📌 Kirkhill, Highland
★★★
At Reelig Glen, size is everything. This dark and verdant cleft a short way west of Inverness was recorded in 2014 to be home to the UK’s tallest Douglas fir, its tallest Norwegian spruce and its tallest lime tree, all a few hundred metres apart and surrounded by other arboreal giants. On both of our visits we’ve watched red squirrels darting around the forest canopy, with grey wagtails flitting along the Moniack Burn which the path traces both sides of. For squirrel sighting success, schedule a stroll for early or late in the day, when the russet rodents are at their most active.
📷 Chronological photo guide
🌍 Location
📌 Start / finish off minor road 2 mi south of Kirkhill
🧭 O.S. Grid Reference: NH 559431
🛰️ GPS coordinates: 57.455298,-4.403923
🚌 Very infrequent bus to Moniack (0.5 mi) – more frequent buses stop on A962 (1.5 mi)
🚗 Car park
📝 Key info
▶ 2 km / 1 mi | ▲ 40 m | ⌛ 45 min
Features: 🌲 Reelig Glen tall trees; 💧 Moniack Burn
⬤ Easy | Wide forest paths, brief ascents and descents.
Download file for GPS➡️ Anticlockwise circuit: start – Reelig Glen (west bank of burn) – cross burn by grotto – return by east bank. Route waymarked in green & on map 🔗 here (Tall Trees Trail)
🥾 On our last visit
Wildlife: 4 red squirrels, grey wagtails.* Red squirrels, including on the tallest tree itself.**
Weather: Cloudy but dry, feeling damp after earlier shower.* Light rain mostly not penetrating the canopy, wisps of cloud clinging to some of the high branches.**
*July 2020 / **August 2013
