Hidden Scotland
Sign in
The Birks of Aberfeldy walk
A walk · Aberfeldy

The Birks of Aberfeldy – Burns's Wooded Gorge

About 2.2 miles on foot.

Directions
Upper Birks car parkStartFalls of MonessWhere you turn

The Birks of Aberfeldy is a steep, narrow gorge just above the town, with the Moness Burn tumbling through it in a string of waterfalls.

A path climbs one side to a bridge high over the Falls of Moness and comes down the other, the walk Robert Burns took in 1787 before he wrote his song about the birches here. It's a lovely morning, with lunch at the Watermill afterwards.

Time
An hour to two: a 3.5 km waymarked circuit of the gorge from the Upper Birks car park, by the bridge over the Falls of Moness. A walk with many steps.
The path
A steep gorge path with many steps, slippery when wet.
Where to start
The Upper Birks car park, signed from the A826 Crieff Road (PH15 2DX); free.
When to go
All year in daylight. The path is slippery after rain and frost.
Dogs
On a lead on the steps and by the drops.
Children
A steep, wooded gorge above the Moness Burn; keep small children close on the steps.
Toilets
At the Breadalbane Community Campus and on Taybridge Terrace, opposite Victoria Park, in Aberfeldy.
Before you set out
A path is occasionally closed for an event; Perth and Kinross Council's page for the Birks lists closures.

The walk

The walk starts at the Upper Birks car park, signed off the A826 Crieff Road on the south side of Aberfeldy (PH15 2DX), where parking is free and there are picnic benches. Perth and Kinross Council gives the circuit as 3.5 km: allow an hour to two. A waymarked path climbs one side of a narrow gorge of birch, oak and ash, with the Moness Burn falling below in a run of cascades.

At the top a bridge crosses high over the biggest of them, the Falls of Moness, and the path comes down the other side. There are seats and viewpoints on the way, many steps and some steep stretches, and the path is slippery when wet, so it is no place for a pushchair and small children need a hand on the steps. Robert Burns came here in 1787 and wrote The Birks o' Aberfeldie, birks being the Scots for birches, and the woods were given to the town in 1968 as a public pleasure ground.

You can also walk up from the Square, through the arch into the Lower Birks and across the main road. The nearest toilets are on Taybridge Terrace, opposite Victoria Park.

If it rains

The falls are at their best after rain, and most of the path is under the trees, but the steps are slippery: wear boots with a good grip.

Afterwards

  1. Aberfeldy Watermill Bookshop & Cafe

    Aberfeldy Watermill Bookshop & Cafe

    Lunch

    Lunch is down in the town at the Watermill on Mill Street, a bookshop, gallery and café in an old mill. It opens Monday to Saturday from 10am to 5pm and Sunday from 11am to 5pm, and dogs are welcome both inside and on the café terrace. The bookshop has a children's room, and the shop and café can be reached in a wheelchair; the gallery upstairs is up a flight of stairs. Ring 01887 822896 to keep a table. The town's car parks on Moness Terrace and Chapel Street are free.

    More about Aberfeldy Watermill Bookshop & Cafe

Before you go

  1. Book accommodation nearby

    If you are staying over: here are ours nearest where the day starts and ends.

    The nearest of ours is The House at Dun Aluinn. Sleeps 18.

Where to eat

Find out more

For further reading, before you go.