A walk up to the Tappie Tower in Kirkhill Forest

A walk · Aberdeen

Kirkhill Forest – Up to the Tappie Tower

About 3.7 miles on foot.

Kirkhill Forest sits on the edge of Aberdeen by the A96, and Forestry and Land Scotland's Tappie Tower Trail climbs through it to a folly of the 1800s with a view from the North Sea to Bennachie.

Across the road, Tyrebagger Wood has towering trees and a cave said to have hidden outlaws. It's a good half day close to the city for walkers and families who don't mind a climb.

Time: About two and a half hours: Forestry and Land Scotland's Tappie Tower Trail, 5.9 km, with one long climb. A walk with a hill in it; Tyrebagger's Robbers' Trail across the road adds 2.3 km and about an hour.
The path: Waymarked; firm, mostly wide gravel with some uneven and slightly rocky sections and one long, fairly steep slope; parts wet after rain.
Where to start: Forestry and Land Scotland's free car park in Kirkhill Forest, on the north side of the A96 opposite the turn-off signed for Kirkton of Skene, between the Dyce roundabout and Blackburn (nearest postcode AB21 0TU). Tyrebagger's two free car parks are on the B979 within half a mile of that turn-off (AB21 0TT).
When to go: All year in daylight; from November to February start by 12.30pm.
Dogs: Welcome under close control: on a short lead or close at heel near livestock and from April to August, when birds nest on the ground, and never into a field with young animals, as the Scottish Outdoor Access Code asks.
Children: Children who can manage a long climb on a gravel track; Tyrebagger's trails across the road are the family-friendly ones.
Before you set out: Mountain bikers use Kirkhill Forest too: keep an ear out.

The walk

The walk starts at Forestry and Land Scotland's free car park in Kirkhill Forest, on the north side of the A96 between the Dyce roundabout and Blackburn. Slow down for the turn-off signed for Kirkton of Skene: the forest entrance is opposite it, and the nearest postcode is AB21 0TU. The Tappie Tower Trail is waymarked, 5.9 km, and Forestry and Land Scotland says to allow two and a half hours.

It climbs through the forest, then a small path leads off to the Tappie Tower, a folly built in the 1800s, with a view that runs from the North Sea to Bennachie. The going is firm, mostly wide gravel, with some uneven, slightly rocky stretches and one long, fairly steep climb, and parts are wet after rain. Mountain bikers use the forest too, so keep an ear out.

For more, Tyrebagger Wood is just across the A96 on the B979, with two free car parks within half a mile of the turn-off. Its Robbers' Trail is 2.3 km and about an hour among towering trees to the Robbers' Cave, said to have hidden outlaws in the 1600s, though it may be an old iron ore working.

If it rains

A forest walk, under the trees most of the way; the gravel is wet in places after rain and the view from the tower is lost in low cloud, so on a wet day keep to Tyrebagger's shorter Beech Tree Trail, 1.3 km.