Plodda Falls – A Waterfall Seen from Above and Below
About 1.5 miles on foot.
Plodda Falls drops in one long white column into a deep wooded gorge at the end of a forest road beyond Tomich, just south of Glen Affric.
A short path leads to a platform hung right over the top of the falls, and a longer loop goes down to the foot, through tall Douglas firs planted for a Victorian estate. Start with a big breakfast at the café in Cannich.
- Time
- About half an hour to the platform over the falls and back (1 km); about an hour for the Tweedmouth Trail to the foot of the falls (2.4 km).
- The path
- Steep slopes, stone steps, exposed roots and muddy sections on both trails.
- Where to start
- Forestry and Land Scotland's Plodda Falls car park at the end of the forest track, 1¾ miles beyond the public road past Tomich; card or RingGo.
- When to go
- The Bog Cotton Café from March to October, Thursday to Monday, from 8am. The falls are open forest all year: go in daylight.
- Dogs
- Keep them close by the gorge and the open water.
- Children
- A platform over a big drop and open water: keep children close.
- Toilets
- Not among the facilities Forestry and Land Scotland lists at Plodda (parking, viewpoint, trails, picnic area).
- Before you set out
- The last stretch is a narrow forest track. Little phone reception.
The walk
Breakfast is at the Bog Cotton Café on the Cannich Woodland Camping and Caravan Park, in Cannich. From March to October it opens at 8am, Thursday to Monday, until 2pm, and shuts on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
There's porridge, American-style pancakes, breakfast rolls with egg, sausage, bacon or black pudding, and the Full Big Breakfast with hash browns and potato scone, with coffee and tea. Over Christmas and New Year, check before going; from November to February it's shut, so have breakfast before you come.
If it rains
The falls are at their loudest after rain. The forest paths get muddy and the stone steps slippery, so wear boots with a good grip; the platform walk is the shorter of the two. Breakfast is under a roof.
Afterwards
35 min by car
Plodda Falls
An attraction
Plodda Falls is 35 minutes' drive on from the café, slowly, through the village of Tomich and on along a narrow road that turns into a forest track, signed for Plodda, for the last 1¾ miles. Park in Forestry and Land Scotland's car park at the end: £2 for up to an hour, £3 for up to three hours and £5 all day, by card or RingGo. The Plodda Falls Trail is 1 km and about half an hour, out to a viewing platform right over the top of the falls, where the burn throws itself off the cliff into the gorge with a roar. The Tweedmouth Trail, 2.4 km and about an hour, carries on down by the river to the foot of the falls and back through the tall Douglas firs, larches and redwoods Lord Tweedmouth planted on his Guisachan estate after 1856. The story goes that he had the river's course changed to make the falls grander. Both paths have steep slopes, stone steps, roots and muddy patches, so wear boots, and no pushchair will manage. There's open water and little phone signal, so keep children close. A local's tip: don't stop at the first small waterfall thinking you've arrived.
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 Glen Affric Estate, 6 miles away. Sleeps 14.
For further reading, before you go.
Photograph by Landscaping Solutions Manchester Ltd via Google