Glen Tanar – The Riverbank Path and Lunch at Potarch
About 2.9 miles on foot.
Glen Tanar's old Caledonian pinewood lies just south of the Dee across from Aboyne, with waymarked paths from the Braeloine visitor centre, and the Riverbank Path makes a lovely loop through the pines and back beside the Water of Tanar.
Lunch is at the Potarch Café by Telford's bridge over the Dee, where dogs are welcome inside. It's a fine morning out with a dog, any day from Thursday to Monday, when the café is open.
- Time
- About an hour and a half: the path is 4.7 km, about an hour and 20 minutes.
- The path
- A smooth path from the bridge to the visitor centre, with a ramp and automatic door; the Riverbank Path is crushed stone and grass with some short gentle slopes.
- Where to start
- The Braeloine car park by the Bridge of Tanar, at the end of the single-track glen road from Bridge o' Ess on the South Deeside Road: a pay car park. From Aboyne the way is round by Dinnet, as Aboyne Bridge is shut to cars.
- When to go
- Thursday to Monday: the Potarch Café shuts on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and the Glen Tanar visitor centre on Tuesdays.
- Dogs
- On a lead: birds nest on the ground in spring and summer, and the stags rut in October.
- Toilets
- At the visitor centre, shut on Tuesdays.
- Before you set out
- The Riverbank Path starts at the visitor centre; the Chapel of St Lesmo on the way is usually locked. Over Christmas and New Year, check the visitor centre before going.
The walk
From the South Deeside Road at Bridge o' Ess, the single-track glen road climbs to the Braeloine car park, which charges. Aboyne Bridge is shut to cars, so cross the Dee at Dinnet or Potarch. Cross the old Bridge of Tanar to the visitor centre, open 10am to 5pm every day but Tuesday, with toilets.
The Riverbank Path starts here: 4.7 km, about an hour and 20 minutes. It runs through the old Caledonian pines past the Chapel of St Lesmo and the Fairy Lochan, over a ridge of gravel left by the ice, and back beside the Water of Tanar. It's crushed stone and grass, with a few short, gentle slopes.
Keep dogs on a lead: birds nest on the ground in spring and summer, and the stags rut in October.
If it rains
The pines take the edge off a shower, and the visitor centre has displays under a roof; in heavy rain take the shorter path to the Chapel of St Lesmo and back, 1.75 km, and have a longer lunch by the café's stove.
Worth a detour
- The Dinnie Stones
A few steps from the café sit the Dinnie Stones, two granite boulders with iron rings. The story goes that the strongman Donald Dinnie carried both across the width of Potarch Bridge in 1860.
Afterwards
15 min by car
Potarch Café
Lunch
Lunch is 15 minutes' drive east along the South Deeside Road at the Potarch Café, at the south end of Potarch Bridge, with free parking beside it. It opens Thursday to Monday, 10am to 4pm, and is shut on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Brunch is what it's known for, with a children's menu, and it can be busy at weekends. Well-behaved dogs are welcome inside and in the garden, and it's level inside. If it's full, the Village Store in Kincardine O'Neil, across the Dee on the A93, does hot drinks, soup and sandwiches until 5pm, Monday to Saturday.
Before you go
Book accommodation nearby
If you are staying over: here are ours nearest where the day starts and ends.
Where to eat
Potarch Café, café by Potarch Bridge.