Corrie Fee – An Ice Age Amphitheatre at the Head of Glen Clova

The walk

The Glen Doll car park is at the very end of the public road up Glen Clova, beyond Clova village, and DD8 4RD is the nearest postcode. Parking is £3 for the day, by coins, card or RingGo, and there are toilets on site. Part of the car park has been closed since 24 August 2026 for up to three months of riverbank repairs, so use the overflow and the top end. Forestry and Land Scotland's Corrie Fee Trail is 6.9 km there and back and takes about two and a half hours. It's graded moderate, on firm but uneven gravel, with a steady climb of three quarters of a mile, a narrow bridge and rough rocky steps up to the viewing area. Then the trees end and the corrie opens in front of you, a huge bowl of crags with a burn, or stream, winding across its flat floor and waterfalls on the headwall.

It's a national nature reserve, and arctic-alpine plants left from the last Ice Age still grow on its ledges. Golden eagles are sometimes seen overhead. After last winter's storms this is the only waymarked trail open at Glen Doll. The others are closed, so don't plan a longer round. Timber lorries are using the forest road, so keep children and dogs close on that stretch. These are deer-stalking hills, and the national park asks walkers to follow any signs.

From November to January, set off by 11.30am. Under snow or ice the steps and the corrie are winter hill ground, so turn back at the edge of the forest unless you have the kit and know how to use it. The nearest place to eat is the Glen Clova Hotel, back down the road at Clova. Ring 01575 550350 to check it's serving before you count on it.