With Heritage Paths! (GPX)
Distance: 71 km Overall grade: 3 (Moderate)
Copyright Julian Paren and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence
Description:
This 4-stage walk is moderately difficult (some steep sections) but is generally recommended for more experienced walkers and map reading skills are a must. Glen Affric, situated west of Loch Ness and south west of Inverness, is seen by many as the most beautiful glen in Scotland. Native woods, glistening lochs and haunting moorlands are all part of this great walk. The Affric Kintail Way is a great route for walkers but also for mountain bikers and horse riders stretching almost 71 km from Drumnadrochit by Loch Ness to Morvich by Loch Duich. A number of rights of way, forest trails and footpaths, that existed in some cases for centuries, have been incorporated into, what many experts believe to be, one of the finest long distance trails in Scotland.
It is recommended to walk from east to west. You will have the sun at your back for a good bit of the day, the ascent is much more gradual and Drumnadrochit & Cannich offer a greater opportunity for picking up supplies. Surfaces are generally good. Much of the route is on forest tracks but there are potentially wet sections which might be quite rough. Glen Affric was once part of the Clan Chisholm lands from the 15th to the mid 19th centuries and it must have been a tough life with families depending mainly on subsistence farming on poor soil for their survival. From the 1780s many Highland glens saw the forced removal of men, women and children by their own Clan chiefs as the introduction of sheep was deemed a more economic use of the land. Clan Chisholm was particularly affected and, like many others throughout the Highlands, they were dispersed around the globe.
Stages:
- Drumnadrochit - Cannich 21,5 km (Slightly harder)
- Cannich - River Affric Car Park 19,5 km (Slightly harder)
- River Affric Car Park- Alltbeithe 14 km (Slightly harder)
- Alltbeithe - Morvich 16,25 km (Moderate)
Heritage Paths (on the map):
Link up with the Cape Wrath Trail and the Scottish National Trail at GPS: 57.473985 , -5.2153558:
- From Cannich (GPS: 57.344965 , -4.7834587) take the Strathfarrar to Strathglass Drove Road (20 km).
- From (GPS: 57.407566 , -4.9547301) take the Loch Monar Drove Road (30,5 km).
Link up with the South Loch Ness Trail and the Great Glen Way at Fort Augustus (GPS: 57.147398 , -4.6941918).
- From Tomich (GPS: 57.304787 , -4.8119702) take the Drove Road (28 km).