It feels like both five minutes and a lifetime since our trip to the Cairngorms at Christmas. Saying that we had a wonderful time feels insubstantial to describe how much we loved it there: and that was despite the weather not playing along and shorter daylight hours! It was therefore inevitable that we would end up returning sooner rather than later to dig a little deeper into what the UK’s largest national park has to offer.
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Uath Lochans
After a long drive up on the Saturday (made significantly longer by my realising on the A74M that I’d left a fairly large bag of essentials at home and having to detour into Moffat for some last minute shopping), we were in the mood for a fairly easy walk on the Sunday. Sam picked out a 7.5 mile circular walk from our Day Walks in the Cairngorms book which took in some beautiful countryside while remaining relatively flat: perfect. An online version of the route can be found on Walkhighlands.
Starting from a free parking area in Feshiebridge, the route uses riverside paths and forest tracks to reach Inshriach Forest, where a short and easy stroll up Farleitter Crag rewards you with a magnificent view over the Uath Lochans – there are some handy boulders here perfect for sitting on while you eat your lunch. Once we’d had our fill (of both the view and food), we continued onwards, following the Badenoch way to the shores of Loch Insh – sadly we didn’t spot the resident ospreys but we did see some wild paddle boarders in their natural habitat.
Dog friendly rating – 5/5. The majority of this walk follows forest tracks: perfect for being able to let your dog off lead without worrying about livestock. It was also surprisingly quiet: we hardly saw anyone else, just two other groups of walkers on Farleitter Crag. The dogs loved having some freedom to explore, and equally loved having a dip in the river at the start and in Loch Insh towards the end of the walk. There are no stiles on this walk and very little road walking. We did come across some very chilled out highland cows along the river but none of them even bothered standing up as we walked past!
The Hills of Cromdale
Day two of the trip was wild and windy in the Cairngorms, so we ventured north into Moray as it was the only place in a 90 minute radius which wasn’t raining (a walk I will save for a future blog post in order to stay on spec in this post about the Cairngorms – let’s just say I had a hot chocolate with all the trimmings in JULY and it didn’t feel unseasonable AT ALL). Fast forwarding to day three, the weather forecast promised us a dry day on the hills with excellent visibility, so we headed out on a 12 mile circular from our Cicerone guide to tackle the Hills of Cromdale – a gently rolling collection of summits on the edge of the national park. I can’t find the exact route we followed online, but googling should provide you with a few different options if you don’t want to buy the guide.
Starting from a free Glenlivet Estate parking area, we set off down a quiet road for two kilometres before picking up a good track to head steadily uphill. This good track disappears most of the way up the first hill, to be replaced by pathless tramping/faint wheel marks, which we followed to the summit just in time for the cloud to come down and the excellent visibility to disappear completely (fantastic timing). We continued along the ridge, using a fence line to navigate, until we dropped down into a col where the pathless grass became pathless bog (a right treat). Luckily the fog lifted at this point and we got rewarded with some nice views north into Moray and over to Ben Rinnes – which lifted our spirits even more when we got a few short sections of path on the final two summits. I’d estimate that over 60% of this walk is pathless, so navigation skills are required (as well as good boots so you don’t end up with wet feet). While there’s no steep incline at any point, this hike is definitely hard work due to the absence of paths.
Dog friendly rating – 2.5/5. While your dog will probably find the pathless tramping more enjoyable than you will, leads are required all the way around due to ground nesting birds (and you may in fact have to turn back if you come across a shoot in the months of August and September). There is no water apart from a small ford at the start, so you will need to carry extra for your dog. On the plus side though, there are no stiles, and if you have a reactive dog you are very unlikely to come across many other people on this walk!
Ballater Seven Bridges Walk
We had another iffy weather day mid-week, and a quick trawl of the met office app showed that the nearest place NOT forecast to rain on and off all day was Ballater – where it was just going to be a tad windy. My internet search for the most scenic low level walks in the Cairngorms had unearthed multiple posts from different sources recommending the way marked Ballater Seven Bridges trail, and so we jumped in the car and drove down the Snow Roads to Deeside.
There is free parking in Ballater in a large car park behind the church. The route is a circular of just over 6 miles and is well way marked with finger posts along the way. It is low level, remaining almost completely flat all the way around (which I was secretly very pleased about after dragging myself through 12 miles of heather the day before) with clear paths. I’m not sure I’d award it the accolade of the most scenic low level walk though: I’d say the Uath Lochans, Loch Kinord and Keiloch Crag are all much more picturesque for a similar amount of effort.
Dog friendly rating – 3.5/5. There are plenty of sections where you will be able to let your dog off the lead for a stretch, but for most of the return your dog will need to be kept on the lead due to ground nesting birds in the woodland you walk through, or because there are a few brief sections on a moderately fast road. There are opportunities though for your dog to have a swim in the river, and there are no stiles to clamber over.
Sgòr Gaoith
Before we knew it, we only had two full days left of the trip. The one walk I’d set my heart on ahead of the trip was Sgòr Gaoith (weather permitting, because let’s face it, we knew we weren’t going to get a week of sunshine even in July!). Standing at 1,118m, Sgòr Gaoith was my first Munro and it was actually a much easier hike than I expected – especially when you get ‘that view’ from the top!
The route we followed was an 11 mile circular from our Day Walks in the Cairngorms guide, starting from the free Allt Ruadh parking area in Glen Feshie. There are a few routes available online if you don’t want to purchase the book. We set off through the woods in beautiful sunshine without a cloud in sight to climb gradually for a few miles: in what felt like next to no time (and no effort) the path was steepening, then disappearing, for the final approach to the summit. We got about 10 minutes to enjoy the view (which is as good as it looks in photos) before the cloud descended and we started on our return leg – which starts off mostly pathless and requires good navigation skills, before joining a well defined track to drop back down to the road for the last two miles. The descent is, like the approach, fairly gradual and not too bad on the knees!
Dog friendly rating – 3/5. I was worried that this walk would be long and exposed without many opportunities for the dogs to have a drink, so we took lots of extra water for them, but there are three decent burns where the dogs can have a drink on the way up (less on way down). There are signs up in places asking for dogs to be on leads due to ground nesting birds, so please be respectful of this, and of other walkers (we did start to see more people on our way back down). Watch out for steep drops once you gain the summit. This is another walk that gets extra points for not having any stiles – in fact, I don’t think we came across a single stile all week!
Creag Bheag
Creag Bheag is a superb little hill overlooking Kingussie. It was on my list during our last visit but we never got a good enough weather day for it, and I was determined not to let it slip through our fingers a second time. Luckily, our final day dawned bright and beautiful (and a little breezy) so we set off to Kingussie with high expectations – and we weren’t disappointed.
We followed a route from our Cicerone guide, a 4.5 mile circular similar to this route on Walkhighlands. If you wanted to make the walk longer, you could combine it with the Newtonmore wildcat trail to make a full day walk.
Parking was free and plentiful in the car park off Gynack Road – although when I tried to use the loos here they ate my 50p and then wouldn’t let me in – proceed with caution! The climb up to the summit meanders through woodland, climbing steadily but not steeply to reach a cairn with panoramic views in all directions. If you continue on along the ridge, there is a shelter where you can sit and eat your lunch while looking out over Kingussie. And it doesn’t end here – on the (significantly steeper) descent, there are cracking views over Loch Gynack to your left. I think I’d go as far as saying this was my favourite walk of the trip!
Dog friendly rating – 4/5. There are multiple opportunities on this walk to let your dog have a run off lead, but the return passes through a golf course where you will definitely need to keep leads on! Opportunities for dogs to have a drink are limited, so carry extra for your dog. Again, there were no stiles on this walk, and it was surprisingly quiet – we didn’t see anyone else at all until we got to the golf course.
Where we stayed
After such a wonderful stay last time, it was a no brainer to head back to Balneden. Balneden has three self-catering cottages and we stayed at the Cattle Shed: it has absolutely everything you need for a week away as well as being stylish and comfortable. And don’t even get me started on the views!
Balneden is in a great location for exploring the Cairngorms – close to Tomintoul, it’s less than an hour to Braemar, Aviemore and the Moray firth.
Dog friendly rating – 4/5. You’re welcome to take up to two dogs with you (charges apply) and the cottages are perfectly designed for dog owners: spacious and easy to clean. I’ve just knocked off a point as there is no enclosed area where you can let your dog off the lead, but with the amazing views it’s no hardship to take them out for a wee on the lead!
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Lovely places. We went once to Cairngorms and definitely want to go back there.
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It’s fab – we’re already talking about when we can go back☺️