Hiking in Perthshire’s Rannoch Forest

Scotland instills in me a great desire to get outdoors, to explore the hills, coasts, and forests of the highlands and lowlands, and to reconnect with a part of me that falls silent beneath the barrage of routine life. I schedule a lot of activities on my trips to Scotland: Distillery visits, castle jaunts, long, winding drives, museum and art gallery days, and a host of others that keep me writing for many months after the trip ends. But amidst all the crazy logistics and scheduling I seek to insert time in the Scottish countryside. I usually choose hikes since there are a dozen amazing options no matter where I find myself in Scotland, and I particularly aim for those last, disappearing stretches of ancient Caledonian woodland, places like the Hermitage forest and Rothiemurchus Estate.

The Rannoch Forest contains another slice of ancient forest in the heart of Perthshire. Unlike the Hermitage and Rothiemurchus, however, Rannoch Forest requires a bit more perseverance to access its beautiful reaches. It stands 25 miles and about an hour west of Pitlochry on the B8019. This is an absolutely stunning drive that takes in the River Garry, The Queen’s View, Schiehallion, and extended time along Loch Tummel and Loch Rannoch. By the time I reached Kinloch Rannoch I was nearly halfway to Glencoe (though the road ends when it reaches Rannoch Moor)!

A few miles beyond Kinloch Rannoch on the south shore of Loch Rannoch hides a small parking area called Carie where the hike into the Rannoch Forest begins. It’s a good idea to take a photo of the map as there’s a tricky turn that’s easy to miss. I crossed the bridge and followed the obvious trail into autumn woodland beneath a intermittently cloudy sky. Rannoch Forest’s ancient woodland, the Black Wood of Rannoch, lies in the forest’s southern reaches, off the trail by my reckoning. I intended to follow the long, Allt na Bogair walk through the forest and do my best to reach the distant Black Wood of Rannoch. This whole forest is largely pine and birch wood standing amidst acid heath plants, and I quickly reached views across Loch Rannoch to Ben Alder.

It’s a pleasure to find these tasteful, artistic touches on such hikes. Here, as the woods give way to the banks of Loch Rannoch, I found a seating area inscribed with poetic verse. I always feel the urge to pop in my headphones and listen to some suitably meditative music, but the truth is that the sounds of weather and nature are second to none. I doubt this trail is ever very busy, and in early November I passed less than half a dozen people on this multi-hour hike. I paused to admire the distant, snow-rimmed hills as the clouds roiled in the brisk wind. I soon left the narrow path and joined a larger logging road as a cold drizzle began spitting from the heavens.

The logging road mirrored the shore of the loch for quite some time. Too long, in fact, for after half an hour I found myself going deeper and deeper into managed forest, past logging signs and silent equipment. It didn’t feel right as I checked and rechecked my map, but I hadn’t found the turn in the path. After a good 30-45 minutes and a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach, I decided to turn back. Hastening to escape what felt like a sure misstep, I stalked through the inclement weather until Loch Rannoch returned into view. I scanned the forest on my right and sure enough I found a small sign pointing toward a narrow path leading into the forest. This sign was staked into the ground behind a small rise that made it invisible from the other direction! Take care and avoid my 1.5-hour delay.

Relieved to be back on the trail, I passed over muddy, rooty earth through tall pines to a small reservoir as the sun returned. I was short on time when I reached the far extreme of the Allt na Bogair path, and what I believed to be the beginning of the search for the Black Wood of Rannoch. Unfortunately, I wasn’t going to be able to seek out that ancient Caledonian woodland. I was soothed by the fact that this trail had become very beautiful and interesting upon reaching the reservoir, however.

The trail continued over a bridge and along a burn as it wound along hillsides covered in pine needles, bracken, and fungi. This east-facing return trail was studded with mushrooms growing beneath dripping mosses, including the largest cep mushroom I’ve ever seen (it was bigger than my closed fist). Rising up onto the hillside my mind wandered on the fresh air as I completed the circuit back to the car park.

While the trail wasn’t difficult, I was certainly tuckered out after my lengthy detour. Assuming you experience no such delay, the Allt na Bogair hike should take around 2.5 hours. Add in the drives to and from the site and you’re looking at this activity taking the best part of a day.

What I loved best about this hike is just how far out in the wilderness it felt. I regret not making it to the Black Wood of Rannoch and seeing some of those ancient, gnarled trees, but I view it as an invitation to return.