Morrone

Morrone is a Scottish hill just southwest of Braemar in Aberdeenshire. It rises to 859 metres and qualifies as a Corbett and a Marilyn, though its topographic prominence is only 155 metres. The hill is sometimes called Morven on maps, but locals rarely use that name. Morrone dominates Braemar’s skyline and translates as ‘Big Hill’ or ‘Big Nose’. It has a long south ridge linking to the Munro of An Socach nine kilometres away. The eastern slopes drain into the Clunie Water, while streams on the north and west flow directly into the River Dee. Morrone is notable for its Morrone Birkwood, a Special Area of Conservation on its lower northern slopes. This birch-juniper wood has survived unchanged since the last ice age and is Britain’s only surviving sub-alpine birch-juniper wood on basic soils. It supports rare plants like twinflower, interrupted club moss and globeflower. The site also has tufa-forming springs and is home to the endangered Geyer’s whorl snail. Since being fenced off to exclude deer, natural regeneration has begun. The usual route up Morrone starts from Braemar’s centre, following Chapel Brae to a car park by the duck pond. A track leads south through woods to a viewpoint with a plaque marking the surrounding mountains. From there, a footpath climbs the open hillside for two kilometres to the summit. Near the top is a radio mast, buildings from a 1969 University of Aberdeen research station, and a trig point with a large cairn. The view stretches from the Cairngorms to Lochnagar and Glenshee Ski Centre. A vehicle track from the summit leads down to the old military road in Glen Clunie, returning walkers to Braemar.