Bennachie

A beautiful hill which dominates the view from the Sauchen/​Kemnay area in Aberdeenshire. There is a car park at the foot of Bennachie and there are several routes and walks to take up the hill. The different walks are set out with different coloured wooden posts, so you simply follow your desired colour up the hill, and the walks are of varying difficulties and lengths.
The views from the top are amazing, though some parts can be quite steep to climb. You will almost always see people going up and down the hill whilst walking, and everyone is very friendly and says hello.
If you are in the area, I would recommend a walk here, its wonderful.

Have walked up here several times. The main walk is quite steep in places and needs a bit of care. There are several other walks through the forest. Getting right to the top is worth the effort as the views are stunning. I would recommend taking a flask as a well earned cuppa is a great idea. Care is needed is you have young children as there are some sharp drops at the top too

This review relates to the walks from the Back o’ Bennachie side. The Benachie Centre walks and car park are on the eastern aspect of the hills.
At a little over 500 metres at its highest peak, Bennachie is an accessible hill walking site, barely 30 miles by road from Aberdeen. The Forestry Commission website linked below gives all the details, so I will concentrate on my experiences. The climb to Oxen Craig, the tallest of the peaks, from the Back o’ Bennachie car park (easiest to find when approaching from Aberdeen) is steep if you are not experienced. It may be better to warm-​up on one of the shorter, flatter walks if the weather is cool. There are short forest walks of as little as 1 ½ miles.
The main walk uphill is steep through the trees, but very well maintained. It gets very busy over summer, especially at weekends! Once you are above the tree line, the exposed side and top of the peaks can get windy, so be prepared. The views on a clear day are breathtaking — as this is in the North East of Scotland, the surrounding mountain ranges protect the area from most of the clouds and rain that affects western Scotland.
One criticism of the otherwise great job done by the Forestry people — the various walks are colour-​coded, but the key is only at the bottom. Half-​way up through the trees, there is a point where a few trails meet: if you’ve forgotten which colour represented which trail, there’s no way of checking.
Overall, the Back o’ Bennachie approach is thoroughly enjoyable!