📌 Pitlochry, Perth & Kinross
★★★★
A full-day’s circuit taking in Ben Vrackie and Killiecrankie Gorge is surely one of Scotland’s most varied hill walks. Starting in the centre of bustling Pitlochry, the return route winds along the beautiful River Garry, taking in the dramatic Pass of Killiecrankie. In 1689 this was the scene for a major battle during the first Jacobite rebellion; one soldier escaped by jumping across the gorge at a spot now named The Soldier’s Leap. Oh yes, and there’s also the small matter of the hill itself: its majestic bulk speckled with scree, heather slopes and a small loch, with the summit visible even from the town beneath. A week’s worth of variety packed into a single day?
📷 Chronological photo guide
Ben Vrackie from the outskirts of Pitlochry 
View from Moulin 
Looking back over Strath Tay from the lower slopes 
Ben Vrackie & Loch a’ Choire 
Loch a’ Choire 
Loch a’ Choire 
View west from the upper slopes 
Loch a’ Choire & Meall na h-Aodainn Mòire 
Ben Vrackie east top (not visited) 
Ben Vrackie summit 
Pass of Killiecrankie 
Killiecrankie viewpoint in summer 
Garry Bridge 
Craigower & Faskally House 
Loch Dunmore 
Clunie Bridge(s) 
Loch Faskally beyond Clunie Bridge
🌍 Location
📌 Start / finish at A924 junction with Larchwood Road, 5-min walk west of Pitlochry town centre
🧭 O.S. Grid Reference: NN 937583
🛰️ GPS coordinates: 56.704201,-3.738458
🚆🚌 Train / bus to Pitlochry
🚗 Street parking
📝 Key info
▶ 20 km / 12 mi | ▲ 860 m | ⌛ 6-7 hr
Features: 🏠 Pitlochry ★★ & town sights; △ Ben Vrackie (841 m, Corbett); 🌊 Killiecrankie gorge ★★ & visitor centre; 💧 River Garry / Loch Faskally
⬤ Tough | Minor roads to start, then clear paths with some steep sections to Ben Vrackie. Wetter section on descent at Loch a’ Choire, then track and minor road to Killiecrankie. Decent and fairly level paths for remainder.
Download file for GPS➡️ Anticlockwise circuit with extension to summits: start & Pitlochry – Larchwood Road – Golf Course Road – Lettoch – Moulin – leave forest at 🧭 NN 942607 – Loch a’ Choire – Ben Vrackie – return to Loch a’ Choire – path around north side of Meall na h-Aodainn Mòire – Old Faskally House – Killiecrankie gorge – Faskally House & Loch Faskally via River Garry riverside path – Loch Dunmore – Clunie Bridge – start
🥾 On our last visit
Wildlife: Sheep on ascent, deer on the hill, lots of birds at Killiecrankie. The forest sections are good for red squirrel spotting.
Weather: Sunny with light winds after an overnight dusting of snow on the hills. Below freezing to start and at the summit; a little warmer later. Slight valley fog in the morning and also a little wispy cloud on the summit.
November 2012
