Corrieshalloch Gorge

Corrieshalloch Gorge is a box canyon about 1.5km long and 60m deep, cut into the rock south of Ullapool where the River Droma drops suddenly off a plateau. The National Trust for Scotland, which has managed the site since 1945 jointly with NatureScot, opened a new visitor centre here in 2023. A path of about 300m from the car park on the A835 leads to a Victorian suspension bridge across the gorge, designed by Sir John Fowler, one of the engineers behind the Forth Bridge, plus a separate viewing platform projecting out over the drop.

The main event is the Falls of Measach, a 46m waterfall dropping into the gorge close to the bridge; both the bridge and the platform give a properly vertiginous view straight down into the ravine, with the water and spray audible before it’s visible. The bridge sways slightly underfoot, which some visitors find more unsettling than the height.

This is a five-minute walk from the car park, on a made path, to see one of the more dramatic gorges in Scotland: minimal effort for an impressive result, and a natural stop for anyone driving the A835 between Ullapool and Inverness rather than somewhere to drive to on purpose. A small honesty-box parking charge applies. It suits anyone breaking the drive north, anyone travelling with somebody who cannot walk far, and a day the weather has already taken. Anyone wanting a walk of any length has come to the wrong place, since there is barely a kilometre of path here. Stac Pollaidh is 40 minutes north for a half-day hill with a summit view at the end of it.