Recently voted one of the most beautiful places in the UK, Glen Affric looks tantalisingly remote on the map, with a single-track road winding its way along from near the village of Cannich until it comes to a stop in a forest car park about 14 miles to the west. From here, if you keep walking, it’s less than 20 miles to the west coast at Kintail – a journey of almost 100 miles by road.
In fact, Glen Affric isn’t at all hard to get to. For the driver, it’s an easy day trip from Inverness or Loch Ness and it’s possible to get there on organised day tours from Inverness, although there are no buses along the glen itself. The public road makes the glen accessible for cyclists.
Part of the attraction of the glen is its remoteness and the inevitable effect is that there are very limited facilities – nothing beyond car parks and public toilets. There are, however, eating places and accommodation in Strathglass to the south, the closest being at the villages of Cannich and Tomich.
Glen Affric and the Caledonian Pine Forest
The name Glen Affric derives from the Gaelic meaning ‘Glen of the Dappled Woodlands’ and a visit at any time of the year will show why. The trees of the glen constitute a significant part of Scotland’s native pinewoods, of which relatively little now remains and were bought by the Forestry Commission in 1951 so as to preserve them.
These pinewoods are representative of – and the trees directly descended from – the trees which covered Scotland immediately after the Ice Age, before it became inhabited by humans. Dominated by pine and birch trees, the environmental mix also includes:
- Trees including alder, rowan, willow, aspen and hazel
- Shrubs and plants such as heather, blueberries and various different grasses.
The surviving native pinewoods in Scotland now cover only a tiny fraction of their original area. Conservation programmes have been active in the glen for over forty years, with the aim of both preserving its core and of increasing its extent. For its protection, the Glen Affric has been declared a Forest Reserve and a National Nature Reserve as well as being designated a National Scenic Area.
Scottish Wildlife in Glen Affric
It follows that such a rare and precious mix of woodland will play host to and equally rare mix of wildlife and this, combined with the area’s fact that it is so remote and remains largely undisturbed, makes it a habitat for a range of typical animals birds and insects which find shelter here.
The NNR extends beyond the forest and up into the surrounding hills. Though not always easy to see (partly because of their own behavioural patterns, partly because of their relative rarity) they are there, and patience may be rewarded. It is also possible to take guided wildlife safaris in the area, though with no guarantees of success. The government organisation Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) lists many species living in the glen, including:
- Roe and sika deer
- Pine martens
- Red squirrels
- Otters
- Stoats and weasels
The pinewoods and surrounding mountains play host to a range of birds – Scotish Natural Heritage has identified around a hundred species here. Most famous among them is the golden eagle, but many other bird species are resident in the glen. These include:
- Capercaillie (still relatively rare)
- Grouse
- Crested tit
- Osprey
- Ptarmigan
Glen Affric, its Lochs and the Hydro Industry
Glen Affric is not just about trees. Water remains a main component of it, not just a supportive environment for wildlife. The glen is contains two lochs, Loch Affric itself and Loch Beinn a Mheadhoin. The River Affric, which links them, tumbles down a gorge on its way to join the River Glass at Fasnakyle, carving out the popular Dog Falls (easily accessed by a short walk from the car park).
So much water forms part of another of Scotland’s major natural resources – the hydro-electric industry. The lochs, together with those in the neighbouring glens, form part of a major complex of electricity generation, the Beauly/Affric scheme. This was designed and developed in such a way that it in no way damages the beauty of the area, but has also reduced flooding further down the glen.
What to do in Glen Affric
Glen Affric’s big attractions aren’t its facilities or activities but its beauty and its wildlife. It doesn’t take long to walk from the Forestry Commission car parks into somewhere secluded. Walks range from those for the day tripper without a lot of time to longer trails for the serious walker. Glen Affric is good for cyclists, too, (though mountain biking isn’t permitted on some paths). So go, look around you, listen – and above all, enjoy.
