Strathpeffer and Rogie Falls – Eagle Stone, Maze and Priory
A day by car, from Inverness and back.
The route
Strathpeffer is the Highlands' old spa village, north-west of Inverness.
Victorians came by train to take the waters of its sulphur and iron wells. The spa never recovered after the First World War, but its pump room, its Pavilion and the Square at its centre are still there, and can be seen from outside whether or not they are open. So are the hotels and villas built for the visitors. This is a day from Inverness for the village and the country round it. That country holds older things than the spa: a stone the Picts carved and a wood above the houses. The road home comes round by Beauly.
Before you go
Book a bed near Inverness
The day starts and ends in Inverness, where beds go early in summer and at holiday weekends, so book as soon as your dates are set. Nothing else on this day needs booking.
The day
Strathpeffer
The morning starts beside the Black Water, loud in its gorge at Rogie Falls. After that the day slows to walking pace in and above Strathpeffer, and the road home is an easy one.
1 hr 50 min at the wheelAbout 49 miles by carAbout 4 miles on foot
Rogie Falls
An attraction
Leave Inverness by ten to nine. It's about 40 minutes' drive: the A9 over the Kessock Bridge to Tore, then the A835 through Contin to the Rogie Falls car park, signed about two miles beyond the village. The Salmon Trail drops a quarter of a mile through the trees to a viewing platform and a suspension bridge over the Black Water, face-on to the falls. In autumn salmon can sometimes be seen leaping. The bridge stands above a fast river, so keep children close. The way back up is steep.
14 min by car
Highland Museum of Childhood
It's 14 minutes' drive back down the A835 to Contin and along the A834 into Strathpeffer, where the car can stay at the Old Station until after lunch. From 1885 the branch line brought holidaymakers to the spa, and the station still stands. Inside, the Highland Museum of Childhood holds dolls, toys, games and prams. It's open Tuesday to Friday, 10am to 4pm, and Saturday, 11am to 3pm. It is seasonal and shuts for the winter, so check its page before going. When shut, the stop is the station itself.
6 min on foot
The Eagle Stone
The Eagle Stone is a 6-minute walk from the Old Station: across the main road and through a gate onto a rough path. The stone is a slab under a metre high, cut by the Picts some 1,300 years ago with an eagle beneath an arch. The Pump Room and Pavilion stand by the Square, a short walk on. Lunch is at the Deli in the Square, which says it opens daily: ring 01997 421259 for its hours. Gold at the Old Station, the tea room beside the museum, is the other choice.
6 min on foot back to the car, then 5 min by car
Blackmuir Wood and the Touchstone Maze
An attraction
From Strathpeffer's Square the car is about 600 yards back at the Old Station. Then it's 5 minutes' drive through the village on the A834 to the Blackmuir Wood car park, signed to the left as the houses end. The Touchstone Maze Trail is a loop that climbs on firm gravel to a labyrinth of more than 80 rocks, chosen to show the stone of the north of Scotland. It's 3.6 km (2¼ miles), about an hour and a half. Follow the signs if forest works have moved the path.
22 min by car
Beauly Priory
An attraction
It's 22 minutes' drive to Beauly: the A834 and Kinnahaird to the A835, then the A832 through Marybank and Muir of Ord and the A862 into the village. The priory's ruin stands in its churchyard at the end of Beauly's Square. French monks founded it about 1230, and Historic Environment Scotland looks after it. The churchyard is open; the building may be fenced off for conservation work, and Historic Environment Scotland's page says whether it is. Inverness is half an hour along the A862: home by about half past four.
If it rains
Rogie Falls is at its fullest after rain, and the Salmon Trail down to the viewing platform is on firm gravel, so it still works in the wet. Leave out the Riverside Trail, the rougher path on from the viewing platform, as its rocks and tree roots are slippery. In Strathpeffer the museum is under a roof on its open days, the Old Station's platform is covered and both lunch places have tables indoors. The Touchstone Maze Trail is on gravel and can be walked in waterproofs, though the views from the top go in low cloud. If it is too wet for it, take longer over lunch and go on to Beauly, where the priory is a short stop between showers.
Worth a detour
- Loch Achilty
Shortly after Contin, a minor road signed to Loch Achilty leaves the A835 on the left. It runs for about two miles, along the loch, to a free Forestry and Land Scotland car park and picnic area at its far end. It is a small loch among birch and oak woods, with a pebble beach and picnic tables, and a quarter of an hour is enough for it. In autumn the colours of the trees are reflected in the water. Rogie Falls is about 5 minutes' drive on. There are no toilets here.
Photographs by David Jambrich and Armel Bonsergent via Google