A short walk to a little visited and extremely peaceful freshwater loch.
Summary
The path is fairly clear but there is a steep climb intially, and the route through some of the woods is very boggy
Terrain
Layby on north side of A87, 1.5 kilometres east of Kyle
[Map
of start point, satnav coords and directions]
Start
Maps
Users'
rating
Good public transport to Kyle of Lochalsh by both bus and train (1.5 km away); you
could ask the Citilink bus drivers to stop at the layby at the very start of the walk.
Open Traveline Scotland
Public transport
1. Park in the layby on the north side of the A87 1.5 kilometres east of Kyle of Lochalsh. There is a wooden public footpath sign at the start of the path. The path is excellent at first and climbs very steeply through attractive birch woodland; the view behind you across to the Kylerhea hills on Skye improves with every step.
2. The gradient eases slightly and a signed crossroads of footpaths is reached where the route intersects with the Balmacara to Kyle of Lochalsh walk. For Loch Scalpaidh, continue straight on, passing through a kissing gate. The path then bears slightly left through the grass and into more attractive birch woods. The going through these woods is very boggy in places. Beyond the woods, the path improves once more and continues up the left side of the valley, reaching a stile.
3. Cross the stile and the route bears right and then left between the rocks. It then passes to the right of a small copse before arriving on the shores of Loch Scalpaidh. This is an incredibly peaceful spot, being little visited; there is a distant view across the loch of the Applecross mountains. The return to the start is by the same route; alternatively, it is possible to continue round the east side of the loch before heading up to the Erbusaig - Balmacara road.
Have you found an error or is any information wrong or missing?
Please let us know by using the error report form.
Route profile
