A walk down the length of Glen Lethnot in the Angus Glens to Muckle Cairn and a visit to the crash site of a Wellington bomber

Date: 05 July 2025
Distance: 26.59km
Ascent: 905m
Time: 8.2hrs
Hills: Ben Tirran (Corbett (896m))
Weather: Bright and blustery
Route: View on OS Maps

Last year we intended to walk the length of Glen Lethnot and explore the wreck site of a Wellington bomber that crashed close to the summit of Muckle Cairn in 1942. Unfortunately my drive down the glen that morning was brought to a premature halt by a road closed sign. It turned out that a bridge had been washed out the previous winter and the repairs were taking their time. In the meantime a temporary bridge had been installed but its use was restricted to residents of the glen and estate vehicles. We parked up at the road closure and did an alternative walk around the hills on the south side of Glen Lethnot¹.

A couple of months ago we emailed Angus Council and were pleased with their reply, which indicated that the bridge repairs had been completed and the public road once again open. We revisited our plans and agreed on the first Saturday in July to reconvene

The weather forecast for Saturday had been pretty iffy most of the week but I drove via Perth and Dundee under mostly sunny skies. The repaired bridge seemed fairly sturdy and I enjoyed the long and winding road through a mostly quiet lower Glen Lethnot, reaching the large parking area near Waterhead farm just after 9am. The Aberdeen crowd arrived a few minutes later and after some gear faffing we were away, heading northwest up the glen and into the teeth of a howling gale. The early purple heather was lovely along the bonnie banks of the Water of Saughs.

The forecast was for these initially strong winds to drop through the day and we wouldn't be high up until quite a bit later, so we weren't overly worried.

I'd last been up Glen Lethnot several years ago for a micro-adventure, heading up the glen late in the day for a camp on the heathery summit of Cruys before heading back the next morning and going straight into work. We were covering the same ground today but the morning light was very different and my memories sufficiently hazy that it felt like a new experience.

When the main track headed north to climb the sides of the glen we continued on a moderately boggy, grassy footpath that climbed up under craggy slopes to quickly gain height. Near the top where the slope gave us a windbreak we stopped for a brew and some food.

Once over the top the character of the glen changes character. It's more open with rolling heather-clad hills on either side and big skies overhead. The cloud was breaking again and we made good progress on the clear vehicle track that follows the hillside some way above the river. Below we saw a couple of estate buildings, but no people at all. Above a pair of buzzards were enjoying the thermals. We passed the turnoff for Cruys that I had taken on my last visit to the glen.

Eventually we reached the Shieling of Saughs, a basic structure that offers some protection from the weather. Inside were some stacked tables and chairs, and a fair bit of animal muck. We opted to sit on rocks outside and in the sunshine it was a very pleasant place to stop for lunch.

From the Shieling we followed the vehicle track north, climbing steeply up the side glen with the views opening out to Muckle Cairn at the very head of Glen Lethnot. In the sunshine it was possible now to pick out the aircraft wreckage that was our ultimate target for the day. It could be seen catching the light on the hillside, an odd and out of place triangle of grey in a landscape predominantly of greens and browns.

Once the climb was over the path become fainter and boggier, cutting through peat hags and mossy pools, but generally following a fence-line with the hills of Deeside beyond. Mount Keen was revealed, followed a little further on by the austere majesty of Lochnagar, looking hardly any distance away.

Our original plan was to follow this path all the way around to the summit of Muckle Cairn, before dropping down to the crash site from the west, but as we got closer it seemed like a more direct route across the open hillside would be possible. This was a bit of a mistake as the near-kilometre of pool and peat hag and uneven ground took some time to negotiate. Eventually though we reached the tail section of the crashed Vickers Wellington.²

This aircraft came down on 9th August 1942 during a test flight when it suffered damage to a propeller, forcing the pilot to attempt an emergency landing. Sadly four of the five crewmen died in the crash, with the rear gunner being the only survivor. Three of the crewmen were members of the Royal Canadian Airforce and were buried in Fettercairn Cemetary with the fourth a member of the Royal Airforce and buried back in their home region of Tyne and Wear.

After spending some time at the tail section we continued across the hillside to the main crash site some 100m away.³ This is a sobering scar on the hillside with wreckage strewn across a wide area, including the aircraft's rotary engines and a large section of wing. A Canadian flag flutters in the breeze. After skirting the site we paused for a moment to reflect on those who lost their lives here in this bleak spot.

From the wreck site we headed up towards the flat summit of Muckle Cairn where a fenceline runs in a north-south direction. The Aberdeen folk turned north here, mostly retracing their steps back towards the Shieling of Saughs, whilst I turned south, fancying a quick visit to the summit of the Goet. I was last up there in April 2011 on a day of strong winds and lingering winter snow.

The expansive views continued to develop as I headed up towards White Hill, following a grassy vehicle track over the gently undulating ground. Lochanar was visible, dappled in ever-changing light.

I passed a lonesome lochan and headed around the curving ground above Loch Wharral. It was difficult to get a glimpse of Wharral itself, mostly hidden beyond sloping ground, but the bog cotton waving in the wind was worth pausing for.

I continued up the long slope, branching off to cross yet another fence by a prominent stile, which led me more or less directly up to the summit of the Corbett where a trig point is surrounded by a tumble of rocks.

After pausing for a few minutes to enjoy the summit views and a bite to eat I headed off in a northerly direction. From the upper slopes of the Goet I could see the crash site, a scar on the side of Muckle Cairn, with the Deeside hills beyond. The path up the south slope of Mount Keen was an obvious feature in the sunshine.

The grassy path eventually turned into a gravel vehicle track which dropped down the long slopes of the Black Shank and led me almost directly back to the Shieling of Saughs, just as the others arrived. In the warm afternoon sun we took another extended break, fuelling ourselves up for the long walk back down Glen Lethnot.

It was very pleasant strolling back down the glen. The wind was less strong than it had been at first thing. We didn't take many further breaks, but the sight of a long, thin Slow Worm stretched out across the path did make us pause to look at this beautiful creature.

We took a slight detour to the cairned viewpoint that looks down the final stretch of middle Glen Lethnot towards where the cars were parked. This is a fabulous panoramic viewpoint.

We dropped back down the switchbacks between banks of heather, glad to be on the more forgiving grassy footpath for a short while.

Then it was a simple stroll back along to where the cars were parked. Chocolate chip muffins were shared out before the drive back home, broken up by a stop for refreshments in Dundee.

Some websites that also cover the wreck site of the Vickers Wellington Mk1c L7845:

• This forum post from 2009 shows the tail section in a different orientation and much closer to the peak bank
• Interesting historical photos and details of the crash and graves of those who died
• Snowy photos and confirmation of the grid references
• Sombre photos of the crash site

Footnotes