Length: 3.8 miles
Duration: Around 1 hour 45 minutes
Difficulty: Moderate
This is one of our family favourites! We always do it from High Kildonan to Whiting Bay but you could easily do it in reverse if you'd rather.
We start in the carpark off the road in High Kildonan. If travelling by bus, you'd need to get off the bus at the road end before the bus heads down the hill into Kildonan and then walk along the road for about 10-15mins to reach the starting point.
Leave the car park heading up the hill following the sign for Whiting Bay. Enjoy the incredible views out over Pladda, Ailsa Craig and even Ireland if it is a clear day! The path winds up the hill in amongst the heather and there is a bench about half way up where you can stop and take in the views.
The path then widens out into a forestry track and continues along the tree line - with lots of ditches for the pups to have a drink/paddle/mud bath!
The forestry track splits at one point but stay to the right as the other track doesn't lead anywhere at the moment.
Once you start to come out the trees and the path starts to decend, you will be treated to a fabulous view of whiting Bay, Holy Isle and then Lamlash bay and the hills beyond. You'll then also find what we reckon is one of the best picnic bench spots on the island, so make sure you pack a flask of coffee so you can sit and enjoy the views.
The forestry road continues to wind slowly towards Whiting Bay and you'll then see a sign which points downhill to the Giants Graves. This is the route we normally take but you can continue along the track and come down the path beside Glenashdale Falls if you would prefer.
The path widens into an open grassy area with the large stones of the neolithic cairn in the middle. You'll have a lovely view over to Goatfell beyond the Giants Graves and be sure to read the sign which explains all about the Giants Graves.
The path then narrows again as you come off the hillside and head down into Whiting Bay. The path is steep and zig zags down the hill, so just take your time and make sure you enjoy the views over Whiting Bay as you descend.
Once at the bottom of the hill we turned right and followed the burn all the way to the main road. There is a bus stop close to the bottom of the path if you need to get a bus back to Kildonan to pick up your car.
As you can see from the map, we turned left when we got the main road and headed 5 minutes along the road to get some lunch at The Coffee Pot. The Coffee Pot is dog friendly at the outside tables and has delicious toasties, cakes and coffees! (Papa always said that the Coffee Pot had the best scones on the island - you'll need to see if you agree!) Please see our blog about the Coffee Pot for more details.
Terrain
This is a moderate walk with some hills, however the forestry road makes it easy underfoot. The short portion coming down from the Giants Graves is the most challenging portion just due to it being steep.
Wildlife
As soon as we got out the car at High Kildonan we saw a pair of buzzards soaring and there are signs of deer along the whole length of the track. Keep an eye out for red squirrels as you head down through the trees along the burnside at the end.
Comments