Walks | North-East
Loch Brandy
Start: Clova Hotel, Glen Clova, Nr Kirriemuir
Description: Walk up the hill-side to a lochan in a picturesque coire
OS Map: #44, Ballater & Glen Clova
Multimap: Online Map
Allow around two hours for a leisurely walk with time to take in the views.
Head for the Angus town of Kirriemuir (good ice cream shop!) and then follow signs out of the town to the north for "The Glens", looking for the B955 to Glen Clova. The road winds its way through pleasant countryside, with the glen closing in on either side as it nears it's top. The walk begins in the car park by the Clova Hotel, though the road carries on up to Braedownie, where more walks start, including two munros (Driesh and Mayar) and a longer walks to Glens Muick and Callater, over the Capel Mounth and Jock's Road respectively.
The path leaves the car park on the North side, through the lane up beside the old school house. The path quickly passes through a small copse of trees, crosses a stream and is out onto the open hillside. Going can be quite muddy underfoot as the path stays near to the stream, but there's plenty room to walk around the worst areas.
The path splits in two after about 3/4 of a mile, and while either route takes you to the lochan, the left hand fork is the more direct route. The gradient lessens some after this point, and the views behind to the South are fantastic on a clear day, and as you clear the hilltops the coast can be seen to the South-East. After about two miles, the path drops down to the loch side, in it's dramatic coire. Catch the time of day just right and light playing off the water onto the cliffs can seem magical.
From here, you can either return to the car park by the same route, or follow the path around the rim of the coire by climbing up The Snub around the West side, or by gaining the path taken by the right hand fork up to the Green Hill to the East, and then following the cliff round. Deer can often be seen silhouetted against The Snub, along with plenty of wild birds scouring the hill side for prey.
Return to the Clova Hotel for a thirst quenching pint, the food is well recommended!!