Back in April during our trip to the West Highlands, we did a day trip up to Inverness-shire to explore some of its woodland walks. It’s one of those places that we’ve driven through a lot on our way to places like Assynt and Orkney, but we’ve not yet had time to stop there (it’s another one of the places on my list).
It was about a 90 minute drive from where we were staying to the car park at Plodda Falls, although about the last 20 minutes were painstakingly slow because the road stops and becomes a very pot-holey forest track where care is needed. Despite arriving at around 10.30am we were among the first people to arrive – although I expect in peak season this is a popular touring stop.
There are two way marked trails to choose from, the 0.5 mile white trail, or the slightly longer green trail which is around 1.5 miles. We picked the green trail and had a lovely wander through the woods before we arrived at the waterfall. The trails are mostly very good forest paths, with the odd grassy section, but I did manage to get around the whole thing in my trainers and keep my feet dry.
You do need to keep your eyes peeled for the marker posts, as sometimes they’re a bit further along the turn they’re marking. We managed to get around without missing a turn (woohoo), but we did come across a man who’d started on the white trail but had somehow ended up on the green trail!
Generally the trails are pretty gentle, with no particularly steep or onerous sections. Just before you get to Plodda Falls themselves the path narrows and there’s a short flight of steps to descend, which you need to climb back up when you have finished viewing the falls. That’s about as strenuous as it gets though!
Plodda Falls are a rather impressive sight, with a drop of nearly 50 metres. The viewpoint has a fence at the end to stop you getting any closer – you can see where the bank has eroded away further on, so please respect this safety measure. At the top of the falls there’s a viewing platform which gives you a slightly different perspective, looking directly over the top of the waterfall. Originally this was a wooden bridge constructed in the late 19th century, which was replaced a few years ago with a more modern, safer structure. According to Sam it’s worth a walk down to look over – I wasn’t feeling quite brave enough though!
Dog friendly rating – 4/5. This is a lovely stile and livestock free walk (look out for deer), and there is a section where the river is accessible for dogs to have a paddle and a drink. I’ve just knocked off a point as there are sheer drops in some places, so pay attention to your surroundings and keep leads on if you’re not sure that there aren’t any drops nearby.
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