The Falls of Bruar – Burns, Stone Bridges and Waterfalls
About 1.5 miles on foot.
The Falls of Bruar tumble through a narrow rocky gorge in the hills above Blair Atholl, with two old stone bridges to cross and a path through the pines planted after Robert Burns wrote a poem asking for them.
The walk starts right behind the House of Bruar, so lunch in its glass-roofed restaurant is waiting when you come down. It suits walkers who want a waterfall without a long day.
- Time
- About an hour and a half on foot, round a 1.5-mile circuit.
- The path
- Steep climbs and steps, with sheer drops beside the path.
- Where to start
- Free, in the House of Bruar car park off the A9; the path starts behind the store.
- When to go
- The path is open all year; the House of Bruar restaurant opens every day, 9am to 5pm, lunch from noon.
- Dogs
- Keep them close above the sheer drops.
- Children
- Keep children close: sheer drops beside the path.
- Toilets
- In the House of Bruar, in its opening hours.
- Before you set out
- Kept up by Atholl Estates. The House of Bruar restaurant opens every day, 9am to 5pm, lunch from noon and main meals until 4.30pm, and shuts on Christmas Day and New Year's Day.
The walk
Park free at the House of Bruar. The path starts behind the store and loops up one side of the Bruar Water gorge and down the other, passing under the railway and crossing the falls by a lower and an upper bridge.
It's a 1.5-mile circuit with steep climbs and steps, so allow an hour and a half to take it slowly. The paths run along sheer drops above the gorge, so keep children and dogs close, and wear boots after rain, when the falls are at their fullest.
Leave a coin in the donation box at the start for the upkeep of the paths. Robert Burns came here in 1787, found the falls bare of trees and wrote The Humble Petition of Bruar Water, asking the Duke of Atholl to plant some; after Burns died, the Duke did.
If it rains
The falls are at their best a day after rain, but the path gets slippery: take the lower falls only in a downpour, and spend longer in the House of Bruar, all of it under a roof.
Afterwards
The House of Bruar restaurant
Lunch
Lunch is at the House of Bruar restaurant, where the path comes out behind the store: a self-service restaurant under a great glass roof, with lunches, home baking and a carvery every day, and tables outside in the sun. It's open every day from 9am to 5pm, with lunch from noon and main meals until 4.30pm, and it's shut on Christmas Day and New Year's Day.
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 Milton of Kincraigie in Blair Atholl, 4 miles away. Sleeps 4.
Where to eat
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The House of Bruar, a restaurant.