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We'd not noticed this loch until we saw the walk on WH and it looked ideal for a short walk with the dog. We parked beside Laggantrygown Cemetery off the A95 between Aviemore and Boat of Garten and followed the path along the esker and then down towards the shore of Loch Vaa.
On the wooded esker
Pebble beach with row of stones where we sat later
Callie taking a dip
Having a good shake
Fringed by pines
The loch is stocked for fishing and there's an attractive boathouse for storage of boats. When we were there in August the doors were open but when we returned in April the front was barricaded up.
Boathouse
We passed the picnic table and found a track leading through the trees which eventually comes to a locked gate. Beyond the gate we turned off to the right and took the second next right turn on a faint path marked by a small boulder. This path leads back towards the loch, which can soon be seen through the trees, now mainly birch interspersed with pine.
When a path went off to the right we continued straight on to a broken stile. After the stile there is a slight ascent over a wooded hill giving good views over the loch.
Zoomed to island
When the path forked we took the branch to the right which descends steeply then climbs beside a fence and leads to another stile before going along the top of an esker until we reached the outward route near to the start.
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We weren't ready to leave this enchanted spot quite yet so returned to the shoreline to some conveniently placed boulders overlooking the loch. As we sat and enjoyed the peace of the place, Callie snuggled up close. She had turned into an ideal dog for walking in the countryside, never going far from my side and no problem with livestock. One of the conditions of adopting a dog from Labrador Rescue is to have them neutered if they aren't already. Callie was booked in to be spayed a few days after this walk and I sometimes wonder if that hadn't happened, with the restricted exercise which made her act out of character the first time she was allowed off lead again, we might still have her. We will never know. The next two photos Moira took that day are the last we have of her.
That beautiful, quizzical labrador face
I had thought at the time it looked a good place to take a group from church so on 30th March 2019 we were back. But one of the group would have struggled with the stiles so we spent some time stone-skimming, beach-combing, fire-building and marshmallow-toasting, before those who wanted to walk did the round of the loch later.
Setting up camp
Building a fire well away from the trees
Crannog visible far left
Off for a wander while Pete watched the fire
A moment for reflection
Boathouse front boarded up
Picnic time
Toasting marshmallows
I'm not normally a great fan of marshmallows but the caramelizing effect of the fire makes them something a bit special. Or maybe it's just that everything tastes better outside!
In case anyone is wondering, when it was time to leave, the fire was thoroughly stamped out and the place put back to more or less how we found it, minus all the dead wood we had found lying around and burned - and there was plenty more where that had come from. We found no litter when we came and we left none. It would be awful if this place became too popular and all of that changed so there's part of me reluctant to advertise it. But there's not yet any other user's report, so I'll post this, along with the hope that if more folk do come they'll keep this place as unspoiled as they found it.
