Craigmonie and the Falls of Divach, Drumnadrochit
LOCH NESS AREA
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
View an OS map showing this route
Open this walk in QUO 2
Open this walk in GPX format
Open in Virtual Highlands
1. Park at the car park in the centre of Drumnadrochit where the Tourist Information and toilets are. Turn right out of the car park and follow the main road for approximately 100 metres until a crossroads - there is a footpath sign on a lampost for Craigmonie and Balmacaan. Turn right and follow this road for another 100 metres. The road forks, take the left hand track which climbs gently uphill with woodland on the right.
2. When you reach a huge Giant Redwood tree on your right and an information board for Balmacaan woods turn right and head uphill on the bare earth path. This walk follows the red marked trail to begin with and there are regular posts with information about the trees and wildlife. Continue following the red markers as the path flattens and gives good views of Loch Ness through silver birch trees. When the path forks take the right hand path heading slightly downhill. The path follows the side of Glen Urquhart, giving views of the houses at Easter Milton and Allanmore. You may hear woodpeckers and there have been reports of red squirrel and pine marten sightings in the woods here.
3. Keep to the level path, ignoring a track to the left. Cross a couple of small bridges and then head fairly steeply uphill to the Milton viewpoint with a seat and information board. Here you can see Milton named after several mills that were there in the 1800s, producing, amongst other things, the Glen Urquhart black and white check tweed. From the viewpoint continue uphill until you reach a crossroads. Go straight across into pinewood. At the next junction turn right off the red route and onto the track heading uphill. After a couple of minutes turn left onto a path heading to Craigmonie crag.
4. The crag is now a lovely viewpoint with a seat. It was once an iron age fort and is named after a viking prince who retreated there after a battle. It was also an old execution site. Continue past the seat and onto an undulating path past huge boulders and scots pine. Ignore the red marked path to the left and continue downhill to the edge of the woodland. Continue ignoring 2 paths to the left and climbing up to some old waterworks and a stile. Do not cross the stile but continue following the path on the left side of the fence as it undulates through beech woods, crossing a track at one point.
5. The path forks, take the left fork and continue until you reach a gate between a house and waterworks building. Go through the gate and across the track onto a small path which soon meets another track. Turn right and continue until you meet the road. Turn right along the road next to the River Coiltie. Follow this road over a bridge and uphill until you reach the small car park for the Falls of Divach. A signed path takes you to the falls viewpoint.
6. To return, go back along the road, past the first houses of Drumnadrochit. Immediately after Tramps B&B turn right following the footpath sign. Follow the road past some lovely cottages in Lewiston until a sign for Drumnadrochit directs you left up a track then onto a path. The path turns right and follows the edge of a field back to the main road. At the road turn left and return to the car park.
Have you done this walk?
If so, why not comment on it in our Forum. If you start a new topic in the walking discussion with the name of this walk as the topic, we will link the discussion to the walk so that others can read your comments here.
Have you found an error or is any information wrong or missing?
Please let us know by using the contact form.
Route profile
View Accommodation for this area:
Hotels in Loch Ness and Fort Augustus area
B&B around Loch Ness and Fort Augustus area
Fort Augustus and Drumnadrochit self catering cottages
Dores and Foyers self catering cottages
Hostels in Loch Ness and Glen Affric
