Parking
Start at Glen Tilt Car Park, where the estate posts its walking-route boards. Follow the road uphill toward Old Blair to join the marked circuit; use the car park for the distance above.
Overview
About Woodend Walk
Why go
- Diana’s Grove and the larch track give the walk a strong local story
- The Banvie Burn makes a distinct riverside finish
Heads up
- The mapped circuit is about 0.8 miles longer than its published figure
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Cairngorms map
Full mapElevation162–287 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 Woodend Walk, 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
Old Bridge of Tilt and the Red Squirrel Walk0:00 / 0:26
“You're approaching Old Bridge of Tilt, with woodland walks from Glen Tilt car park. For a short stop, I'd choose the red-marked Red Squirrel Walk, a gentle one-mile loop taking thirty to forty minutes beside the river.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Cairngorms Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Blair Castle and Gardens
- Atholl Country Life Museum and a Village Meal
- A Siege in the Family
- The Woodland Leaves That Fold
- 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 Woodend Walk
The walk in a nutshellWoodend Walk is a blue-marked loop from Glen Tilt Car Park through Blair Atholl parkland and…
Woodend Walk is a blue-marked loop from Glen Tilt Car Park through Blair Atholl parkland and larch woodland, returning beside the Banvie Burn. The published figure is 4.5 miles, but the complete mapped route measures about 5.3 miles; plan for the longer distance until that difference is clarified. Allow around three hours with stops. Expect a steady climb through the trees rather than a summit walk.
Follow the blue markersFrom the car park, take the road uphill to Old Blair, then turn left at the crossroads and…
From the car park, take the road uphill to Old Blair, then turn left at the crossroads and follow it around past Diana’s Grove. At the pony trekking centre, turn right onto the track. West Drive gives you a view over the castle parkland before the route climbs into larch woodland; gaps in the trees look down the valley toward Ben Vrackie. After the high point, follow the tumbling Banvie Burn back to the road and car park. A small detour reaches The Whim, a 1761 folly; from there, frame Blair Castle with Ben Vrackie beyond.
Old trees and larchDiana’s Grove was planted in 1737 by the second Duke of Atholl and holds a collection of exotic…
Diana’s Grove was planted in 1737 by the second Duke of Atholl and holds a collection of exotic conifers, including some of Britain’s tallest trees. The uphill section passes through larch, whose needles turn gold in autumn and fall for winter. The Atholl estates were early commercial larch planters, and hybrid larch was developed nearby at Dunkeld.
Access and dogsGlen Tilt Car Park is the starting point and has estate walking-route boards.
Glen Tilt Car Park is the starting point and has estate walking-route boards. Dogs are welcome under control; keep them close around livestock and hill sheep. During stag-stalking season, 1 August to 20 October, stay on main paths or follow the estate’s hillphone guidance. Check current estate notices before setting out for any temporary access changes.
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.
