Loch an Eilein Circuit

Loch an Eilein sits inside Rothiemurchus Forest a few kilometres south of Aviemore, and the path around it is one of the most walked short routes in the Cairngorms for good reason: it’s flat, well surfaced, and rarely far from the water. The loch’s name, “loch of the island”, comes from the ruined castle standing on a small island near the southern shore. The castle dates to the 14th century and was built as a redoubt against reivers and feuding neighbours; it was reputedly held at one point by Alexander Stewart, the Wolf of Badenoch, and later withstood a Jacobite siege in 1690. A causeway once linked it to the shore, but this disappeared under water when a dam raised the loch’s level in the 18th century, leaving the castle properly isolated.

The five-kilometre circuit stays in Scots pine forest for almost its whole length, part of the old Caledonian pinewood that once covered much of Strathspey. Ospreys have nested at the loch in recent years, and red squirrels and crested tits are resident in the surrounding trees. There’s a longer option: continuing past the loch to take in neighbouring Loch Gamhna adds distance without adding difficulty, since the ground stays level throughout.

For anyone staying near Aviemore who wants scenery without exertion, this is the walk. Buggies and less confident walkers manage it comfortably, and there’s nowhere on the route where the path gets rough or narrow. It doesn’t suit anyone looking for a view from height or a sense of remoteness; the car park is rarely quiet in summer, and the forest, while handsome, is flat enough that you never see far beyond it. For height on the same day without earning it on foot, the Coire Cas car park on the ski road sits at 635m twenty minutes up the valley.