Loch Lee – A Castle and a Loch at the End of Glen Esk's Road
Glen Esk is the longest of the Angus glens, and its road gives out at Invermark, where a ruined tower house guards the way to Loch Lee.
An easy track leads from the car park past the castle to the water, a long, quiet loch shut in by steep heather hills. Walk as far along it as you like, then stop at the Glenesk Folk Museum on the way back down the glen.
- Time
- About an hour to the foot of the loch and back, 3.6 km (2.2 miles). About three hours to the head of the loch and back, 10 km (6 miles). An easy track.
- The path
- An unsurfaced estate track beside the river and the loch.
- Where to start
- The Invermark car park at the end of the public road up Glen Esk. Free. DD9 7YZ is the nearest postcode.
- When to go
- All year in daylight. From November to January set off by noon to walk the length of the loch. The museum is closed on Mondays and from 21 December 2026 to 4 February 2027.
- Dogs
- Welcome, on a lead among the sheep.
- Children
- Easy going to the foot of the loch. The whole length is a long walk for small legs.
- Toilets
- None at Invermark: the nearest are at the Tarfside car park, down the glen.
- Before you set out
- A working estate: keep to the track in the stalking season, with hinds from 21 October to 15 February.
The walk
The public road up Glen Esk ends at the Invermark car park, which is free, and DD9 7YZ is the nearest postcode. There are no toilets here. The nearest are at the Tarfside car park, back down the glen. A track sets off beside the Water of Lee, and within a few minutes Invermark Castle stands over it, a tall, roofless tower house among the trees. The foot of Loch Lee is about 1.8 km from the car park, so an hour is enough to reach the water and come back.
The loch is long and narrow, with steep heather hills on both sides, and the track carries on along the shore for another 3 km to its head. That makes about 10 km there and back, and three hours. It's easy walking beside the water all the way. Queen Victoria came this way in 1861 and described "a wild but not large lake, closed in by mountains". The loch is fished from boats in summer, and sheep graze the low ground, so keep dogs on a lead.
Deer are stalked on these hills, with hinds in season from 21 October to 15 February, so keep to the track and follow any notice at the car park. Beyond the head of the loch a rougher path climbs to the Falls of Unich, which is a much longer day. The road up the glen is narrow and has no other way out, so allow time for it. From November to January, set off by noon if you mean to walk the length of the loch.
If it rains
The track is firm and low, so a shower does no harm, though there's no shelter by the loch. On a wet day walk to the foot of the loch and no further, and give the museum longer.
Afterwards
About 10 min by car
Glenesk Folk Museum
An attraction
The Glenesk Folk Museum is beside the glen road near Tarfside, about ten minutes' drive down the glen from Invermark. It's a small museum of life in the glen, with a café and a shop, and entry is £5 for adults and free for under-16s. Until 31 October it's open Tuesday to Thursday from 10am to 4.30pm and Friday to Sunday from noon to 4.30pm. From 1 November it opens Tuesday to Sunday from noon to 3.30pm, so walk first on a winter day. It's closed on Mondays, and shut altogether from 21 December 2026 until it reopens on 5 February 2027. Well-behaved dogs are welcome inside.
Before you go
Book accommodation nearby
If you are staying over: here are ours nearest where the day starts and ends.
For further reading, before you go.
Photographs by Seungho Lee and Susanne Klimt via Google