Parking
Use the Old Kirk car park beside Castle Roy, off the B970 in Nethy Bridge.
Overview
About Castle Roy Loop
Castle Roy Loop is a moderate 1.5-mile (2.5 km) circuit from Abernethy Old Kirk car park, taking about one hour. It links Castle Roy and the Old Kirk with a walk through pine woodland. Follow the pink dashed circuit on the local paths map; the longer 3.5-mile figure-eight nearby is a separate walk.
Why go
- Castle Roy, Abernethy Old Kirk and pine woodland fit into one short loop.
Heads up
- Kissing gates and narrow grassy or earthy paths may be awkward for some visitors.
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Cairngorms map
Full mapElevation217–271 m
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
3 active Cairngorms alerts
- CautionStorm Boelo high windsStorm Boelo will bring extremely windy weather to the Cairngorms; take extra care and limit time outdoors. - The Park Authority expects the very windy weather to last until Monday 26 October.Official details
- ClosureGlenmore wildfire closures and dangerous treesWildfire damage has closed Allt Mor car park and the path to Sugarbowl/Utsi’s Bridge; keep out of the closed area.Official details
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Cairngorms Tour Guide
Your drive to Castle Roy Loop, narrated.
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Cairngorms National Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
See the Cairngorms audio tourRecorded for this trailhead
Castle Roy and its Courtyard0:00 / 0:32
“Up ahead is Castle Roy, a roofless medieval Comyn fortress on a grassy mound above Strathspey. I'd allow twenty to thirty minutes for the courtyard, grounds and mountain views; there's no furnished interior to tour.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Cairngorms Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Explore Abernethy and the River Nethy
- The Discs Beneath an Oak Leaf
- A Flood for the Timber
- The Redstart’s Quivering Tail
- 298 audio storiesacross Cairngorms’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
- Wildlife heatmapsfor Red Deer, Reindeer, Osprey, and 13 more
- Works offlinemaps, 260 trails, 90 places, and audio download before you lose signal
- CarPlay readysimple controls built for the drive
“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
Trail guide
Hiking Castle Roy Loop
Ground and routeExpect mostly narrow grassy or earthy paths, gentle gradients, kissing gates and woodland…
Expect mostly narrow grassy or earthy paths, gentle gradients, kissing gates and woodland tracks. The start beside the Old Kirk gives quick access to Castle Roy before the loop heads into Craigmore Wood and returns to the village side. The short distance and gentle grades make it a manageable outing, though the gates and narrow tread can be awkward for some visitors.
DogsDogs may accompany walkers under Scotland’s outdoor access rules when kept under proper control.
Dogs may accompany walkers under Scotland’s outdoor access rules when kept under proper control. Keep them close or on a short lead around farm animals and ground-nesting birds (usually April to July), and remove dog waste.
Castle Roy and the Old KirkThe circuit takes in Abernethy Old Kirk and Castle Roy, a medieval Comyn fortress on a small…
The circuit takes in Abernethy Old Kirk and Castle Roy, a medieval Comyn fortress on a small glacial mound north of Nethy Bridge. Accounts differ on whether the castle dates to the 12th or 13th century, so its exact age is uncertain. Its walls still stand about 25 feet high; a local preservation effort began in 1994, and the castle opened to the public in 2022. The stone entrance arch and walls are the route’s most distinctive photo stop.
Wildlife
Wildlife in Cairngorms
159 sightingsRed DeerMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
63 sightingsReindeerMost seen around 6 PMSighting map
102 sightingsOspreyMost seen around 5 PMSighting map
37 sightingsBlack GrouseMost seen around 4 AMSighting map
72 sightingsRed GrouseMost seen around 6 PMSighting map
82 sightingsPine MartenMost seen around 9 PMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Cairngorms. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
