Uath Lochans – Pinewood Pools, a Crag View and Lunch
A few hours.
The route
Uath Lochans is a quiet pinewood above Glen Feshie with four lochans, or small lochs, tucked among the trees, and the mother and son behind Cairn Candle Company, outside Grantown-on-Spey, call it one of their secret favourites.
An hour's loop takes you round the water on narrow paths and boardwalks, with a steeper climb to a crag above for anyone who wants the view. Lunch is a few minutes down the road at a little café gallery in Kincraig.
Before you go
Book accommodation nearby
If you are staying over: here are ours nearest where the day starts and ends.
The day
Glen Feshie
A gentle late morning in the woods south of Aviemore. An hour round the still, dark lochans under the pines, then a short drive down to Kincraig for lunch.
About three hoursAbout 1.5 miles on foot
Uath Lochans
An attraction
Uath Lochans is in the forest above Glen Feshie, and the way in is through Kincraig: turn left opposite the war memorial for Feshiebridge, cross the river, and turn right at the T-junction for Insh. After about 800 metres take the left fork signed as a no-through road, and the free Forestry and Land Scotland car park is a mile up it, on the right. A satnav set to PH21 1NX takes you just past it. There are no toilets here. The Uath Lochans Trail is a 2.4 km loop round the lochans through the pines, with boardwalks over the wet ground, and an hour is about right. The path is firm but often narrow, with a few short, steeper bits, and it's muddy and slippery after rain. For a view, the Farleitter Crag Trail climbs steeply above the lochans for a look over the Spey valley to the Glen Feshie hills: 4 km, allow an hour and a half.
7 min by car
The Old Post Office Café Gallery
Lunch
Lunch is at the Old Post Office Café Gallery at 1 Braeriach Road in Kincraig, a 7-minute drive down the road from the car park: a small café with art on its walls. It opens from 10am (10.30am on Sundays) to 4pm, and shuts on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, when the nearest other places to eat are in Aviemore. It is said to welcome dogs and children and to be step-free; ring ahead to check. Over Christmas and New Year, check before going.
If it rains
In rain the boardwalks and narrow path get slippery and the crag climb is hard going: walk the short loop slowly, skip Farleitter Crag, and let lunch in Kincraig run long.
Worth a detour
- The Frank Bruce Sculpture Trail, Feshiebridge
At Feshiebridge, a trail runs along the wide grassy bank of the River Feshie, and in the old walled garden beside it stand the striking timber sculptures of the artist Frank Bruce, left to weather as he intended. The Grantown artist Angus Grant names them among his favourite things in the area. It adds about 3 minutes to the drive to Kincraig, and half an hour there is plenty.