Cairnwell Pass

Looking South in Winter

The Cairnwell Pass (Scottish Gaelic: Càrn a' Bhailg) is a mountain pass on the A93 road between Glen Shee, Perthshire, and Braemar, Aberdeenshire, in the Scottish Highlands. The border between the two counties crosses the summit of the pass. With a summit altitude of 670 m (2199 ft), the Cairnwell Pass is the highest main road in the United Kingdom, and at the summit is the Glenshee Ski Centre, Scotland's largest and oldest ski centre.[1] Historically, the pass was a drover's route from the Lowlands to the Highlands. The road is often blocked by snow in the winter.

The Devil's Elbow

A mile south of the summit is the Devil's Elbow, a notorious double-hairpin bend. The often-quoted gradient of 33 percent (1 in 3) is a myth: in reality it was no more than 1 in 6 (17%).[2][3] The modern road bypasses the hairpin bends, but the old road still exists and its route can be walked, or carefully cycled.

See also

References

  1. Glenshee Ski Centre website
  2. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p008c680
  3. http://www.ambaile.org.uk/en/item/item_photograph.jsp?item_id=43342

Coordinates: 56°53′10″N 3°24′53″W / 56.8862°N 3.4146°W / 56.8862; -3.4146


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