Out of Glen Einich and into Glen Feshie

Monday 30th May 2016

When I got up at the start of this day. the clouds were down low around the head of Glen Einich in the Cairngorms Mountains and it seemed like they would never lift making my planned walk up Coire Dhondail onto the vast upland plateau of Braeriach seem like a waste of time. I had walked into Glen Einich the previous morning in good weather only o find rain in the afternoon. With no sign of the cloud lifting anytime soon, I packed up my tent and started heading down the wide landrover track out of the valley even though I had seen a weather forecast that said there would be clear views from the tops of the mountains, but I wasn’t prepared to wait for the clouds to lift. Of course, the clouds did lift and by the afternoon I would have had clear views and by then I was gutted that I hadn’t stayed. The grey overcast start to the day didn’t last and by lunchtime the weather was gorgeous and sunny once more, but because I am impatient, by the time I was back at Loch an Eilein the weather was good. Sadly I spent the rest of the day regretting my decision to leave Glen Einich and couldn’t help thinking about the day I could have spent on the plateau that encircles An Garbh Choire and houses some of the highest mountains in Scotland.

Instead I was walking back along the track beside Am Beanaidh under overcast skies through a peat moor until the valley closed in and trees began to appear. Eventually I reached the point where a footpath branches off the track to follow a divine route closer to the river while the landrover track takes a higher route. Since I’d taken the footpath the previous day I thought I’d now take the higher route, however even though it was better underfoot I think it would have been better for me to retrace my steps as the views on the footpath had been beautiful. After plunging into the Rothiemurchus Forest, I eventually reached Loch an Eilein where I turned left onto the loch circular path to follow the south-eastern shore as far as the stream outflowing from Loch Gamhna. At that point there is a path that is marked “Path Not Maintained”, which I took heading south away from Loch an Eilein, past Loch Gamhna and into the Invereshie and Inshriach National Nature Reserve.

I soon found myself walking in a wonderfully natural and wild woodland terrain: a remnant of the ancient Caledonian Forest. With the sun shining brightly as I walked through this delightful landscape, I was enjoying myself and almost succeeded in keeping out of my mind the thought that I could have been at the top of a mountain at that moment. The crossing of the burn, the Allt Coire Follais, was such a delightful spot that I had my lunch there before setting off once more along the slender path that heads past an old timber shooting bothy and a boggy wetland before plunging into a dreary conifer plantation. The contrast between the broad range of plants in the reserve and the monoculture of the timber factory was startling and depressing. Wide forest roads brought me through the plantation and finally to the road at Feshiebridge.

I had planned on starting this holiday by walking through Glen Feshie, but had changed my plans due to the good weather the previous morning. Now I resumed my original plan having lost a day venturing up Glen Einich and walked along the road into Glen Feshie with the woodlands and mountains of the nature reserve on my left and more extensive plantations across the River Feshie to my right. I had heard a lot of good things about Glen Feshie and was looking forward to seeing this valley for myself, but first I had to walk past miles of conifer plantations until I eventually reached the southern end of the road and of the nature reserve. I had noticed on the map that at this point there wasn’t a bridge over the Allt Fhearnagan, but there was one further upstream inside a wood. Therefore, once I had left the road I dragged my heavy rucksack up the hillside into the wood and followed a thin path to the noisy cascades of the burn, but no sign of a bridge.

The sight of the foaming stream was compensation for the climb and I was easily able to cross the stream lower down and make my way down a slender path that was a blessing after the wide tracks and roads that I had been walking upon during my holiday until this point. This brought me to the simple ford that I should have taken that would have brought me into the Glenfeshie Estate and from there a good, well-made path headed up the valley. It was now a joy to walk through this amazing valley where nature has been given a little free rein to create a landscape that is both beautiful and striking. The manufactured path took me effortlessly past the Pony’s Bridge, which is now the only bridge in Glen Feshie still standing, as far as the Allt Garbhlach burn. Steps lead down towards the stream and then stop on the edge of a steep drop leading to a wide array of stones thrown down by the tumult of the burn. The Lake District grabbed all the headlines for the heavy rain last winter, but Scotland was almost as badly hit and this was my first sign of the devastation. Carefully I made my way down to, across the stream and back up the eroded bank to resume my walk along what had been an easy path.

More devastation awaited me requiring that I climb the wooded bank to get way from the River Feshie itself that had washed away the path that had dared to be too close to the river. Rather than detracting from my enjoyment of Glen Feshie, this evidence of the savagery of nature, untamed by man, added to its appeal. The weather continued to be amazing all afternoon and was still good after I reached the Ruigh Aiteachan Bothy and helped me fall in love with this adorable place, despite the mice. I spent a gorgeous evening without a cloud in the sky sitting outside the bothy reading a book while being serenaded by a friendly chaffinch. However, the thought of what this evening could have been like if I’d stayed in Glen Einich still plagued my mind. I was gutted that I had left Glen Einich, but the gorgeous valley of Glen Feshie and the fantastic weather had gone some way to compensating for what I’d missed.