The Touchstone Maze – A Labyrinth of Rock in Blackmuir Wood
About 2.2 miles on foot.
In Blackmuir Wood, at the edge of the old spa village of Strathpeffer, there is a labyrinth built of more than 80 ancient rocks from across the Highlands and Islands.
Forestry and Land Scotland's Touchstone Maze Trail leads up to it from a free car park: 3.6 km and about an hour and a half on gravel, with long views to the mountains. Forest works are going on in the wood through 2026, so expect a diversion here and there.
- Time
- About an hour and a half: Forestry and Land Scotland's Touchstone Maze Trail, 3.6 km (2.25 miles), graded moderate.
- The path
- Firm gravel throughout, uneven and loose in parts, with long moderate slopes for 700 metres.
- Where to start
- Blackmuir Wood car park, Forestry and Land Scotland's, signed as you come into Strathpeffer on the A834, less than a mile from the middle of the village. Free. IV14 9BT is the nearest postcode.
- When to go
- All year in daylight. Forest works are being done in the wood in phases through 2026: do as the signs on site say.
- Dogs
- Under close control. Check for ticks afterwards.
- Children
- A steady climb on a good path, with the maze to walk at the top.
- Toilets
- None in the wood. The nearest are in the middle of Strathpeffer, less than a mile away.
- Before you set out
- Forest works in phases through 2026, with short closures and path diversions.
The walk
Blackmuir Wood's car park is Forestry and Land Scotland's, and there's no charge. It's signed as you come into Strathpeffer on the A834, less than a mile from the middle of the village, and IV14 9BT is the nearest postcode. An old curling pond lies beside it. The Touchstone Maze Trail is two and a quarter miles, or 3.6 km, graded moderate, and takes about an hour and a half. It's firm gravel throughout, uneven and loose in parts, with long moderate slopes for 700 metres.
The maze is a labyrinth of more than 80 rocks set upright along paths that wind in towards the middle. Each is a different stone of the Highlands and Islands, and among them is Lewisian gneiss 3,000 million years old. On a clear day the trail has long views to the mountains as well. A shorter trail from the same car park, the Red Kite Trail, is a mile and a quarter, or 2 km, and takes about three quarters of an hour. It's a round by a lochan and young woodland, with views to Strathconon, the Fannichs and Ben Wyvis.
Walkers who want more can go on from the maze along the ridge called the Cat's Back to the Iron Age fort on Knockfarrel. Path repairs, forest road building and timber harvesting are being done in the wood in phases through 2026, with short closures and diversions, so do as the signs on site say. There are no toilets in the wood. The nearest are in the middle of Strathpeffer, which has shops and places to eat as well. Keep dogs under close control, and check for ticks afterwards.
If it rains
A firm gravel trail that copes with rain, though the long views go in low cloud. The maze is good in mist, when the rocks stand out of the grey one at a time.
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.