Walk: Aviemore’s Craigellachie – falcon’s-eye view

📌 Aviemore, Highland
★★★★

Nature seems alive and well in this verdant haven on the west side of Aviemore. Craigellachie is a beautiful National Nature Reserve, with birch woodland and lochans nestling below crags where peregrine falcons have been known to nest. The eastern fringe is noisy from A9 traffic, but head away from the main road and car engines are soon replaced by birdsong. The reserve map (linked below) shows the main path network, and our circuit explores pretty much all of them, including a steep spur up to the open summit of Craigellachie itself. This is well worth the extra effort: the inhospitable Cairngorms and barren Monadhliath ranges both look awesome from the windswept summit cairn, and even the ugliest parts of Aviemore town centre look OK from this height!

📷 Chronological photo guide

🌍 Location

📌 Start / finish at Aviemore Youth Hostel, south side of Aviemore

🧭 O.S. Grid Reference: NH 893119

🛰️ GPS coordinates: 57.184481,-3.832761

🚆🚌 Aviemore railway station

🚗 Nature Reserve car park

📝 Key info

▶ 5 km / 3 mi | ▲ 300 m | ⌛ 2.5-3 hr

Features: 🌲 Craigellachie NNR & lochans; △ Craigellachie (496 m)

⬤ Moderate | Good paths and tracks, but quite steep in places for ascent to summit.

➡️ Out-and-back walk with variation for part of return: start – A9 underpass – upper path through reserve – Craigellachie summit – return by outward route to forest – lower path through reserve past lochans – return to underpass – start. Reserve map 🔗 here – route follows red trail for higher section

Download file for GPS

🥾 On our last visit

Wildlife: Roe deer, rabbits, frogs; mallard ducks and tiny fish in the lochans.

Weather: Unbroken sunshine, already 20°C at the start at 8am!

June 2019