Wonderful waterfalls
Enjoy an adventure on pictureque wooded trails and discover these stunning cascades of water
Plodda Falls, near Tomich
A831 from Loch Ness to Cannich (12 miles), then four miles to Tomich, a further three miles up mainly woodland, quite potholed track to car park. A 1,312ft walk down through woods of Scots pine and ancient Douglas fir to enchanting woodland site and the Forestry Commission’s vertiginous viewpoint over the 492ft fall. Pools excellent for swimming. The Tweedmouth Trail is an easy 1.4-mile loop.
Glenashdale Falls, Arran
Two-mile walk from bridge on main road at Whiting Bay. Signed up the burn side, but uphill and further than you think, so allow two hours (return). Series of falls in a rocky gorge in the woods with paths so you get right down to the brim and the pools. There’s another waterfall walk, Eas Mòr, further south off the A841 at the second Kildonan turn-off. Steep start but a bracing one-hour gorge and woodland hike.
The Falls of Clyde, New Lanark
Dramatic falls in a long gorge of the Clyde. New Lanark, the conservation village of Robert Owen, the social reformer, is signed from Lanark. The path to the power station is less than a mile, the route more interesting after it, a climb to the first fall (Corra Linn) and then to the next (Bonnington Linn). One of the mills is a decent family hotel, with some rooms. When the river is full, the Falls are a wonder.
Steall Falls, Glen Nevis, Fort William
Take Glen Nevis road at the roundabout outside town centre and drive to the end (10 miles) through glen. Start from the second and final car park, following marked path uphill through the woody gorge with River Nevis below. Glen eventually and dramatically opens out and there are great views of the long veils of the falls. Precarious three-wire bridge, for which you will need nerves of steel (you can see the falls from a distance).