Here is another addition to the quest to list the best driving roads in Scotland. What makes it even more special is this road can deliver a fix of snow-covered landscape when there has been little to go around in the lowlands.
The A93 through Glenshee takes you close to the top of a Munro (the Cairnwell) and through the Glenshee Ski centre making it a candidate for one of top drives in Scotland. ©Mhairi Carroll
Realising that we were approaching the end of winter and had not had a snowfall we were desperate to get to somewhere that had. The A93 is a quick way to get into the high snow-covered mountains. At just over an hour from Perth the road from Blairgowrie to Braemar passes high through Glenshee and the ski centre there. It comes within a few hundred feet of the top of a Munro (mountains over 3,000 ft), the Cairnwell in the Cairngorm National Park. This and the Cairngorm mountain itself are probably the only easily accessible mountains from the road in the National Park.
The picture above is the of the road heading back down the hill towards the small village of Spittal of Glenshee. In front is the summit ridge of Creag Leacach – another Munro listed mountain.
Snow hares are easily spotted abounding these hillsides. It therefore would pay to be ready with a longer focal length lens.
Look closely to see this snow hare creeping past in Glenshee. ©Paul Carroll
Here is one quickly trying to creep past as we prepared to take the shot above. Alas a wide-angle lens didn’t get a close enough shot.
Further along we watched a herd of stags. This is fantastic access to wildlife from the road.
Actually, a thing to bear in mind is that to keep the road clear the snow plough will push piles of snow along the side. Bear this in mind as it means your first steps off the road are likely to be into deep snow. This is a lesson I forgot and a short step quickly filled my boots with snow. Thankfully, I had spare socks.
Another lesson to remember is that snow will fool your camera to thinking it is brighter than it is and render all that white as grey. It is normally a good idea to add +1 exposure compensation to take a reading.
Previous posts on the best roads in Scotland may or may not feature the A93 at all nor place it high up the list but if you want to make a distinction based on the season then for a road for a snow-covered alpine like experience in Scotland the A93 through Glenshee must be a contender.
Here are the previous posts on the best driving roads.
Scenic drive suggestions for touring around Scotland
The best roads in Scotland part 2
What is the best road in Scotland
More suggestions are welcome and we will keep adding to the list. Maybe an option is to start to think about different roads for different seasons.
