An easy walk up a delightful wooded glen, with two attractive waterfalls. The Fairy Glen was once the scene of a well-dressing ceremony, where the children of the village decorated a pool, next to a spring, with flowers. This was said to ensure that the fairies kept the water supply clean.
The walk follows a clear footpath throughout, with steps.
Bus to Rosemarkie.
Car park on the right as the road leaves Rosemarkie towards Cromarty.
The main path up the burn from Rosemarkie is currently blocked following a landslide. Access is only available by using the path from the opposite bank.
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Park in the car park on the right hand side of the road as you leave Rosemarkie on the road to Cromarty. There is an information board for the walk, which is an RSPB reserve, in the car park. Follow the path upstream, soon passing under the road bridge. Shortly afterwards, fork right onto a smaller path which keeps close to the banks of the stream.
The glen is well wooded with beech, rowan, ash and oak, and carpeted with blue bells and primroses in the spring. The path soon crosses a wooden bridge and continues up the far bank. You'll soon see a millpond to the right - this is at least a couple of hundred years old and was once a source of ice for the fish-houses in the village. Look out for dippers bobbing in the stream around here - the ones we saw seemed not to be bothered by the presence of people. Further on the path crosses back over the stream on another bridge. Just beyond here is the first of the Fairy Glen's waterfalls; an attractive twin falls. The path climbs a series of steps to the left of the fall and then crosses a steep slope - there's a rope handrail to help.
Just a short distance further on is the second and final falls, another twin fall. In front of the falls is a footbridge; the path on the far side leads up to the busy main road but there is no pavement so the best option for the return is to retrace your steps back down the glen.
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