Glen Lui (Linn of Dee) Trail

[soper87]

A pleasant and very family friendly walk, the Glen Lui Trail takes in some amazing scenery from the Linn of Dee, up past an old salmon ladder and to stunning views of the surrounding landscapes.

Our recent walk here was a rather hot one, touching 26C with clear blue skies, but a great way to round off a short staycation in Braemar.

Starting out from the main car park we crossed the round, taking the right fork and down towards the beautiful Linn of Dee gorge. Following the blue waymarked trial this follows a well maintained walkway east along the River Dee in the direction of Mar Lodge. This is also the start of the Orientation courses (maps available in the car park) with the first couple of controls on this lower path along the river.

After around 800m of walking the path forks, with the blue trail heading back up to cross the road and running parallel along until you reach the deer fencing and a cattle grid. Here the trail turns left and heads up the glen. A few hundred metres after a smaller path forks off from the larger trail, following the river closer. The waymarking is very clear and the smaller path is still well maintained as you follow the course of the river. There are some smaller paths coming from the main route where you can head down a bit closer to the river but be mindful of how quickly the path diverges in height from the river below. One place we would recommend for a small detour is as you approach the falls where the salmon ladder remnants are. You can also come off the track a little higher up to get a closer look at the ladder!

As you follow the path up you will reconnect with the larger track you departed after the cattle grid. Take a left here and head south taking in the wonderful pine forest. The trail is marked well as you make a right turn after around 500m to head back down towards the main car park.

Some useful tips....
£3 for parking for non members of NTS (payment machines did not take card when we visited)
Portaloos are available in the main car park
Take some swimming gear....if the weather is good then a dip (or dive) in the Linn of Dee is a great way to cool off!

[johncarr50]

My wife and I did this lovely walk mid September. It was a nice and unchallenging under remarkable blue skies and 22 degrees! It is easy to follow but we went in the opposite direction to the arrows on the map in the board in the car park. The blue trail markers next to the board seemed to point this way and the way markers also seemed placed for walking in this direction. Confusing but a memorable afternoon. Did we see someone in a wet suit panning for gold?