally Explained

Everything about Morrone totally explained

Morrone (Scottish Gaelic: "Mòr-Shròn") is a Scottish hill situated just to the south of the town of Braemar in Aberdeenshire.

Geography and topography

The hill reaches a height 859 metres (2818 feet) and qualifies as a Corbett and a Marilyn although with a topographic prominence of 155 metres it only just meets the criteria for both of these categories. Morrone very much belongs to the town of Braemar from which it's invariably climbed and with a starting altitude of 330 metres it's an easy ascent and a unique one being the only significant mountain climb in Scotland which starts from the centre of a town. Morrone is used for the Braemar Gathering hill race every September and is a popular venue for paragliding and hang gliding. The hill is occasionally referred to as Morven and it's given both names on Ordnance Survey maps, although Hamish Brown says “I’ve never heard it called Morven”. Therefore it isn't to be confused with Morven the highest point in Caithness.
Morrone has a prominent profile, dominating the town of Braemar and lives up to its translated Gaelic name of “Big Nose”. However the hill is undistinguished in other ways, having few topographical highlights. Morrone has a long south ridge which continues 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 Sqreuchaig which both flow into the Clunie Water which joins the River Dee just to the north of Braemar. The north and western slopes are drained by a series of streams which go directly into the Dee which as it passes to the north of the hill. Morrone has two named but unexceptional corries on its slopes, the Coire allt a Chlair lies just west of the summit while the Coire na Sgreuchaig stands on the north eastern slopes.

Morrone Birkwood

The hills lower northern slopes are the site of the Morrone Birkwood Special Area of Conservation, a wood which hasn't altered floristically since the end of the last ice age, it's managed by Scottish Natural Heritage. The wood is the sole surviving example in Britain of a sub alpine birch - juniper wood on basic soils. It is also the most extensive and diverse example of a transition between woodland and juniper scrub in the UK. Some of the stands of juniper are the largest and most diverse in Scotland and it has an extensive range of rare flora such as Twinflower, interrupted club moss and Trollius. There are tufa forming springs on the site and it's the habitat of the endangered Geyer’s whorl snail. In the past the wood has been subject to high levels of grazing by deer, since its declaration as a conservation area the wood has been fenced to exclude the deer and some natural regeneration has taken place.

Ascents and view

Morrone is usually climbed from the town of Braemar, from the centre of the town 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 and plaque which identifies the surrounding mountains. The main track is left just after this as it swings right to the birkwood and the open hillside is reached by going left. It is then a two kilometre climb south west to the summit. The top of the hill is adorned with a radio mast and buildings built in 1969, these are part of a University of Aberdeen research station, the Braemar mountain rescue team also has a radio relay station on the summit.
There is a trig point and a large cairn also at the highest point. The view from the top of the hill is extensive, with a bird's-eye view of Braemar, further afield there's an all round mountain view from the Cairngorms to Lochnagar and round to the Glenshee Ski Centre. The descent from the mountain can be varied by going south and then east following a hill track which is used by the vehicles of work parties who access the summit huts. This track ends at Auchallater farm on the A93 road in Glen Clunie from where it's 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

Footnotes

Further Information

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