Walk of the week: Logierait Bridge to Loch Skiach and Craig Lochie

IN THE midst of typical April weather, showers, hailstones and the return of snow, I remembered the high moorland area, south-west of Ballinluig, being saved for winter or inclement weather

Nowadays much afforested, the tree-free craggy centre is home to three lochs. The largest and highest at 430m is the irregularly shaped Loch Skiach, surrounded by low, rounded heather-clad hills of which 518m/1,700ft Craig Lochie is the nearest.

I also wanted to inspect the old railway bridge across the Tay at Logierait. The Tay Viaduct, opened in 1865 by the Inverness and Perth Junction Railway (later part of the Highland Railway), passed into the hands of Kinnaird Estate after the last train had crossed on 1 May 1964. In 1994 the estate gifted the bridge to the community. In 2000/2001 it was comprehensively restored at a cost of around £400,000 and reopened as a community-owned road bridge, used by local traffic and cyclists.

The Logierait/Loch Skiach/Craig Lochie walk luckily gave Jimbo and I a dry outing, apart from one short, sudden hailstorm. Further south there had been torrential rain.

THE ROUTE

From Logierait, walk across the bridge, all users doing so at their own risk. Admire the structure, turn left on a Tarmac road, then left again on the B898. Head south for some 500yd to a sharp bend, map ref 972512, where a gate leads to a track that curves south-west to meet a mapped path (now a track). Continue to a junction where the main track curves east, but follow the smaller, rougher track, the mapped path, south. Clear the open mixed woodland to reach a major track at the north end of a small unnamed loch – the point of return later in the day.

Continue south to the east-side boathouse and follow the track to a junction, map ref 977487, then turn south-west for the surprisingly long approach to Loch Skiach. You will see glimpses of the 68-turbine Griffin wind farm, construction of which was completed this month. Once over the watershed, there it is – the secretive Loch Skiach and a small house, boathouse, fishing hut or bothy – the property of Kinnaird Estate. Please leave the unlocked bothy tidy. A lovely snug place with a bench outside, this is a sensible resting spot.

If Craig Lochie is a climb too far, return along the track to map ref 959475, where a post marks the start of the mapped path/vehicle track, overgrown in places, that leads to the north end of the loch. A pretty clockwise perimeter walk, eased by strips of clean shingle and a vague path in places, leads to a grassy rake on the west side of Craig Lochie. A later struggle through high heather is needed to reach the summit’s trig point and a slightly higher cairn; an impressive viewpoint, north-westwards to Schiehallion.

A heathery traverse leads to the northern 518m cairnless bump, then an easterly descent. At the northern end of the loch, cross a fence by the water’s edge and head north-east to join the mapped path, the vehicle track from map ref 959475. A bit overgrown at first, though the line of the old pathway is still clear, the track improves then meets the mapped path/broad gravelly track at map ref 957486.

Follow that track on its undulating descent west of Creag Martach and so back to the small loch.

THE FACTS

Map: Ordnance Survey map 52, Pitlochry & Crieff

Distance: 10 miles

Height: 500m

Terrain: Track to loch, then heathery slopes

Start point: Logierait

Time: 5 hours

Nearest village: Ballinluig

Recommended refreshment spot: The Motor Grill, Ballinluig