Glen Markie Track

Glen Markie Track is a 25 km (15.5 mi) one-way walk from Spey Dam to the public road at the north end of Loch Killin. It climbs through Glen Markie, crosses open ground northeast of Geal Charn, then descends beside the Crom Allt toward the former Sronlarig Lodge site. This is a hard, remote full-day walk, not a circuit; allow around 8–10 hours. That is a planning estimate because no official time is published. The published route is 25 km, while its map line measures about 21.4 km. Plan around 25 km and treat the line as an approximate guide, especially across the rough middle ground.

Start at Spey Dam, where parking is noted. You finish on the road north of Loch Killin, not back at the dam; Whitebridge is another 7 km beyond that point. Arrange a pickup or a second vehicle before setting out. The 35 km Laggan–Whitebridge link is a longer route, and the 17 km Geal Charn return is a separate outing from the same general start. Neither is the route described here.

From the dam, follow the rough track north for almost 5 km. It peters out just beyond Piper’s Burn. Cross Markie Burn by the substantial footbridge, then head northwest up the ridge northeast of Lochan a’ Choire toward the corrie lip. Wet peat along the east-side approach makes the line difficult to pick out in places, so don’t expect a clear vehicle track all the way up.

The route crosses the flat plateau northeast of Geal Charn, then drops to Lochan na Lairige; it does not climb Geal Charn itself. The ground rises from about 264 m at Spey Dam to roughly 825 m on the mapped line before descending. Cairns mark the col, and the burns help show the old line across the rough peat hags. This is open hill country where navigation matters more than following a continuous path.

From Lochan na Lairige, follow smooth grassy streamside flats north beside the Crom Allt to a windfarm access road. The route jogs west for about 250 m, then northeast for about 350 m to regain the older track near a chalybeate spring that isn’t obvious. Follow the burn downstream and bear left at the junction for the former Sronlarig Lodge site. From there it is about 5 km, passing Killin Lodge, to the road at Loch Killin’s north end.

This was reportedly the preferred route from Laggan toward Inverness, with ancient cairns at the col. Burns offered a natural line through a landscape of peat hags, long before parts of the route were overlain by land-rover and estate tracks. The walk passes the site of Sronlarig Lodge, built for Lord Lovat in 1903 and tied to the history of the Lovat Scouts; treat it as a former lodge site, not a promised standing building.