Situated between the Marine Protection Area and Biosphere Reserve in Wester Ross, Inverewe is the gateway to wilderness in the Scottish North West Highlands.
Take a wildlife boat trip from the Inverewe Garden jetty. Skipper Jamie has years of experience on the waters around Wester Ross and will give you an amazing insight into the marine environment. Inquisitive seals will keep an eye on you while eagles soar above. But what will be in Jamie’s creel when he hauls it onto the deck of the Striker? Boat trips run during the summer months.
Pre-booking is essential for our 1 and 2 hour cruises – please call our Welcome Team on 01445 712953 for more information and to book your space. Please also note that you will need to pay for admission* to the garden (*members of the National Trust for Scotland enjoy free garden admission).
There’s a network of paths throughout the garden for you to explore at your leisure. Two trails lead around the estate: the Pinewood Trail (a 45-minute, low-level, circular walk) and the Kernsary Path (an 8-mile circular walk through some of the most beautiful wild scenery in Scotland). Both offer fantastic views.
Kernsary Path
Enjoy a walk through some of the most beautiful wild scenery in Scotland.
The walk is mostly on a formed mountain path and has some steep inclines and boggy/muddy patches. Please wear appropriate footwear.
Walk details
-
Difficulty
Moderate
-
Time
2 hours
-
Distance
5½ miles (9km)
-
Ascent
710ft (214m)
-
Start
Inverewe Visitor Centre
-
Finish
Inverewe Visitor Centre
-
Step 1
(1/6)Begin at the visitor centre and head out along the edge of the car park to the crossing point over the A832.
From here, head straight through the woods along the Pinewood Trail, ignoring the paths that branch off to the left.
The path eventually swings to the right and crosses a burn into another area of woodland.
Continue on as the trail meanders through the trees until you briefly pass across a clearing and arrive at a T-junction.
-
Step 2
(2/6)Here, turn left along the Kernsary path.
You are now in the Cnoc na Lise woods, which were planted by volunteers using native trees in the mid-1990s. The aim is to achieve a landscape that includes a harmonious mixture of native woodland and moorland, which will provide a diverse habitat for wildlife.
Continue on the path through a gate.
-
Step 3
(3/6)The woods are now left behind as the path heads across the moor.
The surface is excellent at first, but once Loch Kernsary is reached it becomes much rougher and rocks have to be crossed in one or two places.
-
Step 4
(4/6)Just before you reach the loch, cross a small burn and then follow the path along the north shore.
There are good views to the Torridon mountains on a clear day.
The big mountain that looms before you is Beinn Airigh Charr (hill of the shieling). In the past, people lived in shielings during the summer while their animals grazed the mountain pasture.
-
Step 5
(5/6)After crossing two more burns, look carefully to your right for a flat, heather-covered area of ground above the loch and see if you can spot Rubha Ban – the remains of a prehistoric, heather-covered round house.
-
Step 6
(6/6)After around 300m, you reach the edge of the land in the Trust’s care.
From here you can either retrace your steps to the visitor centre, or continue to follow the path around the loch for another 5 miles (8km) to complete the whole loop.
Further walks
Pinewood Trail
Enjoy a 45-minute circular walk through the pinewood along mostly well-defined paths but with some inclines, steps and rough sections.
The walk is 1¼ miles (2km).