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Muir Cottage
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The Club hut, known as Muir of Inverey, is
situated on the north side of the Linn of Dee road, some 8
kilometres west of Braemar, about 1 kilometre beyond the bridge
over the River Ey, shortly before the road comes to the river
(OS grid reference
076896), see map at bottom of page.
It is available for use by Club members and guests
accompanying them, by members of other recognised mountaineering
clubs, with whom it is much in demand throughout the year, and
also by 50+ groups and special needs groups. |
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The Club has had the use of Muir Cottage for some sixty years,
beginning with a lease of the original stone cottage. In 1971 it
became possible to purchase the site through the generosity of a
former Club member, Dr. George A. Taylor, who on his death in
1965 had bequeathed to the Club a quarter of the residue of his
estate. The cottage was then considerably expanded by the
construction of a substantial timber extension for the sleeping
accommodation and toilet/washroom facilities, with the old
toilet/washroom becoming a kitchen. In 2004, with funding from
Cairngorm Leader Plus, Aberdeenshire Council and Aberdeen City
Council, Awards for All, the Scottish Mountaineering Trust, and
other donors including Club members, alterations were undertaken
to allow use of the cottage by disabled persons and to form a
larger better equipped kitchen.
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The accommodation comprises a common room in the original stone
building, a kitchen in a side extension, and four bedrooms,
three washrooms (all with a shower cubicle, and one equipped for
disabled users), a members’ room, and a drying room in the
wooden extension. The kitchen is equipped with two electric
cookers (4-ring ceramic hobs with ovens below), two microwaves,
two kettles, two toasters, a plumbed-in hot water dispenser, a
large larder refrigerator, a large fridge-freezer and a wide
range of utensils, crockery and cutlery. The common room has a
woodburning stove. Other space heating, water heating and
cooking is by electricity.
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The bedrooms are for 6, 6, 4 and 2 persons in two-tiered bunks,
and each washroom has a shower cubicle. The member's room
contains four beds normally reserved for use by members even
when the 18 bedroom places have been booked by non-members. The
bunks are equipped with mattresses, mattress covers, pillows and
ample blankets, but these must be used with sleeping bags or top
sheets and pillowcases. For the bedroom heating 20p coins are
needed for the prepayment meters.
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Members and visitors are expected on departure to leave Muir
secure and with electric appliances turned off EXCEPT THAT the
fridges should always be left on and in winter the panel heaters
in the kitchen and washrooms should be left on at a low setting
by way of frost protection. The water and electricity main
switches should NEVER be turned off on departure. Users should
take all of their refuse away with them; most recyclables can be
disposed of at the recycling bins at Inverey.
Enquiries about availability and booking applications must be
made to David Kirk, the Muir Booking Secretary:
Email:
muir-booking@cairngormclub.org.uk
Weekends tend to become well booked as much as a year ahead,
often more, so early booking is advised. Prospective users who
cannot secure a weekend booking are encouraged to think of
midweek bookings, which could be as much as Sunday night to
Thursday night inclusive.
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Charges are currently £5 a night for members and £10 a night for
others, except where reductions apply. Special needs groups and
50+ groups based in Aberdeen City or Aberdeenshire qualify for a
50% reduction. There is no charge for children under 5
accompanying member parents; otherwise children under age 16
qualify for a 50% reduction. Those taking children accept
responsibility for the safety and welfare of the children, and
for the avoidance of disturbance to other visitors present.
Bookings and payments should be made to the Muir Booking
Secretary, who will provide a note of the code for the keybox
shortly before the arrival date booked for.
The cottage is also available for day use to members and their
guests accompanying them, the charge being £2.50 per person. Day
use should be booked in the same way as overnight use.
The use of tents and dormobile-type accommodation within the
precincts or on nearby ground is not permitted. Animals are not
permitted within the building.
During the deer and grouse shooting seasons, any questions about
access can be referred to – for the Mar Estate Ian Campbell,
Pinewood, Inverey (01339 741368); for the Mar Lodge Estate one
of the rangers at Mar Lodge (0844 493 2173 or 2172).
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Mobile telephone reception at Muir Cottage can be iffy. Some
networks definitely reach parts of the grounds of Muir but
others generally do not. Even the ones which do reach
occasionally seem to have off days and rarely give a signal
inside the building. Just over a kilometre away, close to the
bridge over the Ey, there is a public telephone which has not
been closed or converted to card only use like many others on
Deeside, but it too does not always work as it should (eg
rejecting perfectly good coins).
There is however mobile reception in Braemar and there are other
public telephones there.
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A large number of hills are within close proximity to Muir
Cottage. Within 12 miles, as the crow flies
Eagle soars there are 37 Munros, 8 Corbetts and a Graham.
Click on hill name to display on map
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