DRUMMOND HILL, Kenmore, Perthshire

A moderately strenuous forest walk with a spectacular view at Black Rock but otherwise only glimpses of the distance. Good woods.


To get the best of this you need to combine two waymarked walks which makes the distance over 7Km. Although the highest point, Black Rock itself is at 300 metres according to the Ordnance Survey map and the walk starts at circa 125 metres, the first part of the walk seems long and fairly steep in stretches. The last third of the walk is through woodland and looks as though it could be extremely muddy after heavy rain. Good walking boots are recommended.


You reach Kenmore from Aberfeldy on the A827. Once you cross the bridge over the Tay you turn immediately right heading for Dull and Weem. A little way along this road is a Forestry Commission car park where the walk starts.


Carry on up and avoid the first right turn (with the red waymark post) until you reach a sharp right turn marked by a red and blue stripe waymark). Here you enter the forest proper and start the ascent through larch, spruce and douglas fir that were planted after the war in one of the Forestry Commission's first projects to repair the drain on resources that had taken place. The forest was originally planted in the seventeenth century by the Laird of Breadalbane. 


The paths at this point are in fact well maintained dirt roads.



Interestingly Drummond Hill had been chosen as the site to trial the reintroduction of Capercaillie in 1837 after the bird had become extinct due to hunting. They are still an endangered species and the population has fallen dramatically over the last 50 years. They are shy birds and are rarely seen but more frequently heard - it has a distinctive 'clip clop' call. They need dense, mature woodland for cover and open space for their less than agile flight. Curiously they nest on the ground but sleep in the trees, which must make rearing their young a stressful time.


At the top of this long ascent turn left following the blue waymarks which will get you to the nicely constructed view point of Black Rock. Here is the place to eat your sandwiches , drink your water and take photographs of Loch Tay, Kenmore and Creag an Fhudair (Kenmore Hill) opposite.

The next part of the walk starts by retracing your steps then continues on the Forestry Commission road heading east. This is mostly level or down hill but is a long and rather uninspiring stretch with only occasional glimpses of the distant Tay Valley or Taymouth Castle - see next pics.

There is a fair amount of forest husbandry taking place which you either find admirable or depressing - depending on where you're coming from, nature-wise.


After about 2Km of this road there is a red waymark that takes you back on yourself via a forest path. Personally, I found this a blessed relief as the previous road was both hard on the feet and a bit boring on the eye.


However, this path takes you through quite dense but interesting woodland with a mix of conifer, spruce and larch plus the odd beech. It is slightly muddy at the best of times and hoof prints tell that this is used for hacking so keep your ears as well as your eyes open - you may have to jump to safety! This is quite photogenic territory as the next few shots show.

After just over 1Km of this you eventually drop down to the original road to the car park.


In conclusion, this felt a bit longer than it should have done due to that long middle section between Black Rock and the woodland path. However, it was worth it for the atmospheric woodland shots above and a unique viewpoint over Loch Tay - see the final shots below.