Glen
Glen Tanar
A Deeside estate glen of Caledonian pinewood, with two old Mounth drove roads south to Glen Esk and the way up Mount Keen, the most easterly Munro.
- Munros
- 1
- Highest peak
- Mount Keen (939.4m)
Glen Tanar Estate lies on the south side of the Dee between Aboyne and Dinnet — a private estate with a visitor centre near the glen entrance, which has car parking, toilets, an exhibition and the ranger service, and is open seven days a week from 10am to 5pm (estate website, read 2026-10-28). Waymarked trails run through the Caledonian pinewood from there.
Two old Mounth roads leave the glen for Glen Esk. The Firmounth starts at the Bridge of Tanar by the visitor centre and runs about 18km to Tarfside. The drove road up the Water of Tanar, declared a public right of way by the Court of Session in 1931, climbs past Mount Keen (939m), the most easterly Munro, and drops by the Ladder Burn and the Queen's Well to the road end at Invermark (ScotWays Heritage Paths HP36 (Mount Keen) and HP126 (Firmounth), read 2026-10-28). Mount Keen is a long day from here — plan the distance from the map rather than from a guide figure.
The road in
Single-track road etiquette
Pull into passing places to let oncoming vehicles pass. Don't park in passing places. If a faster vehicle is behind you, pull over and let them past. Do not reverse at speed — wait in a passing place.
End of road
The estate road ends at the visitor centre car park. Beyond is a managed estate track network — foot and cycle only, with waymarked trails through the pinewoods and the Firmounth Road continuing to the upper watershed.
Parking1 spot
Glen Tanar visitor centre
The estate publishes no parking tariff online — check signs on site
Estate car park with toilets at the visitor centre. Start of the waymarked trails, the Firmounth and the route up the glen to Mount Keen. The Aboyne bridge was closed at the time of checking — the estate directs drivers via the Dinnet bridge and the B976.
What's in the glen
Glen Tanar native pinewoods
Caledonian pinewood along the lower Water of Tanar, with waymarked trails from the visitor centre that need no route-finding.
Mount Keen
Mount Keen (939m) is the most easterly Munro — a long, rounded hill reached from Glen Tanar up the old drove road by the Water of Tanar, or from Glen Esk to the south.
Water of Tanar
Our take
Glen Tanar works because it is set up for visitors — the trails are clear and you can do a half-day forest walk or a full-day Munro from the same car park. The old Mounth roads are the draw: you are walking routes that drovers used to take cattle south. For Mount Keen, this is the Deeside approach; Glen Esk is the shorter one from the south.
History
The Firmounth is generally known as a drove road, used for taking cattle probably to Laurencekirk and to the trysts at Crieff and later Falkirk, though ScotWays notes the road is far older than the droving trade. Sir James Balfour of Denmilne (1600–1651) listed it among the Mounth passes as the Mounth Gammel. A carved stone near Belrorie, commissioned by Sir William Cunliffe Brooks, claims Edward I and Montrose crossed this way; most historians regard that as inaccurate. In 1861 Queen Victoria and Prince Albert crossed by Mount Keen and drank at the White Well, since renamed the Queen's Well (ScotWays Heritage Paths HP36 (Mount Keen) and HP126 (Firmounth), read 2026-10-28).
Sir William Cunliffe Brooks, a Manchester MP and merchant banker, bought the estate from the Marquis of Huntly in 1865 and, with the architect George Truefitt, built much of what stands today, including the ballroom and the Tower o' Ess. In 1905 it passed to George Coats, of the J&P Coats thread firm, later Lord Glentanar (estate website, read 2026-10-28).
Practical
- Mobile signal
- Signal at the visitor centre. Patchy in the lower glen, none on the hills or upper Firmounth Road.
- Midges
- Low–moderate(2/5)
- Public transport
- Buses run along Deeside to Aboyne — check Traveline Scotland. The estate says the Aboyne bridge is closed at the moment, so the road route to the visitor centre is via Dinnet; taxi or cycle from the main road.
- Dogs
- On lead — livestock or ground-nesting birds present.
Map
Hills (green), bothies (brown), parking (blue), wild swimming (light blue).
Nearby glens
Scotland outdoor updates
Route guides, condition reports and seasonal picks — once a month, no noise.
Glen Tanar — common questions
- How's the drive into Glen Tanar?
- Single-track with passing places. The estate road ends at the visitor centre car park. Beyond is a managed estate track network — foot and cycle only, with waymarked trails through the pinewoods and the Firmounth Road continuing to the upper watershed.
- Can you drive a campervan into Glen Tanar?
- Best avoided in a big vehicle. Narrow sections, tight turns or scarce passing space make Glen Tanar awkward for motorhomes and large campervans — park in a wider valley and walk in.
- Will midges be a problem in Glen Tanar?
- We rate Glen Tanar 2/5 for midges — moderate between late May and September. Still, humid evenings are peak biting time; wind and height are your friends. Pack Smidge and a head net from May.
- Is it legal to wild camp in Glen Tanar?
- Yes. Under the Land Reform Act 2003 you can wild camp on most unenclosed land in Scotland, provided you follow the Scottish Outdoor Access Code — keep off enclosed farmland, camp in small groups, and leave no trace. Glen Tanar sits outside the Loch Lomond and Trossachs Camping Management Zones, so the March-September permit restrictions there don't apply here.
- How do I reach Glen Tanar by public transport?
- Buses run along Deeside to Aboyne — check Traveline Scotland. The estate says the Aboyne bridge is closed at the moment, so the road route to the visitor centre is via Dinnet; taxi or cycle from the main road.