This follow up to A(nother) Week in the Cairngorms, Part One was slightly delayed by our recent trip to the Suffolk Coast – so sorry if anyone has been eagerly awaiting part two! Back in September we spent another week in one of my all time favourite places – the Cairngorms national park. While this was our fifth visit, we had by far the best weather we’ve ever had in Scotland (although our weather in Lochaber was also pretty good). During the second half of the week it was even fairly hot – which while lovely (especially as we didn’t encounter any midges), meant that we ended up adapting some of our planned hikes to stick to shorter, shadier walks so that the dogs could stay cool.
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The Vat
When our walk around the Balmoral Cairns ended up being unexpectedly shorter than planned, we’d finished our walk and arrived back at the car at lunchtime. With not a cloud in the sky and it being a beautiful afternoon, it would have been criminal to head straight back to our cottage, so instead we decided on a quick visit to the Burn O’ Vat nearby. We’d been here on our very first trip to the Cairngorms, so we knew it was only a short walk from the car park, with plenty of shade and water for the dogs.
There’s plentiful parking at the Muir of Dinnet nature reserve car park (honesty box), which is also the starting point for a number of way marked walking trails. On this occasion we just did an out and back to the Vat, which takes about half an hour altogether, but we definitely want to come back and do some more trails around here on future trips.
The Vat is a large pot hole which has been carved out of the landscape by running water, and indeed there is a small waterfall (the Burn O’ Vat) which you can see when visiting. The Vat is reached by an excellent, flat path from the car park, with one more adventurous section which requires stepping over boulders and entering the pot hole through a stone arch. Unfortunately trying to get a photo of the Vat is beyond my photography abilities, and I think it’s much more impressive in real life than in photos anyway.
Dog friendly rating – 5/5. Dogs are welcome to join you at the Vat, and ours enjoyed the opportunity to have a paddle in the stream which you cross on the way there. The only difficulty you may have is crossing the boulders by the entrance to the Vat – if your dog pulls, it might cause you to slip. You can extend your walk into nearby woodland, but depending on when you visit dogs may need to be kept on a lead due to the Capercaille breeding season.
Loch Morlich
All too soon it was the end of the week and our last full day in the Cairngorms. We woke up to more beautiful blue skies and a cloud inversion in the valley below our accommodation – it definitely made packing up to go home extra hard! For our final walks I’d picked out two walks from our Pocket Mountains guide, the first of which was a circular walk of 6km along the shore of Loch Morlich.
There are two forestry pay and display car parks at Loch Morlich – the beach car park is much larger but also busier. By parking at the lakeside car park, we were able to get the roadside section of the walk done at the start rather than the end, which is always our preference. That being said, it really was very pleasant road walking, on a good path well set back from the road.
After about 15 minutes we crossed the road into the Loch Morlich Beach car park, where there’s plenty of bins and a toilet block. Almost immediately we got to the first of three sandy beaches – already these were filling up with people and dogs, so we didn’t hang around, but we did stop to let the dogs have a quick paddle. We then carried on, following the very well way marked path into the woods.
As we walked we spotted a few signs up notifying visitors that filming was underway with non-firing muskets, and soon enough we spotted some redcoat soldiers lurking on the edge of the loch. I’ve no idea what they were filming, but the outfits did make me wonder if we’d stumbled across some Outlander filming!
From this point, the path carries on through the woods, and the loch side is not as easily accessible (although we saw several dogs who looked like they’d managed to find a way!). This was another lovely shady walk, and during the brief moments we were in full sun, I was glad that we’d opted for a walk mostly under the trees. Surprisingly, this was actually a fairly quiet route once we’d got away from the car parks – we saw more cyclists than walkers in the end.
The walk is nice and flat, and we were around and back at the car in about 90 minutes. We stopped in the car park for our lunch to simply sit and soak in the views – it really is a lovely spot. We saw lots of people out on the lake enjoying watersports – you can hire canoes, kayaks and paddle boards from Loch Morlich Watersports.
Dog friendly rating – 5/5. This is a cracking dog walk, with plenty of chances to let your dog off lead, and water loving pups can have a swim. There are no stiles or livestock (but look out for red squirrels), and you will probably see other dog walkers. Dogs can even join you when you hire a canoe or row boat from the watersports centre!
Rothiemurchus and the Iron Bridge
Our second walk of the day, also from our Pocket Mountains guide, was a 7km circular around Rothiemurchus Forest which I’d predominantly picked due to its proximity to Loch Morlich. Parking is free in a large lay-by just outside the Rothiemurchus campsite, and the walk itself begins by walking down the lane past the campsite. We just about managed to get parked at the very end of the lay-by, but I was surprised by how many cars there were already there.
I wasn’t really expecting great things from this walk, but we both really enjoyed it. A straightforward, easy to navigate forest stroll, the surroundings were lovely and the paths quiet. The trees provided plenty of shade while still letting in a lot of light, and even if there weren’t any show stopping views it was just nice to be outside.
At the end of the first section we reached the iron bridge, which crosses the river to enable hikers to reach the Lairig Ghru mountain pass. This bridge was definitely designed more with functionality than aesthetics in mind – I’m not sure anything constructed these days would be quite so basic! Still, it’s a nice spot and the dogs enjoyed dipping their paws in the river.
From here, it’s another easy flat walk back, this time through forest with plenty of gaps which afford views back to the mountains. This route took us about two hours and we saw only a few other people – Rothiemurchus is definitely somewhere I want to explore more.
Dog friendly rating – 4/5. This is another great dog walk, with gates available to avoid all stiles. Please respect signs asking for dogs to be kept under close control, and be conscious of the fact that the river could have a strong current – for this reason we didn’t let our dogs go further in than the edge.
Where we stayed
We stayed (surprise surprise) at Balneden Steading near Tomintoul – our fourth visit here, staying in the Cattle Shed. This holiday cottage is the most basic (and therefore the most budget friendly) of the three cottages to choose from, and sleeps two. The cottage is well equipped with everything you need, and also has underfloor heating and a log burner – not that we needed it this week!
Dog friendly rating – 4/5. Two dogs can join you at Balneden for an additional charge of £20 per dog. The open plan living room/kitchen is spacious and clutter free, which is always a requirement for us, and the hard floors make a quick whiz around with the hoover a tiny job at the end of the holiday. There is no enclosed garden, but the views from the front of the cottage is so spectacular, taking them out for a wee really isn’t a chore.
I hope you’ve enjoyed reading about our latest trip to the Cairngorms, and if you haven’t been, hopefully this has inspired you to consider them for your next staycation – I really couldn’t recommend them any more. If you’ve enjoyed reading this blog today, subscribe below so that you never miss a post:
