ACTIVE OUTDOORS: Spinning yarns on woodland wander at Ledmore and Migdale

There are many “Fairy Glens” about the Highlands, and on a bright autumnal afternoon it was easy to be enchanted by a route that could easily claim to be rich in fairy tales.

The Fairy Glen Road that leaves the A949 at Spinningdale to climb up through the woods to Migdale is one I’ve enjoyed cycling on a few memorable occasions, but this time I was planning to stop and explore the woodland on foot.

There’s so much to see in this magical place, but what struck me was the peace and tranquillity as I enjoyed a very gentle run to explore as much of the area as I could.

Starting at the Torroy parking area – signed off the road to the right when heading up the hill from Spinningdale – I followed the path upwards past a map of the site. Not far up here is a great shelter with more information about the area, which includes three Sites of Special Scientific Interest.

The land is owned by the Woodland Trust Scotland who joined forces with Trees For Life to reintroduce red squirrels here at the Migdale pinewood – one of those sites – in autumn 2019.

The path continues past the shelter, through a kissing gate, then drops down to the left to reach the minor road. Going right along the road for a short distance brings you to the main track, off to your left, down to the beautiful Loch Migdale.

On the way there are giant squirrel artworks to spot before you reach the release site for the reds. Keeping straight ahead at the first junction, a sometimes muddy track continues to a second junction shortly before reaching the loch – you can just see it through the trees!

Turn left and cross the outflow of the loch on a concrete bridge. The route turns left at the next junction, up a grassy track initially, but first it is worth continuing round to the right to reach a small beach area at the west end of Loch Migdale.

The water was mirror calm, reflecting the autumnal colours of the trees covering the lower slopes of the Migdale Rock to the right.

Heading back to the grassy track, there was now a long climb – that was particularly wet underfoot – to reach the next junction. A shorter route is possible from here, but I wanted to climb to the top of the 186m hill, A’Chraisg, so I turned right to pass a sculpted bench with two acorns for decoration which overlooks the loch from high above. The bench is one of two on the route handcrafted by Ardgay’s Bill Ross.

There was still some climbing but the gradient had eased now, and it was a pleasant run through birch and pine woods onto the moor above to reach the summit cairn. What a spectacular view there is from here! It was hard to know where to look, with the Dornoch Firth stretched out below and behind me the grand hills of Sutherland and Wester Ross to spot.

A fine track led downhill through heather, birch and pine and it was a fun descent after all that climbing! Where the track swings sharp left, leave the waymarked route to turn right along another track that connects with the Spinningdale View route.

Further on, I wanted to take the out-and-back path through the Ledmore oakwood, another of the area’s SSSIs, to a viewpoint over the village of Spinningdale and the firth beyond. The junction is marked by an old post, but with the Ledmore and Migdale panel missing. Rather than a track junction, it is just a narrow path heading off to the right into the woods.

The path meanders nicely and soon I found myself twisting and turning between the oaks and running along a bed of brown oak leaves.

From the mid-18th to mid to late 19th century, the oakwood here was coppiced to provide bark for the tannin used to cure leather during the industrial revolution, as well as for harnesses and boots in the Napoleonic wars.

Eventually I reached the end of the path, where a simple timber bench overlooks the fine view. The ruin of the old mill at Spinningdale can be seen clearly on the shore of the firth.

George Dempster (1732-1818), a tree enthusiast and reformer, bought Skibo estate in 1786. Honest George, as he was known, founded Spinningdale in the early 1790s, hoping to convert “Sutherlandshire into Lancashire”. As part of a partnership, a stone mill and around 20 cottages were built, with the mill employing around 100 people. However, it proved to be of little success and the building was sold before being destroyed by fire in 1806.

Returning through the oakwoods to the track, I turned right to continue downhill – very steeply and slippery in places – all the way down to almost in the village itself. You emerge at a T-junction with some containers in a kind of parking or working area. Go left here and the muddy track leads you back to the Spinningdale Bog SSSI.

Keep straight on where you are joined by the orange and purple marked routes and cross a new wooden bridge before reaching the junction nearest the road. Turn right to follow your route back to Torroy after this magical woodland adventure.

Route details

Ledmore and Migdale woods

Distance 6 miles / 10km

Terrain Forest tracks and paths on mostly waymarked trails, steep and muddy in places

Start/finish Torroy car park on the Migdale to Spinningdale road – the Fairy Glen Road

Map OS Landranger 21; OS Explorer 438

Exploring the magical Fairy Glen woodland and climbing to a couple of spectacular viewpoints

https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/visiting-woods/woods/ledmore-migdale/