The Reekie Linn – A Smoking Waterfall on the River Isla
About 0.6 miles on foot.
The Reekie Linn is where the River Isla throws itself into a deep wooded gorge at the foot of Glen Isla, a few minutes' walk from the road.
Reekie means smoky, and after rain the spray hangs over the trees like smoke from a fire. It's a very short walk with a big reward, and Peel Farm's coffee shop is just along the road for lunch afterwards.
- Time
- About 40 minutes: 1 km (half a mile) there and back by Walkhighlands' figure, on a woodland path above the gorge.
- The path
- A short earth path through woodland, muddy and slippery after rain, beside an unfenced gorge.
- Where to start
- The Reekie Linn car park beside the B954 at Bridge of Craigisla, just north of the bridge. Free, with picnic tables.
- When to go
- All year in daylight, and best a day or two after rain. Peel Farm is open every day but 25 and 26 December and 1 and 2 January.
- Dogs
- Welcome, on a lead beside the gorge.
- Children
- Short enough for small legs, but hold hands at every viewpoint: the drops are sheer and unfenced.
- Toilets
- None at the car park.
- Before you set out
- The path passes close to the edge of a gorge with sheer, unfenced drops of 150 feet.
The walk
The Reekie Linn car park is beside the B954 at Bridge of Craigisla, just north of the bridge over the River Isla. It's free, with picnic tables and a board about the rocks and the birds, but there are no toilets. The falls are a few minutes away along a woodland path above the north bank of the river. Walkhighlands gives the walk as 1 km there and back and allows 40 minutes.
Here the Isla drops into a deep, tree-hung gorge in a pair of falls, and after heavy rain they join into one great white chute. The spray that rises from it gave the place its name. At the foot of the falls is a dark cave called the Black Dub. The story goes that an outlaw hiding there met the devil in the shape of a huge black dog, and was so frightened that he gave himself up.
The path runs close to the edge of the gorge, with sheer, unfenced drops of 150 feet. Hold on to children at every viewpoint and keep dogs on a lead. It's muddy and slippery after the same rain that shows the falls at their best, so wear boots and go in daylight.
If it rains
Rain is what the falls want, and the walk is short enough to do in waterproofs. The path is slippery beside a sheer drop, so take it slowly, and keep away in ice.
Afterwards
Peel Farm
Lunch
Peel Farm is three minutes' drive from the falls, near the village of Lintrathen. The Fleming family have farmed here for three generations, and everything in the coffee shop is cooked on the farm, from a specials board that changes daily to home-baked scones and cakes. You're served at your table, and in winter the fire is lit. It's open every day, from 9am to 4pm between October and April, and it shuts on 25 and 26 December and 1 and 2 January. Parking is free, and there's wheelchair access to the coffee shop. Dogs on a lead are welcome in the summerhouse, not in the coffee shop itself.
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 Nàdair, 3 miles away. Sleeps 6; next free Fri 4 Dec to Sun 6 Dec.
Where to eat
Peel Farm, a café in Bridgend of Lintrathen.
The Wandering Bear Cafe, a café in Bridgend of Lintrathen.
For further reading, before you go.
Photographs by E C McKenna and Ken Hagans via Google