Loch Kinord Trail

Loch Kinord Trail is the circular 4-mile (6.5 km) walk from Burn O’ Vat visitor centre, through birch woodland, along the loch shore and back through the reserve. NatureScot allows about 2½ hours. It’s a good half-day walk if you want water, trees and archaeology together; there’s also a shorter 45-minute option in the reserve for a brief visit.

NatureScot classifies the trail as strenuous. Much of the path is firm, but it narrows around exposed roots and uneven ground, with short moderate slopes and occasional mud after rain. The effort comes from four miles on rougher ground than the modest elevation change suggests. There are occasional seats along the way.

Cross the B9119 from the visitor-centre car park and follow the blue-and-white duck markers. At a small stone chapel, take the left-hand fork downhill to the loch shore; the right branch leads toward Dinnet and leaves this circuit. The path follows the water before a marked turn inland and a return through birch woodland.

From the shore, look across to Crannog Island and Castle Island. The smaller island holds the remains of an Iron Age crannog, a dwelling built on a platform in the water; the larger island is a former castle site. The shore is the walk’s best stretch for seeing the islands clearly.

The inland return passes Kinnord Cross, a Pictish carved stone more than 1,000 years old, then crosses a low esker ridge left by meltwater. The loch basins were shaped by ice during the last Ice Age.

Spring and winter are especially good for birds. In winter, look for whooper swans and geese; otters live here but are hard to spot. From April through July, keep dogs on a short lead or under close control while birds breed on the lochs. Toilets are a short walk from the visitor centre, and two picnic benches are reached by a surfaced path; no food service was identified.