Balblair Wood and Loch Fleet walk offers chance to see winter-visiting birds
He's a figure of division and derision in the Highlands. George Granville Leveson-Gower, the first Duke of Sutherland, was a notorious figure in the 19th-century Highland Clearances, responsible for driving families off his land to make way for sheep.
The statuesque monument to him, lording it over all on Ben Bhraggie, above Golspie, was erected after his death in 1833. It has come under attack more than once, with an attempt to dynamite it in 1994, while in 2011 a police investigation was launched after damage to the structure.
But it still stands, and on this walk around Balblair Wood and Loch Fleet National Nature Reserve, you can keep a close eye on the duke, with the monument visible from various vantage points on the circuit.
It starts from a car park off the minor road leading south past Golspie Links golf course, ending at Littleferry. From the parking space, which is around two kilometres before Littleferry, a track goes initially west through a gate, where information boards reveal what can be seen on the reserve.
Balblair Wood is characterised by majestic Scots pines and the track leads on through them. Animal inhabitants include roe deer, fox, stoat, pine marten, crested tit and crossbill, and the wood is also notable for three wild flowers – creeping lady's tresses, an orchid exclusive to Scotland, twinflower, and the rare one-flowered wintergreen, also known as St Olaf's candlestick.
The track soon crosses a bridge over a burn, with a good view of Ben Bhraggie and the first clear view of the monument which, at 100ft high, can be seen for miles. Keep straight on, with signs at the side of the track for a hide, which lies further on, while the basin of Loch Fleet is visible through the trees.
Pass some picnic tables and take a look inside the substantial wooden hide, off to the left, to view the birds on the loch. Loch Fleet is the most northerly estuary on Scotland's east coast – a tidal basin surrounded by dunes, saltmarsh and woodland, making it an ideal habitat for a wide variety of species.
At this time of year, winter migrants such as greylag and pink-footed geese are prevalent, especially early and late in the day. Other birds to look out for are eider duck, oystercatcher, curlew, bar-tailed godwit and redshank.
We left the hide and pressed on to reach a house at Balblair. It's occupied, so take care not to disturb the residents. Rounding the house, Rosemary and I took a faint track across the saltmarsh towards the pebbly loch shore and turned right, following the shoreline. Seals haul out on the exposed sandbanks, though we saw none today. The tide was out during our walk, but other than at the highest tides there is a sufficient margin for walking.
The pebbles are rough under foot so progress is slowed down, but that offers more of a chance to view the birds – remember to take binoculars with you. Two small headlands jut out into the loch and after rounding the second one we kept walking west, looking directly at the A9, carried over the water by a bridge leading up from The Mound – a tidal barrier built by Thomas Telford in 1816.
Red waymarkers point the way, eventually leading back into the forest along an overgrown path, which reaches a track. Continue along this to a junction where there's a dilapidated treehouse lookout. Keep straight on here and follow the track back to the start.
Route details
Balblair Wood and Loch Fleet
Distance 5 miles / 8km
Terrain Tracks, paths and pebbly shoreline
Start/finish Car park located on minor road to Littleferry from Golspie
Maps OS Landranger 21; OS Explorer 441
A wildlife spotting walk through woodland and along the shore of Loch Fleet – a tidal estuary
