Braemar community paths leaflet

Explore around Braemar

This leaf­let describes six easy to fol­low routes around the vil­lage, with inform­a­tion about their length and what sort of path con­di­tions to expect. There’s some­thing for all tastes, from a gentle stroll by the River Dee to a strenu­ous hike for one of the best views on Deeside. Each route is col­our coded, and is marked on the ground with col­oured way mark­ers, signs or stone cairns to help find your way.

Gath­er­ings and castles

The routes up Mor­rone or the lower Cre­ag Choin­nich fol­low in the steps of com­pet­it­ors at Braemar’s fam­ous Gath­er­ing. This spec­tac­u­lar event includes races up the two hills, as well as High­land dan­cing, pip­ing com­pet­i­tions and toss­ing the caber.

From oth­er routes you’ll see Brae­mar Castle. Once home to the laird of Clan Far­quhar­son, it was ori­gin­ally built by his arch rival! You can vis­it the castle in sea­son to find out more about its fas­cin­at­ing his­tory. The Far­quhar­son fam­ily home is now Inver­cauld House, a little fur­ther down the valley.

© Al Hubbard

Cairngorms Paths

Brae­mar Paths

Explore Deeside

For inform­a­tion on paths, loc­al events, facil­it­ies and accommodation:

Loc­al Inform­a­tion Centres

• Brae­mar: Vis­it­or Cab­in (open all year)
• Bal­later: 01339 755 306 (open all year)
• Crath­ie: 01339 742 414

Use­ful web sites:

• www​.brae​marscot​land​.co​.uk
• www​.vis​it​cairngorms​.com
• www​.cairngorms​.co​.uk
• www​.vis​it​abdn​.com
• www​.walkhigh​lands​.co​.uk

If you enjoyed using the ​‘Brae­mar Paths leaf­let’ look out for oth­er com­munity paths leaf­lets to help you explore more of the Cairngorms Nation­al Park.

Cov­er image © Vis­itScot­land / Jak­ub Iwanicki

BRAE­MAR HEART OF THE PARK Cairngorms NATION­AL PARK Pàirc Nàiseanta a’ Mhon­aidh Ruaidh

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Mor­rone

A superb hill walk, with mag­ni­fi­cent views. Make sure you have the right equip­ment: walk­ing boots, water­proofs, warm cloth­ing, food, and a map and compass.

Long sec­tions of steep climb­ing with some steps. Var­ied sur­faces, some nar­row, rough and rocky but usu­ally dry.

Length: 7 ¹⁄₂ miles / 12 km Time: Allow 4 – 5 hours Dif­fi­culty: strenuous

Dale John­son, Brae­mar Media

Map Legend

• road
• track
• path
• toi­lets
• P car­park
• bus stop
• i loc­al inform­a­tion centre
• view­point
• camp­ing
• NORTH

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Brae­mar Paths

This leaf­let has been developed in part­ner­ship with the Brae­mar Tour­ism Group.

Map Legend

• road
• track
• path
• toi­lets
• P car­park
• bus stop
• i loc­al inform­a­tion centre
• view­point
• camp­ing
• Tom­richton Woods Nature Trail
• Cre­ag Choin­nich Nature Trail
• NORTH

Dale John­son, Brae­mar Media

River Dee

A meander along Clunie Water and the River Dee, with fine views up and down the strath.

Short, mod­er­ate slopes. Mostly a smooth, nar­row earthy path with some uneven sec­tions which can be a bit muddy after rain.

Length: 3 miles / 4.8 km Time: Allow 2 hours Dif­fi­culty: moderate

Lion’s face and the Cromlins

With great views of the vil­lage, Brae­mar Castle, Inver­cauld House and the upper Dee val­ley spread out below you, with the Cairngorm Moun­tains in the background.

Short, mod­er­ate slopes. Mostly a smooth, nar­row earthy path with some uneven sec­tions which can be a bit muddy after rain. Sec­tions of wide grassy track.

Length: 4 miles / 6.5 km Time: Allow 2 ¹⁄₂ hours Dif­fi­culty: moderate

Queen’s Drive

This gentle route fol­lows part of a car­riage drive that was one of Queen Victoria’s favourites.

Short, mod­er­ate slopes. Mostly a smooth, nar­row earthy path with some uneven sec­tions which can be a bit muddy after rain. Sec­tions on road.

Length: 2 ³⁄₄ miles / 4.5 km Time: Allow 1 ¹⁄₂ hours Dif­fi­culty: moderate

Mor­rone Birkwood

The birk­wood (birch wood) changes from decidu­ous trees in the val­ley to open scrub, dot­ted with juni­per bushes, a real rel­ic of the old moun­tain woods that once covered the Cairngorms.

Short, mod­er­ate slopes. Mostly a smooth, nar­row earthy path with some uneven sec­tions which can be a bit muddy after rain.

Length: 3 ¹⁄₂ miles / 5.5 km Time: Allow 2 hours Dif­fi­culty: moderate

Charter Chest path

This firm, smooth path runs par­al­lel to the A93 and leads to the Old Brig o’ Dee and the car park at the Kei­loch. 2km one way.

Cre­ag Choinnich

A short but steep climb up a charm­ing wee hill, with mag­ni­fi­cent pan­or­amic views. The Gael­ic means ​‘mossy hill’. This out-and-back path gives you a real taste of hill­walk­ing, although its highest point is only 538 metres. In clear weath­er you can spot the gran­ite tors that rise as sharp points on the top of Ben Avon in the heart of the Cairngorms. Dis­tance and time is there and back.

Short steep climbs with some steps. Var­ied sur­faces, some nar­row, rough and rocky but usu­ally dry.

Length: 1 ¹⁄₂ miles / 2.5 km Time: Allow 1 – 2 hours Dif­fi­culty: strenuous

SCOT­TISH OUT­DOOR ACCESS CODE

outdooraccess-scotland.scot

Based on Ord­nance Sur­vey map­ping with the per­mis­sion of the Con­trol­ler of HMSO. Crown Copy­right. Ord­nance Sur­vey Licence Num­ber 100040965. Steve Bar­rett 2025. Text: CNPA 2025.