Thur 5 May, 09.00 at Esson's car park (Bennachie Centre).
A suggested route, with Jan in mind: Follow the Gordon Way from Esson's (NJ 699 216), it's fairly gentle, to the base of the Monymusk Triangle (NJ 680 212) after that the track rises up, not too steeply, between Garbet Tap and Bruntwood Tap to NJ664 221, that's about 4.5km so far.
That gets us on to the top, more or less. The Gordon Way then follows the 450 metre contour line to the west. We could follow it to Watch Craig (NJ 653 224), 8km so far, and come back via Oxen Craig, Craigshannock, Mither tap and down through the triangle back to Essons. That's about 12km in all, the last time I did it I took about 5 1/2 hours, thus proving I'm no mountain goat or fast mover!
The ascent via the Gordon Way and descent from Mither Tap through the triangle probably represent the least stressful options though I'm open to suggestions.
Could you manage that Jan?