Craig Phadrig

Sunday 26th May 2019

After a week of tiring walking, especially on the day before this when I walked over twenty miles along the Moray Coast Trail, I was looking for an easy day when I could have a rest, and since it was Sunday that seemed the best day to do it. I still wanted a walk and since I was staying in the city of Inverness my eye was drawn to Craig Phadrig, which is a hill that overlooks the city and has the remains of a Pictish fort at the summit. The weather was not conducive to a long walk so I was happy with my choice as I left the youth hostel under heavy rain and slowly made my way through the city towards the hill. It took me a long time to get there, partly because I missed the turning into Kenneth Street, but mainly because it was three miles of dull walking through quiet Sunday morning streets in the pouring rain. After crossing the Caledonian Canal I turned onto King Brude Road where the gradient started to rise which provided me with hazy views over the shrouded city until after climbing the steepest section I finally reached the car park for Craig Phadrig. There are two waymarked routes around the hill starting from the car park, one with blue-marked posts called the Hill Fort Trail, and the other with yellow-marked posts called the Craig Phadrig Trail. I decided I wanted to do both because that’s the kind of guy I am, so I set off along the yellow-marked trail into the Craigphadrig Forest.

A wide track crosses the western slopes of the hill and gradually begins to descend heading north with intermittent views available towards the Beauly Firth. This was a lovely woodland walk and it wasn’t long before the rain had stopped which enabled me to enjoy the pleasant surroundings without the encumbrance of waterproofs. After descending for a while and wondering if I was going in the right direction, I came upon a junction with a sharp turning to the right back up the hill. Relieved, I took this branch, marked with yellow posts, leaving the track that continues downhill, and headed up the hill but contoured around the western slopes just below the summit until I came across a blue-marked post at a turning to my left, which I took as it heads across the southern slopes of the hill steeply climbing up to the remains of the hill fort at the top of Craig Phadrig. All that is left now of the fort are some ridges around the top but these are clearly marked out and wide enough to walk upon, and I was fortunate in my timing as at that time of the year the area was covered in bluebells with a path on top of the ridge all the way around the spectacular display.

Despite the grey overcast weather conditions it was a joy to walk around the top of Craig Phadrig looking at the wild flowers arrayed all around me with stunning views also available across the Beauly Firth, though in clearer weather they would have been so much better. There were no views towards the city, but this was hardly a bad thing when surrounded by such natural beauty. While strolling around the top I gazed at the fabulous surroundings and took many pictures, but tragically only with my mobile because I’d left my camera in the youth hostel. Reluctantly I left the fort and steeply descended down on the blue-marked trail all the way around the top of Craig Phadrig eventually turning off the marked paths to bypass the steepest section of the road and join Leachkin Brae lower down. The weather was beginning to improve nicely by now and a bit of blue sky was even beginning to break through as I descended down to the Caledonian Canal. This prompted me to prolong the walk, so on reaching the canal I turned left and walked alongside it heading north until I reached the Clachnaharry Swing Bridge not far from the mouth of the canal. Rather than continuing right to the end, only to have to walk back again, I crossed the canal just before the railway crossing and headed back beside the canal until I reached a path that turns into the Merkinch Nature Reserve.

I walked through this area in 2014 and now I retraced my steps between tidal lagoons to reach the railway line once again. Crossing this I followed a path between the estuary and the beautiful natural scenery of the reserve until I reached a car park at the road end. This was a lovely moment walking under the brightening skies with the spectacular scenery of the Beauly Firth beside me and the Black Isle across the estuary while to my right was the “hidden gem” of the local nature reserve. I followed the road for a short distance before turning onto the short spit of land that follows the River Ness to its mouth ending at Carnac Point. This area had obviously been recently restored with the overgrown vegetation that I remembered from 2014 being cut back and the path widened. At the tip of Carnac Point substantial wooden tables have been erected with inspiring messages carved into them, and provided me with a wonderful place to sit and take in the spectacular scenery that is only partly marred by the large cable-stayed Kessock Bridge nearby.

Returning to the road I followed the River Ness back into the city centre, but it wasn’t long before it had started raining again and this time it hardly stopped until late in the afternoon. I was happy to return to the youth hostel having enjoyed the walk in the morning when it wasn’t raining at the top of Craig Phadrig, and especially when passing through the nature reserve. This gentle walk was just the sort of rest that I needed before heading back out into the hills the following day.