Autumn gold
Scotland’s 10 best seasonal walks
Summer gently fades – and autumn slips in so quietly. It may start with an earthiness in the breeze or a crisping of the leaves. Rowan berries redden, swallows gather for the next stage in their world tour and the first geese start to mobilise. Soon the trees are a riot of colour, waters run high and the forces of nature converge in a spellbinding show of seasonal change.
And Scotland does autumn beautifully well, with countless walks taking us to the heart of the transition.
Perthshire wears the new season crown with “Big Tree Country” offering up vast woodlands of towering firs, dingley dells and roaring rivers that have long inspired.
The Hermitage near Dunkeld
is one of the best places to see it all. Here, magnificent Douglas firs are patchworked with natives such as oak, hazel and birch with the changing canopy filtering the light as you make your way to the thunderous Black Linn Falls. In the air you’ll catch the tang of pine needles and you may witness a salmon leap from the water as it makes its way home. Here, you will meet autumn head on.
Lady Mary’s Walk near Crieff
is a gentle 2.5 mile stroll through woods by the River Earn where sweet chestnuts and oaks warm the heart as kingfishers and oystercatchers line the way. Trowan Wood beckons for a further adventure as does a climb to nearby Laggan Hill.
Further north and the delights of Loch Faskally, the River Tummel and Faskally Forest come into one with a lovely waterside walk from Pitlochry to Killiecrankie. You can do the full 12 miles between the two or break up with easy to achieve sections that take in wonderful views of the surrounding Cairngorm
At Corrieshalloch Gorge National Nature Reserve near Ullapool you can test your head for heights on the viewing platform over the deep drop to the water below. Continue to the Falls of Measach and up into the surrounding countryside where you will catch lovely views over to magnificent Loch Broom.
The joys of autumn aren’t confined to the north. A trail around the historic town of Dunfermline, taking in Pittencrieff Park and the glorious grounds of the historic abbey will indulge your search for some seasonal splendour, as will a venture through Dawyck Botanic Gardens near Peebles , 65 acres of woods, burns and fungi.
At Dollar Glen, you’ll venture deep into woodland in the shadow of the Ochils, with the tumbling waterfalls of the Burns of Care and Sorrow stirring the imagination, as do the ruins of the 15th century Castle Campbell. Further south and you will find Glen Trool, a true gem of the Galloway Forest Park. Here, a six-mile path will lead you around Loch Trool, a peaceful body of water in the shadows of the Merrick, the highest peak in the south of Scotland. It makes a perfect afternoon out, with the call of home ever sweeter as the temperature nips and the afternoon light starts to fall away.