📌 Braemar, Aberdeenshire
★★★
A couple of miles west of Braemar, the Quoich Water pours out of the Cairngorms into the Deeside floodplain by way of a series of serenely beautiful rapids. Waterfalls, shallow pools and bubbly flumes make this an exquisite leave-no-trace picnic spot – though on a sunny summer’s day you won’t be alone. A curious, water-sculpted pothole well seen from the footbridge was reputedly used by the Earl of Mar as a punch bowl – either to celebrate a successful deer hunt or as a toast to the Jacobites, depending on which story you fancy. The debris-strewn river course a short distance below the falls serves as a testament to the intensity of past flood events, the most recent of which swept away several local bridges. A newly replaced one has made this circular walk possible again after several years’ hiatus.
📷 Chronological photo guide
Ascent from the car park 
View over upper Deeside] 
Approach to Linn of Quoich 
Quoich Water above the rapids 
Linn of Quoich upper rapids 
Upper rapids 
The Punch Bowl 
Waterfall at The Punch Bowl 
The Punch Bowl from the footbridge 
Waterfall under the footbridge 
Quoich Water from the east bank 
Quoich Water from the east bank 
Quoich Water below the falls 
New bridge to return to the car park
🌍 Location
📌 Start / finish at minor road end 2 mi directly west of Braemar (longer by road)
🧭 O.S. Grid Reference: NO 118910
🛰️ GPS coordinates: 57.001704,-3.455396
❌ No public transport within 1 mi
🚗 Car park (charge)
📝 Key info
▶ 2 km / 1 mi | ▲ 50 m | ⌛ 45 mins
Features: 🌊 Linn of Quoich ★★★
⬤ Easy | Clear paths and tracks, though fairly steep ascent at first.
Download file for GPS➡️ Clockwise circuit: start – path to northwest – footbridge over Quoich Water at Linn of Quoich / The Punch Bowl – return by east bank
🥾 On our last visit
Wildlife: Small birds in the forest.
Weather: Mostly sunny, comfortable temperatures.
August 2020
Also on this walk
Linn of Quoich ★★★
🌍 Location
📌 On the Quoich Water with access from minor road end 2 mi directly west of Braemar (longer by road)
🧭 O.S. Grid Reference: NO 114913
🛰️ GPS coordinates: 57.004534,-3.459414
❌ No public transport within 1 mi
🚗 See info for walk route above
📝 Key info
⌚ Always open
🎫 Free
💬 If not doing the whole walk, the quickest route to the falls is a 10-min walk (each way) using the end of the route described above, in reverse (⬤ Easy).
