The Fairy Bridge – A Mossy Stone Arch in Glen Creran's Woods
Glen Creran is a quiet, wooded glen that runs inland from Loch Creran, north of Oban.
Tucked away in its trees is a little stone bridge so thick with moss and ferns that it looks as if it grew there. The walk to it is a loop of about 4 km through mixed woodland, with a waterfall below the bridge and a pine tree growing out of a boulder close by. Bring boots, because the paths are muddy.
- Time
- An hour to an hour and a half for the loop by the Fairy Bridge: 4 km (2.5 miles) with 130 m of climb. About an hour for the waymarked Pine Marten Trail, 2.2 km.
- The path
- Forest paths, muddy in places, and a stretch of quiet road. The Pine Marten Trail is loose, uneven gravel and firm grass, with some steep slopes and a wide footbridge.
- Where to start
- The Forestry and Land Scotland car park at Elleric, at the end of the public road up Glen Creran, PA38 4BJ. Free. The last two and a half miles of the road are single track.
- When to go
- All year in daylight. The waterfall is at its fullest after rain, and so is the mud.
- Dogs
- Under close control.
- Children
- A good short walk for children, with a bridge and a waterfall to find. The paths are muddy and the gorge has drops.
- Toilets
- None in the glen. The nearest public toilets are at Port Appin, ten miles away.
- Before you set out
- The Fairy Bridge is not signposted. The paths are muddy in places.
The walk
The walk starts from the Forestry and Land Scotland car park at Elleric, at the end of the public road up Glen Creran. Leave the A828 at the roundabout just east of Creagan, where the sign says Invercreran, and it's about four and a half miles up the glen, the last two and a half on single track. PA38 4BJ is the nearest postcode, and parking is free. The Fairy Bridge is a small stone arch over a burn in the woods, with a row of upright stones along each side and every inch of it furred with moss and ferns. A waterfall drops through the trees just below it. The bridge isn't signposted.
Its name is a recent one, given by a local family in the 1980s to fire their children's imaginations, and it has stuck. Walkhighlands gives the loop from the car park as 4 km, or two and a half miles, with 130 metres of climb, and allows an hour to an hour and a half. It runs through the mixed woodland of Coille Mheadonach, with views up the glen, and comes back along the quiet glen road. Near the bridge is Fas na Cloiche, a pine tree growing out of an enormous boulder. The forest paths are muddy in places, so wear boots. Forestry and Land Scotland also waymarks the Pine Marten Trail from the same car park, a walk of 2.2 km and about an hour beside a gorge full of cascades and on through young native woodland.
From its higher ground you look across to Beinn Sgulaird, the big hill on the far side of the glen, and towards Glen Ure, once the home of Colin Campbell, the Red Fox, whose murder in 1752 gave Robert Louis Stevenson the story of Kidnapped. There are no toilets, shop or café in the glen. The nearest are at Port Appin, ten miles away. Keep dogs under close control.
If it rains
The trees give some shelter and the waterfall is at its best after rain, but the paths turn to mud. With boots and a waterproof it's still a good walk on a showery day.
Before you go
Book accommodation nearby
If you are staying over: here are ours nearest where the day starts and ends.
For further reading, before you go.
Photograph by Nina Stulen via Google