Follow in the footsteps of the Jacobite and Redcoat soldiers who travelled through the Pass of Killiecrankie on 27 July 1689.
Killiecrankie is part of the Pitlochry Path Network in Perthshire and you can tailor your walk to your ability and the time you have available. For a short casual stroll, park at the visitor centre and walk along the balcony, checking for wildlife at the feeding station as you go by. This leads you to a set of steps taking you down to the main path of the Pass. After a few minutes you’ll find a bench overlooking the gorge giving stunning views of the woodland and River Garry. Beyond this, you can follow steps leading further down into the gorge until you reach Soldier’s Leap where you can see a small waterfall. This walk takes about 15 minutes from the car park.
From here you can either return to the visitor centre or continue down the riverside path towards the green footbridge (allow around 30 minutes to walk to this from Soldier’s Leap). Here you can cross to the other side of the river and walk through our adjoining property – the Linn of Tummel. Alternatively, you could continue on the left side of the river to follow the footpath for approximately 3 miles to reach Pitlochry. There’s also an option to take a circular route by walking along the roadside, but the view is much better returning along the riverside path through the beautiful woodland.
A walk here in autumn is a special treat – the Pass is renowned for its rich autumnal colours, when the trees are a spectacular mixture of gold, burgundy, amber, vermilion and russet.
The Pass of Killiecrankie
Follow in the footsteps of the Jacobite and Redcoat soldiers who travelled through the Pass of Killiecrankie on 27 July 1689.
Walk details
-
Difficulty
Moderate
-
Time
1½ hours
-
Distance
2½ miles (4km) (there and back)
-
Ascent
265ft (81m)
-
Start
Killiecrankie visitor centre
-
Finish
Killiecrankie visitor centre
-
Step 1
(1/9)Start in Killiecrankie Visitor Centre car park.
-
Step 2
(2/9)Follow the veranda along the front of the visitor centre to the start of the trail.
-
Step 3
(3/9)Go down the steps at the end of the veranda to cross a wooden footbridge. Please note that the steps down to the river are irregular and uneven.
-
Step 4
(4/9)The path then leads up some steps and heads down through an area of semi-ancient oak woodland to the first viewpoint, where you can see the main railway line between the Highlands and Lowlands, as well as the elevated section of the A9 trunk road.
-
Step 5
(5/9)At the bottom of the steps follow the path round to the left. You will see a sign for Soldier’s Leap, where a Redcoat soldier jumped across the River Garry to escape the Battle of Killiecrankie. You can take a short detour at this point to see the point that he leapt across.
Returning to the main path, continue down to river level.
-
Step 6
(6/9)You will soon come to Trooper’s Den (believed to be where the first shot of the battle was fired) and the Victorian railway viaduct.
-
Step 7
(7/9)Continue on the riverside path through the woods until you reach the charcoal kiln.
The kiln allows us to process the conservation-felled beech into a product that we can sell, raising further funds to help us look after this special place.
-
Step 8
(8/9)Further along the path, you pass the stone that marks the grave of Brigadier Barthold Balfour, a Redcoat soldier killed while fleeing the Battle of Killiecrankie.
-
Step 9
(9/9)Shortly after, you arrive at the green footbridge, which gives an excellent view of the Pass to the north and south.
At this point you can either:
- extend your walk across the bridge to explore the Linn of Tummel
- continue along the riverbank to Pitlochry
- return to Killiecrankie Visitor Centre via the roadside path
- retrace your steps along the riverside to return to Killiecrankie Visitor Centre
