Walking

The choices for walking in the Highlands are huge; from coastal paths, woodland trails, to official long-distance footpaths and full-scale mountain expeditions and 'Munro bagging'.

The sheer variety of terrain in the Highlands will bring you back time and time again. You can enjoy the austere beauty of this landscape whatever the season and whatever your age or fitness.

If you wish you could park your car up at your luxury cottage for the entire week and take a different walk every day, you could! Take a walk over the moorland, on forest paths, hill walking or simply around the croft; look at the beautiful waterfalls, the private lochan and meet the animals. The choice is yours.

Glen Affric

Just a couple of minutes away is the very special National Nature Reserve of Glen Affric, reputed to be the most beautiful glen in Scotland, some even say the world! It has one of the largest ancient Caledonian pinewoods in Scotland, aswell as lochs, moorland and mountains. This type of woodland once covered vast areas of Scotland, now only 1% remains.

It is a haven for a huge variety of wildlife and you are sure to come across some of the many inhabitants, red, roe and sika deer, foxes, stoats, weasels, badgers, and pine martens. If you're very lucky you may even see otters in the lochs and rivers.

Scottish crossbills, crested tits, eagles, red and black throated divers, some rare, but present, black grouse, golden eagles, merlin and osprey are recorded amongst the one hundred different types of birds living here.

There is a multitude of insects and reptiles present including butterflies, dragonflies, dung beetles and even adders, slow worms and lizards. Some varieties of the dragon and damsel-flies have survived here since the last Ice Age; the northern emerald survives in only one other area of Scotland.

Glen Affric has great facilities for hill walking; mountain biking on forest tracks, and open water canoeing. There are several car parks with picnic tables.

Dog Falls and Plodda Falls, Glen Affric

Plodda Falls features a wrought iron bridge built in 1880 by Lord Tweedmouth. The falls are spectacular with two rivers meeting and joining at the falls. Both have forest paths and great viewing locations, though would be difficult for wheelchairs. Plodda is surrounded by some of the tallest Douglas Firs in Scotland, many measuring over 65 metres. Do watch out for fourteen different breeds of dragonfly, some of which are very rare in Britain.

Glen Cannich and Glen Strathfarrar

Also just a few mins. drive from Millness Croft. All three glens Affric, Cannich and Strathfarrar drain eastwards into the River Beauly. They are heavily glaciated valleys cut into hard gneiss and moine schist rocks giving a landscape which is rugged and boggy with steep wooded valley sides and bare rocky hills.

Glen Cannich has a wonderful, managed, wild deer reserve towards the upper limits where you can drive past some truly beautiful sights of stags standing proud, displaying their mighty antlers against the mountainous skyline, and even down on the very road you drive along. Sometimes there are literally hundreds to see, particularly in the autumn and winter months. At the top of the glen is the reservoir and fantastically impressive dam wall. (Certainly a drive well worth taking).

Glen Strathfarrar is amongst some of the finest scenery in the Highlands. In the lower regions of the strath the river Farrar meanders through the remnants of the Caledonian Pine Forest, whilst on the upper reaches of the strath there are large numbers of the majestic red deer to be found, here the dominant use of the land is stalking and fishing. In these higher heather moorlands, Golden eagles are to be seen. The glen is a National Nature Reserve, and therefore managed due to a natural regeneration scheme, and only allows a certain number of cars, (who must collect a pass), into the private glen, per day. Open to vehicles from April to end of October. Again, well worth visiting, it is a wonderful place.

The Great Glen Way

73 miles/117 kilometres in length. It runs from Fort William in the west, to Inverness in the east. There are truly spectacular views and historical and natural heritage to be discovered all along the way. The route can easily be walked in either direction and is suitable for all levels of walker, being mainly on the low-level and following towpaths and woodland tracks. Usually, the entire length can be walked over about five to six days. There are some more challenging sections to it though; for the more adventurous, you may wish to experience a few Munros or Corbetts within easy reach from this route. (Walking from Fort William to Inverness is usually the better way to go as the prevailing wind is behind you)!

Ben Wyvis

About fifteen miles west of Inverness. Ben Wyvis is one of the highest mountains in Easter Ross. It is the very beautiful, great whaleback ridge seen from Inverness and surrounding areas, covered in a carpet of woolly hair moss. It is a national nature reserve and home to a great many interesting plants and animals.

There is a footpath through the forest onto the reserve, signposted from the car park.

If you are interested, guided tours can be arranged.

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