Boat of Garten – On Foot to Loch Garten through the Old Pines
About 6 miles on foot.
Boat of Garten calls itself the Osprey Village, because it was at Loch Garten, across the Spey, that ospreys came back to nest in Scotland in 1954.
The village's own trail walks out to the RSPB's Nature Centre there, over the river and through the old pinewood of Abernethy. In autumn the ospreys have gone south, and the walk is for the forest, the red squirrels and the loch.
- Time
- About three hours there and back: the Osprey Trail from Station Square to the RSPB's Nature Centre at Loch Garten, 4.8 km each way. A long, easy, flat walk.
- The path
- Pavement, a short section on road, then waymarked forest paths on sections of the Speyside Way and the RSPB's red and blue trails.
- Where to start
- Station Square, Boat of Garten: on the tarmac beside the Boat Country Inn, next to the station platform.
- Set off
- From November to January, set off by noon to be back in daylight.
- When to go
- All year in daylight; the Nature Centre and its toilets are open from 1 April to 31 October only. From November to January set off by noon.
- Dogs
- On a short lead in the woods from 1 April to 31 August, for the capercaillie; under close control the rest of the year.
- Children
- Flat but long for small children: about 9.6 km there and back.
- Toilets
- At the RSPB's car park at Loch Garten, open only while the Nature Centre is, from 1 April to 31 October.
- Before you set out
- A short section is on the road: beware of traffic.
The walk
The trail starts from Station Square in Boat of Garten, where you can park on the tarmac beside the Boat Country Inn, next to the steam railway's platform. The village's paths leaflet gives the Osprey Trail as 4.8 km and an hour and a half, and that is one way: it is a there-and-back walk, so allow three hours and about 9.6 km in all. It begins on the pavement and then a short stretch of road, where you need to watch for traffic, and crosses the River Spey.
The rest is on waymarked forest tracks, along parts of the Speyside Way and the RSPB's own trails, through the tall pines of Abernethy. Red squirrels and crested tits live here all year. The ospreys nest in spring and summer and are gone by autumn.
Dogs go on a short lead in these woods from 1 April to the end of August, for the capercaillie. The wildfire of July 2026 burned further south, in Glenmore and Strath Nethy, and this trail is not on the National Park's list of closed paths. From November to January, set off by noon.
If it rains
Forest tracks under tall pines for most of the way and a roof at the Nature Centre while it is open: a fair walk on a damp day. From November there is no shelter at the far end.
Along the way
About 1 hr 5 min on foot
Loch Garten Nature Reserve
An attraction
The trail comes out at the RSPB's Loch Garten Nature Centre, 250 metres up a firm track from the reserve's car park. The centre is open every day from 1 April to 31 October, from 10am to 4.30pm in October 2026, and there's a charge at the door for anyone who isn't an RSPB member. Inside, windows and fixed telescopes look out over the forest and the feeders, where red squirrels come and go all day. The loch itself is not seen from the centre: the first view of the water is a little further on, along the Two Lochs Trail. The toilets by the car park open only while the centre does, and there is no café or shop, so this is where the flask comes out. From 1 November the centre is shut until April. The trails and the loch stay open, but there are no toilets then. Dogs are not allowed in the centre.
Before you go
Book accommodation nearby
If you are staying over: here are ours nearest where the day starts and ends.
The nearest of ours is Park Cottage in Kincraig, 11 miles away. Sleeps 6; next free Fri 23 Oct to Sun 25 Oct.
For further reading, before you go.
Photographs by v personalise (Voytek) via Google; teiganr_photography