Anagach Woods – Grantown's Own Pinewood by the Spey
About 6.5 miles on foot.
Anagach Woods lie between the middle of Grantown-on-Spey and the River Spey, nearly a thousand acres of pinewood that the town's own community trust owns and looks after.
Waymarked trails run through Scots pine, birch and juniper, past peat bogs and small lochans, and the long Red Trail takes you right into the middle of it. Red squirrels live here, and so do crested tits and capercaillie.
- Time
- About three hours from the town: the National Park's Anagach Red Trail, an 8.8 km circuit of about two and a half hours, and the walk to the woods and back. Shorter loops: Blue 3.2 km, Green 2 km.
- The path
- Mostly well-made paths with some earthy, uneven sections that are muddy after rain; a wide gate at the start; short moderate slopes. The Green Trail is wide, smooth, flat gravel.
- Where to start
- The Burnfield car park in Grantown-on-Spey, behind the library, a few minutes' walk from the woods; the Trust's own car park at the woods is small.
- Set off
- From November to January, set off by 12.30pm to be back in daylight.
- When to go
- All year in daylight, never in a storm or just after one. From November to January set off by 12.30pm.
- Dogs
- On a lead or close at heel from 1 April to 31 August, for ground-nesting birds and the capercaillie; under close control the rest of the year.
- Children
- Flat, wide paths; the Green Trail suits small legs.
- Toilets
- At the Burnfield car park in the town, with a RADAR key toilet; none in the woods.
- Before you set out
- Never light a fire or barbecue. Do not enter during a storm or just after one: trees and branches fall. Keep clear of forestry work and never pass warning signs or barriers.
The walk
Anagach Woods start at the edge of Grantown-on-Spey and run down to the River Spey. The Anagach Woods Trust's own car park at the woods is small, so the Trust suggests parking in the town instead: the Burnfield car park, behind the library, is a few minutes' walk away and has the nearest public toilets. The woods are free and always open, and the Trust welcomes a donation. Three waymarked loops explore them.
The Red Trail is the long one, which the National Park gives as 8.8 km and about two and a half hours, on well-made paths with some earthy, uneven stretches that turn muddy after rain and a few short slopes. It goes deep into the wood among Scots pine, birch and juniper, the home of red squirrels and crested tits. The Blue Trail is 3.2 km and about an hour, and the Green Trail is 2 km on wide, flat gravel, along a stretch of the old military road. Capercaillie nest here, so from 1 April to 31 August the Trust asks for dogs on a lead or close at heel.
Never light a fire, and stay out of the woods during a storm and just after one, when trees and branches come down. From November to January, set off by 12.30pm. For a coffee and something from the oven afterwards, KJ's Bothy Bakery has a takeaway counter on the Achnagonalin Industrial Estate at the edge of town, open Wednesday to Saturday from 8am to 3pm.
If it rains
Pines overhead most of the way and firm paths underfoot, so it is a fair walk in light rain; in a gale or after one, keep out, as the Trust asks. The Green Trail is the short, dry-shod choice.
Before you go
Book accommodation nearby
If you are staying over: here are ours nearest where the day starts and ends.
Where to eat
KJ's Bothy Bakery, a restaurant in Grantown-on-Spey.
For further reading, before you go.
Photograph by John Baxter-Harris via Google