Castle Roy – The Comyns' Fortress by Nethy Bridge
About 1.6 miles on foot.
Castle Roy stands on a grassy mound just under a mile outside Nethy Bridge, the four bare walls of a fortress the Comyns built more than 700 years ago.
The white Old Kirk of Abernethy sits beside it, with the Cairngorms along the skyline behind. A short waymarked loop takes in both and wanders on through the pine woods. It's an easy hour on foot, with lunch at Nethy House in the village after.
- Time
- About an hour: the National Park's Castle Roy Loop, a waymarked 2.5 km round by the castle, the Old Kirk and the pine woods. An easy walk.
- The path
- Mostly narrow, grassy and earthy paths with gentle gradients and kissing gates; the castle stands on a mound.
- Where to start
- Castle Roy's own car park on the B970, just under a mile out of Nethy Bridge towards Grantown-on-Spey; free, with donation boxes for the Castle Roy Trust.
- When to go
- All year in daylight. Nethy House is closed on Wednesdays.
- Dogs
- On a lead in the woods from March to August for the nesting birds; under close control the rest of the year.
- Children
- A castle to walk inside and an easy hour through the woods; kissing gates on the loop.
- Toilets
- None at the castle; free public toilets in Nethy Bridge, just under a mile away, beside the community centre on Dell Road.
- Before you set out
- The castle was fully opened to visitors in 2022 and is free. Abernethy Old Kirk opens for events only. No toilets or other facilities at the castle.
The walk
Castle Roy has its own car park, on the B970 just under a mile out of Nethy Bridge on the way to Grantown-on-Spey. The castle is free to visit and so is the parking, with donation boxes for the trust that looks after it. There are no toilets here. The castle is a plain four-sided fortress on a mound left by the ice, built by the Comyns more than 700 years ago and held by Clan Grant from 1420.
Its walls still stand 25 feet high, with a tower at one corner, and after years of repair the ruin was fully opened to visitors in 2022, so you can walk inside the walls. Abernethy Old Kirk stands beside it in its kirkyard. It was the first parish church here, and today it opens for concerts, talks and weddings, so most days it's for looking at from outside. The Cairngorms National Park's Castle Roy Loop takes in both and carries on through pine woods, a waymarked round of 2.5 km that takes about an hour.
The paths are narrow, grassy and earthy, on gentle slopes, with kissing gates. Keep dogs on a lead in the woods from March to August, when birds are nesting, and under close control the rest of the year. The mound is open to the wind.
If it rains
The castle and the kirkyard are a few minutes from the car, so a shower needn't stop you seeing them. The loop through the woods is soft underfoot when wet: leave it out and go straight to lunch.
Afterwards
Nethy House
Lunch
Lunch is in the middle of Nethy Bridge, just under a mile down the B970, at Nethy House, a café in a granite house on the village street with free parking for customers behind it. Lunch runs from 11.30am to 4pm, with soups, sandwiches and specials, and the home baking and coffee go on until 5pm. It is closed on Wednesdays. Tables can be booked by phone or text on 07498 151519 until 10am on the day, and well-behaved dogs are welcome inside.
Before you go
Book accommodation nearby
If you are staying over: here are ours nearest where the day starts and ends.
The nearest of ours is Park Cottage in Kincraig, 13 miles away. Sleeps 6; next free Fri 23 Oct to Sun 25 Oct.
Where to eat
Nethy House, a café in Nethy Bridge.
For further reading, before you go.
Photograph by Andy Schwarz via Google