The Cairnwell Pass is a

mountain pass A mountain pass is a navigable route through a mountain range or over a ridge. Since mountain ranges can present formidable barriers to travel, passes have played a key role in trade, war, and both Human migration, human and animal migration t ...

on the

A93 road The A93 is a major road in Scotland and the highest public road in the United Kingdom. It runs north from Perth, Scotland, Perth through Blairgowrie and Rattray, then through the Grampian Mountains (Scotland), Grampian Mountains by way of Glen ...

between

Glen Shee Glen Shee () is a glen in eastern Perthshire, Scotland. Shee Water flows through the glen. The head of the glen, where Gleann Taitneach and Glen Lochsie meet, is approximately 2 km north-west of the Spittal of Glenshee; it then runs ...

Perthshire Perthshire (Scottish English, locally: ; ), officially the County of Perth, is a Shires of Scotland, historic county and registration county in central Scotland. Geographically it extends from Strathmore, Angus and Perth & Kinross, Strathmore ...

, and

Braemar Braemar is a village in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, around west of Aberdeen in the Highlands. It is the closest significantly-sized settlement to the upper course of the River Dee, sitting at an elevation of . The Gaelic ''Bràigh Mhàrr'' p ...

Aberdeenshire Aberdeenshire (; ) is one of the 32 Subdivisions of Scotland#council areas of Scotland, council areas of Scotland. It takes its name from the Shires of Scotland, historic county of Aberdeenshire (historic), Aberdeenshire, which had substantial ...

, in the

Scottish Highlands The Highlands (; , ) is a historical region of Scotland. Culturally, the Highlands and the Scottish Lowlands, Lowlands diverged from the Late Middle Ages into the modern period, when Scots language, Lowland Scots language replaced Scottish Gae ...

. The border between the two counties crosses the summit of the pass. With a summit altitude of , the Cairnwell Pass is the highest main road in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, and at the summit is the

Glenshee Ski Centre Glenshee Ski Centre is an alpine snowsports area in the Scottish Highlands. It is located above the Cairnwell Pass at the head of Glen Shee on either side of the A93 road between Blairgowrie and Braemar. Glenshee is Britain's largest alpine ...

, Scotland's largest and oldest ski centre. Historically, the pass was a drover's route from the

Lowlands Upland and lowland are conditional descriptions of a plain based on elevation above sea level. In studies of the ecology of freshwater rivers, habitats are classified as upland or lowland. Definitions Upland and lowland are portions of a ...

to the Highlands. The road is often blocked by snow in the winter, with snow gates at Braemar, at the summit (south of the Ski Centre), and at the Spittal of Glenshee. south of the summit is the Devil's Elbow, a notorious double-hairpin bend. The often-quoted gradient of 33 per cent (1 in 3) is a myth: in reality it is no more than 1 in 6 (17%). The double bend can be seen clearly on Taylor & Skinner's map of 1776, with the 1749 military road already bypassed.A. Graham, "The Military Road from Braemar to the Spital of Glen Shee", Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, Volume 97, 1963-4 The modern road bypasses the hairpin bends, but the old road still exists and its route can be walked, or carefully cycled.

Climate

Cairnwell Pass has

tundra climate The tundra climate is a polar climate sub-type located in high latitudes and high mountains. It is classified as ET according to the Köppen climate classification. It is a climate which at least one month has an average temperature high enough ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

''ET'').

References

{{coord, 56.8862, N, 3.4146, W, display=title, region:GB_type:landmark_source:enwiki-scotgaz Roads in Scotland Transport in Perth and Kinross Transport in Aberdeenshire Mountain passes of Scotland

Climate

See also

References