Nethy Bridge community paths leaflet

Nethy Bridge Paths

Wel­come to Nethy Bridge

Nethy Bridge is nestled on the edge of Aber­nethy Forest, in the heart of the Cairngorms Nation­al Park. The River Nethy runs through the centre of the vil­lage, with the moun­tains provid­ing an impress­ive backdrop.

Walks

Nethy Bridge has a net­work of way-marked paths, includ­ing an all-abil­it­ies trail. The paths are gen­er­ally low level and range from 1.5 to 5 miles in length.

The Spey­side Way passes through Nethy, link­ing the vil­lage to both Boat of Garten and Grantown-on-Spey.

Before start­ing out on a walk, why not drop into the Explore Aber­nethy Vis­it­or Centre to browse the dis­plays and learn more about the his­tory and wild­life on your chosen route?

Explore Aber­nethy

We are a small, vol­un­tary organ­isa­tion estab­lished in 1997 which aims to cel­eb­rate and pro­mote the nat­ur­al and cul­tur­al her­it­age of the vil­lage for vis­it­ors and loc­al people alike. We rely on the gen­er­os­ity of fun­ders, spon­sors and dona­tions to cov­er the on-going costs of main­tain­ing the path net­work and Vis­it­or Centre for all to enjoy.

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

• Explore Aber­nethy:
  • Nethy Bridge Vis­it­or Centre
  • Ranger: 07771 704440
  • communityranger@​rspb.​org.​uk
• Vis­it­or Inform­a­tion Centres:
  • Aviemore: 01479 810930
  • Grant­own Museum: 01479 872478
• Use­ful websites:
  • nethy​bridge​.com
  • vis​it​cairngorms​.com
  • cairngorms​.co​.uk

If you enjoyed Nethy Bridge Paths then look out for oth­er Com­munity Path Leaf­lets to help you explore more of the Cairngorms Nation­al Park.

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Aber­nethy Forest

Aber­nethy Forest has been widely exploited for tim­ber over hun­dreds of years. His­tor­ic­ally, pine had many uses includ­ing: ship­build­ing, rail­way sleep­ers, con­struc­tion and pit­props in mines.

The nurs­ery closed in 1984 as nat­ur­al regen­er­a­tion exceeded replant­ing. It is now a Nation­al Nature Reserve and is man­aged for its con­ser­va­tion value by NatureScot and the RSPB.

The forest sup­ports a wide vari­ety of rare spe­cies such as caper­cail­lie, Scot­tish cross­bills and red squir­rels. It is an import­ant part of the mosa­ic of pine forest that stretches across the Nation­al Park. You can help our wild­life by keep­ing dogs on a lead when walk­ing in the forest from March to August, dur­ing the breed­ing season.

Tim­ber!

Forestry grew to be the area’s second most import­ant industry, after agri­cul­ture. Coul­na­kyle (near the Broom­hill walk) was built in 1765 to a design by the archi­tect John Adam and formed the centre of the forestry operations.

Regen­er­a­tion

In 1855 a tree nurs­ery was estab­lished on the edge of Dell Wood. Giant Wel­ling­to­nia trees and beech hedges still mark the entrance. Pine seed was gathered loc­ally and grown to replant the forest.

The River

Aber­nethy means the mouth of the River Nethy and, as the name sug­gests the River Nethy meets the River Spey close to the village.

Water for power

Duack Saw­mill was powered by water from a lade which ran along the King’s Road. Built in 1860, the lade ran for half a mile from the Duack Burn to the Sawmill.

Water for transport

Before the mid-nine­teenth cen­tury, the fast-flow­ing waters of the Rivers Nethy and Spey were used to float cut tim­bers from the forest to the saw­mills or the coast. This was a haz­ard­ous and highly skilled oper­a­tion for the men guid­ing rafts and loose logs downstream.

The Rail­way

In 1863 the rail­way arrived at Broom­hill, and later at Nethy Bridge, bring­ing a faster, more effi­cient and more reli­able means of trans­port for tim­ber, live­stock and visitors.

You can still see the sta­tion yard where great stacks of wood stood await­ing trans­port, just down­stream of Nethy Bridge. Light rail­ways were built to move tim­ber to the rail­way mainline.

You can also still exper­i­ence a trip behind a steam engine, as the Strath­spey Rail­way reopened Broom­hill Sta­tion in 2002. Com­bin­ing a train trip and one of our way-marked walks is a great and ​‘green’ way to get to and from Nethy Bridge. There is also a reg­u­lar bus service.

If you enjoyed ​‘Explor­ing Aber­nethy’ then look out for oth­er com­munity paths leaf­lets cov­er­ing oth­er parts of the Nation­al Park.

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Broom­hill Trail

• A beau­ti­ful walk along the River Nethy to Broom­hill Bridge and back. Fant­ast­ic for spot­ting dippers.
• Mostly nar­row, grassy and earthy paths on a gentle gradi­ent with stiles.
• Length: 3 miles / 4.8 km
• Time: Allow 11÷2−2 hrs
• Dif­fi­culty: Moderate

Castle Roy Loop

• A pleas­ant walk tak­ing in the ruins of Castle Roy, a thir­teenth cen­tury fort­ress and Aber­nethy Old Kirk.
• Mostly nar­row, grassy and earthy paths with gentle gradi­ents and kiss­ing gates.
• Length: ¹⁄₂ miles / 2.5 km
• Time: Allow 1 hr
• Dif­fi­culty: Moderate

Birch Wood Trail

• A short walk around the Birch Wood. Have a look for dragon­flies around the pond in summer.
• Access­ible, gentle grav­elled paths.
• Length: ¹⁄₄ mile / 0.4 km
• Time: Allow ¹⁄₂ hr
• Dif­fi­culty: Easy

King’s Road

• With stun­ning views of the Cairngorms, this walk winds its way through majest­ic pine forest. Keep your eyes open for red squir­rels scam­per­ing between the trees.
• Mostly gravel paths, some earthy paths on gentle gradi­ents, path often wet and muddy with roots.
• Length: 3 miles / 4.8 km
• Time: Allow 1−1÷2 hrs
• Dif­fi­culty: Moderate

Puggy Line Trail

• Fol­low the old log­ging rail­way line on this cir­cu­lar route between the vil­lage and Tul­loch Road.
• Mostly nar­row, earthy paths on gentle gradi­ents, path often wet and muddy with roots.
• Length: 2/2 miles / 4 km
• Time: Allow 1 hr
• Dif­fi­culty: Moderate

Lettoch Trail

• A scen­ic walk fol­low­ing the River Nethy upstream and through Lettoch Wood. A great route for spec­tac­u­lar views of the Cairngorms.
• Mostly gentle paths on gravel or tar­mac. Some sec­tions nar­row, earthy and muddy. Kiss­ing gates and cattle grid.
• Length: 5 miles / 8 km return
• Time: Allow 11÷2−21÷2 hrs
• Dif­fi­culty: Moderate

River­side Trail

• Right in the heart of the vil­lage this beau­ti­ful walk up the River Nethy is a great place to spot dippers.
• Mostly gravel paths, some earthy paths on gentle gradi­ents, path often wet and muddy with roots.
• Length: ¹⁄₂ miles / 1.6 km
• Time: Allow 1 hr
• Dif­fi­culty: Easy

Craigmore Trail

• A chal­len­ging walk through pic­tur­esque wood­land start­ing at Castle Roy. Join the Spey­side Way at Boat of Bal­lie­furth after 214 miles to return to Nethy.
• A var­ied ter­rain, mostly earthy paths. Some fairly steep sec­tions. Some sec­tions may be muddy with stiles and kiss­ing gates.
• Length: ²¹⁄₄ miles/​3.5 km
• Time: Allow 3 – 4 hrs
• Dif­fi­culty: Strenuous

Wil­der­ness Trail

• Take in the splend­our of the pine forest and per­haps chance upon the old log­ging camp.
• Mostly nar­row, earthy paths on gentle gradi­ents, path often wet and muddy with roots.
• Length: ¹⁄₂ miles / 1.6 km
• Time: Allow 1 hr
• Dif­fi­culty: Moderate