Killiecrankie and Loch Faskally

The walk starts from Killiecrankie Centre and descends into the wooded gorge of the pass. During the descent through oak and beech woodland, there is an excellent view of the Soldier's Leap, where a government soldier fleeing from Highlanders during the Battle of Killiecrankie escaped pursuers by jumping 18 feet across the narrow River Garry ravine.

Reaching the bottom of the gorge, the path passes close by the railway viaduct built in 1873 at a cost of £5,730 (501 feet / 153 metres long with ten arches, 35-foot spans, and a maximum height of 54 feet). The path continues through oak-dominated woods with the river gliding below, before reaching a footbridge with superb views, passing under Garry Bridge, and emerging into a wider river valley near Clunie Power Station where the River Garry and River Tummel meet to form Loch Faskally.

From the shores of Loch Faskally there are excellent views up and down the loch and toward Dunmore Hill and Pitlochry. Crossing a bridge past Wester Clunie, the walk leaves the loch behind to follow the River Tummel valley past the Linn of Tummel viewpoint to the Coronation Bridge.

This final section features beautiful deciduous woodland (oak, beech, birch, hazel, alder, and Scots pine) where red-breasted mergansers, goosanders, grey wagtails, siskins, redpolls, and red squirrels abound. On a fine autumn day, dappled golden light pours onto the path through the canopy of leaves, making it one of the most stunning stretches of the whole route.

Acknowledgment: Text derived from the Out and Out Series; Discovering the Countryside on Foot. Pictures courtesy of Wikipedia.