Parking
Use the car park beside the Glenlivet Estate Information Centre, just south of Tomintoul.
Overview
About Old Military Road Walk, Tomintoul
Why go
- Open views across the Conglass valley to Ben Rinnes
- A real section of an 18th-century military road
Heads up
- Loose, uneven ground can hold large puddles
- A long, gradual climb leads to the viewpoint
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Cairngorms map
Full mapElevation356–402 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 Old Military Road Walk, Tomintoul, 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
Glenlivet Estate Visitor Centre and Mindfulness Trail0:00 / 0:31
“You're nearing Glenlivet Estate Visitor Centre at the south end of Tomintoul.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Cairngorms Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Tomintoul Square, Museum and Whisky Castle
- Queen’s View over Glen Avon
- Still Viewpoint’s Mirrored Frame
- A Squirrel’s Mushroom Store
- 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 Old Military Road Walk, Tomintoul
The routeThis 2.
This 2.5-mile (4 km) out-and-back starts at the Glenlivet Estate Information Centre and follows a section of the Old Military Road to a viewpoint. Allow about 1½ hours. The broad track climbs gently, with a long 1 km rise near the viewpoint; it is a moderate walk rather than a steep one.
The viewThe open viewpoint looks across the Conglass valley and farmland toward Ben Rinnes.
The open viewpoint looks across the Conglass valley and farmland toward Ben Rinnes. The changing view is the payoff for the steady climb. Keep some of the fields in the foreground if you want to show the valley’s scale.
UnderfootThe track is loose and uneven in places, and wet weather can leave large puddles.
The track is loose and uneven in places, and wet weather can leave large puddles. Expect a rougher walk than the short distance suggests. Turn around at the viewpoint and return the same way.
A road with a long historyThe route follows part of the military road built under Major Caulfield in the 1750s to link…
The route follows part of the military road built under Major Caulfield in the 1750s to link the forts at Corgarff and Braemar. It is a simple way to walk a real stretch of that old line.
Starting outBegin at the Glenlivet Estate Information Centre car park.
Begin at the Glenlivet Estate Information Centre car park. Toilets and benches are available at the centre. Keep dogs on a lead around livestock.
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.
