Length: 7km/4.25 miles
Time : 2 hours for the whole loop/30 mins return for Ossian’s Hall section only.
Ascent: 140m
Parking: NTS car park signposted ‘The Hermitage’ off the A9 near Dunkeld
Rating : 3.5 out of 5
‘The Hermitage’ is a very well known riverside and woodland walk in gentle Perthshire but for some reason, I’d whizzed past the car park countless times, hardly giving it another thought but after finally doing the whole loop I thought -why did I leave it so long before doing it??
This is a fairly gentle walk compared to an actual hill walk but one very much worth doing – waterfalls, a rushing whisky coloured river, old stone bridges, some of Britain’s highest trees, red squirrels, the lovely Victorian folly of Ossian’s Hall (The Hermitage), a mysterious cave…constant interest.Probably best done in autumn when the deciduous woodland will be at its best – this area is known as Big Tree Country. We caught it just before that but it was still well worth the 2 hour time investment.
Even only doing the first flat, easy, short section of barely 15mins or so (each way)is so rewarding.There is a parallel ‘all abilities’ path to Ossian’s Hall and the wonderful views over the waterfalls. On this early October sunny day we did the whole loop – called the River Braan loop – which took us through forestry, woodland, more waterfalls and across moorland with some lovely views across the rolling countryside.
I’d give it 3.5 stars out of 5 overall.It’s certainly a walk I’d do again, although my heart does tend to be in the mountains!
We’d spent a great family weekend in pretty Pitlochry , a short drive north so this was a chance to fit in a simple walk on the return journey south.
Off we set along the excellent track beside the River Braan, the air very crisp and clear.It had been quite dry (surprisingly!) so I wasn’t sure how impressive the waterfalls would be.
To Ossian’s Hall
There’s a huge history behind the creation of The Hermitage and the whole ‘wild garden’ design which resulted, in the 18th century, in this lovely corner of Perthshire.More here:
https://www.nts.org.uk/visit/places/the-hermitage/highlights/big-tree-country
The first short section was through really lovely woodland mixed with tall Douglas Firs, some of the tallest in Britain – Perthshire is renowned for beautiful tree cover especially in autumn when the landscape turns every shade of copper and gold.
It only took 12 mins to reach Ossian’s Hall, built in 1782 by the Dukes of Atholl and designed to give visitors a sudden thrill as they walked through the building and out onto a balcony perched right over the rushing river.The Hall looks like a small stone temple and sits very prettily amongst the pine trees, beeches and oaks.For some bizarre reason, I managed NOT to get a photograph of it!
Even 250 years later ,the sight of the Black Linn falls was really was something! Wow! I don’t think I’ve seen better waterfalls in terms of sheer scale than those in Iceland but our waterfalls are SO beautiful and in such lovely settings, that they have a magical quality of their own.This was spectacular.
We stood for ages just admiring the tumbling whisky coloured water, crashing through the narrow gorge.There’s something mesmerising about rushing rivers, slightly scary too…one slip…
Adjacent, was a beautiful, old stone bridge.
Next visit, we need to explore more of the section on the other side of the bridge because there is an intriguing pine seat which is designed to lie down on, to better admire the tree canopy above.
Following the green wooden signposts for the Braan walk, on the Hall side of the river, we headed upstream on the good path, stopping for a bit at Ossian’s Cave and having a peek inside.(Ossian was a 3rd century Bard.)
The path soon headed deeper into the woodland before winding uphill a little and finally bringing us to a clearing with an old cottage ahead.
The very useful signpost told us to turn left for Rumbling Bridge and soon took us out into an open section where we got some nice views of the knolly, rolling hills.The bracken was already a deep bronze colour.
Rumbling Bridge
Once beyond this open section, we headed down a minor road for a short distance then came to Rumbling Bridge, another old stone bridge over a gorge with an impressive small waterfall.It was a lovely spot and we followed a small path down to the river’s edge, a really glorious spot where we sat on the rocks and had a break.
A walking guide was leading a large group of American visitors and I felt really pleased that they had hit a bit of decent weather for their trek.
Tomgarrow
The route now took us back into the woodland, always well marked by the green signposts, with one or two viewpoints over the river which soon lay far below us.Then another minor road crossing and onto a beautiful track which took us to the highest point of the loop with some fine views to the more distant Southern Highlands.
Across the moorland and past two very lonely cottages at Tomgarrow with nice views to the low hills above Dunkeld village. Then over a stile and back into denser conifer of the Ladywell Plantation for the final 3km or so back to the car park.
This last part wasn’t my favourite as I don’t enjoy commercial forestry tracks – there never seems to be much to see anywhere! So I took a mark or so off the walk because of this slightly dreary section.In winter, under snow, it would look lovely though.
Always following the signposts, we turned left again at a big bend and made our way down to the tiny hamlet of Inver, then briefly along the side of the A9 (on a safe pedestrian section) to the car park.
A delightful use of 2 hours! Though I might only go as far as Rumbling bridge or perhaps Tomgarrow, then retrace my steps as this first 3.5km or so was early the loveliest section of the loop.
Map of the loop/area here:
annestravelsandhikes.com 