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Dog Falls and Glen Affric

Recommended by

Our view

"A craggy glen where wolves once roamed below the pine trees"

Walk directions

Cross the wide River Affric on a broad wooden bridge and take the track slanting up to the right in the pine forest. The smooth track has red-and-white topped waymarkers. The track rises quite steeply, then bends back to the left into a level area with some swampy ground on either side. Just above this the track reaches a T-junction.

You'll be following the track to the left, with red markers, later on. But first, turn up to the right, with white markers. The track continues to climb. At the highest point of the track, a small path turns up to the right on stone steps onto a small knoll. Here there is a sudden view up Glen Affric to Loch Beinn a' Mheadhoin and the high mountains of the upper glen.

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Location

Nearest postcode:

Additional information

Terrain - Tracks and well-made paths

Landscape - Open pine forest, in deep glen

Dog friendliness - Good, but don't allow your dog to disturb the wildlife

Parking - Pay-and-display at Dog Falls, Glen Affric

Toilets en route - At start, and Balmoral Castle

Walks in Highland Dog-friendly walks in Highland

About the walk

When the Forestry Commission bought Glen Affric in 1951, patches of ancient pinewood still survived on some of the steeper slopes. Since then, non-native spruce planations have been removed, deer numbers controlled, and the native woods of pine and birch allowed to spread back so that they now fill... the glen on both sides. Sparkly schist The default rock of the central Highlands is a grey, streaky schist. It's seen here in the riverbanks, in boulders where they aren't completely mossed over, and in the stones of the paths and tracks underfoot. Schist is a very ancient stone, part of the continental crust that's been cooked and mangled over about one fifth of the Earth's entire lifetime. Originally sandstones and mudstones, the rocks were first subjected to the heat and pressure 6–12.5 miles (10–20km) underground. Then came the collision of continents that brought Scotland and England together for the first time, and the rocks were crumpled and folded, raised into a mountain range similar to the Alps today. The crushing and folding gave the schist its squiggly patterns, which can be made out in the riverbank at the start of the walk. But before that, the heat and pressure deep underground allowed minerals to wander about and crystallise within the rock. The most obvious is mica, in little flat flakes that shine like sparkly glitter within the grey stone. See this in path stones near the start of the walk, most noticeable on a sunny day. Beside the path up to the viewpoint (Point 2) a loose stone under the trees has visible crystals 2mm–3mm long. Read the signal If you should see a red deer hind between the trees, her most visible feature is the conspicuous pale rump. This would seem to make her more obvious to predators – in Glen Affric, until the coming of the Victorian gentleman with his rifle, those predators were wolves. It used to be argued that the pale rump was a signal to the rest of the herd, drawing attention when she was running away from a hidden wolf. However, the rules of Natural Selection means that a trait that helps the species as a whole but is bad for the individual is bound to die out; hinds with slightly darker bottoms will (aided by the pale-rumped alarm-givers) survive longer and produce more offspring. A more recent theory has the pale rump as a signal not to the herd, but to the wolf. It makes the fleeing hind look even more vigorous and bouncy. The message: 'If you chase me, we'll both waste energy and get tired, and you won't get any lunch.

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About the area

Apart from the Orkneys and the Shetlands, Highland is Scotland’s northernmost county. Probably its most famous feature is the mysterious and evocative Loch Ness, allegedly home to an ancient monster that has embedded itself in the world’s modern mythology, and the region’s tourist industry.

Route details

Difficulty:

Easy

Gradient:

Moderate

Distance:

3.8 miles (6.1kms)

Ascent:

650ft (198m)

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Dog Falls and Glen Affric

Recommended by

Our view

"A craggy glen where wolves once roamed below the pine trees"

Walk details

Difficulty:

Easy

Gradient:

Moderate

Distance:

3.8 miles (6.1kms)

Ascent:

650ft (198m)

Walk directions

1 of 5

2 of 5

Return down the track and keep ahead at the T-junction, following a red waymarker. The track contours across a fairly steep slope, with views out through the open forest to the rocks and pines of the glen's north slope. After 0.5 miles (800m) the track bends right, and here a steep path down left is a short-cut back to the car park – it has red-and-yellow markers and is signed to the Dog Falls. But stay on the main track ahead, passing through a damper area of the forest with birch trees. As the track heads gently uphill, look out for a smaller, older track covered in pine needles on your left. It's marked 'to Coire Loch'.

3 of 5

Turn down this track for 350yds (320m), until a path turns off to the left, with a yellow-top marker. The path winds downhill, to pass along the right side of Coire Loch. Then it rises to a rocky knoll, with a sudden view back over Coire Loch. Soon it bends to the right, descending quite steeply towards the river. The red-yellow short cut joins from the left, to a high, wooden footbridge over the River Affric.

4 of 5

Turn off left on a rough little path to a fenced viewpoint just above, where you can look up the gorge towards Dog Falls. On the road above, turn right for a few steps, then up left on the main path. It runs just above the road, to a junction. Here you can turn down left, recrossing the road, to another fenced viewpoint where you can see most of the Dog Falls below you. Return to the main path, which soon drops to cross the road again, to the riverbank at a smaller version of the Dog Falls (the 'Puppy Falls'?). The path follows the riverbank upstream back to the car park.

5 of 5

Location

Starting point

Nearest postcode:

Additional information

Terrain - Tracks and well-made paths

Landscape - Open pine forest, in deep glen

Dog friendliness - Good, but don't allow your dog to disturb the wildlife

Parking - Pay-and-display at Dog Falls, Glen Affric

Toilets en route - At start, and Balmoral Castle

Walks in Highland Dog-friendly walks in Highland

About the walk

Been on this walk?

Send us photos or a comment about this route. Or recommend a route of your own.

Find out more

Walking in Safety

Read our tips to look after yourself and the environment when following this walk.

Learn more

Get an AA guide

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Been on this walk?

Send us photos or a comment about this route. Or recommend a route of your own.

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Walking in Safety

Read our tips to look after yourself and the environment when following this walk.

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Get an AA guide

Explore our range of ‘50 Walks in’ guides - they’re the ideal companion for a ramble.

Learn more

About the area

Highland

Dog Falls and Glen Affric

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Dog Falls and Glen Affric

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