Parking
Start at Braeloine car park beside the Visitor Centre, the access point for the estate’s waymarked walks.
Overview
About Fairy Lochan Path
Why go
- An easy one-hour loop links a chapel, lochan, woodland and river.
Heads up
- Reeds partly screen the lochan, limiting the open-water view.
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Cairngorms map
Full mapElevation150–167 m
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Safety
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 Fairy Lochan Path, 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
Glen Tanar and Fairy Lochan0:00 / 0:33
“Glen Tanar Visitor Centre is coming up, in the former Braeloine Cottage. Park at Braeloine and cross the old arched bridge to reach its heritage displays and ranger advice.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Cairngorms Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Alder’s Underground Helpers
- The Woodland Drumroll
- Rowan Through the Seasons
- How the Mountains Divide the Rain
- 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 Fairy Lochan Path
A short glen loopFairy Lochan Path is a 3.5 km (about 2.
Fairy Lochan Path is a 3.5 km (about 2.2-mile) loop from Braeloine Visitor Centre; allow about an hour. It passes Chapel of St Lesmo, reaches the reed-fringed lochan, then crosses mixed woodland and returns beside the Water of Tanar. The estate describes crushed stone and grass underfoot, with a few short, gentle slopes. It’s an easy way to see several parts of Glen Tanar without taking on a longer walk.
Follow the Fairy Lochan circuitStart from Braeloine and follow the waymarked Fairy Lochan route through the chapel and lochan.
Start from Braeloine and follow the waymarked Fairy Lochan route through the chapel and lochan. The Riverbank Path is a separate walk, with a longer riverside section over a glacial moraine ridge. A combined itinerary measures the two walks together at 4.9 km, so that distance does not describe this loop. Stay with the Fairy Lochan waymarks if you want the shorter circuit.
Pause at the reedsFairy Lochan is reed-fringed rather than an open-water viewpoint.
Fairy Lochan is reed-fringed rather than an open-water viewpoint. In summer, look along its edges for damselflies and dragonflies; the estate specifically points visitors here for them. The quiet lochan is the route’s main natural stop, while the Water of Tanar gives the return a different feel.
Chapel and practical startChapel of St Lesmo is a stone landmark on the route.
Chapel of St Lesmo is a stone landmark on the route. Toilets are available at the Visitor Centre before you set off; no food stop on the path was confirmed. Dogs are allowed under the Scottish Outdoor Access Code. Keep them under close control, and use a short lead or keep them at heel around livestock and during bird-breeding season.
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.
