6 of the Best Waterfall Walks in Scotland

Scotland is a hiker's dream. Aside from the lochs and mountains, it is home to some of the finest waterfalls in the country! Here are 6 of the best waterfall walks in Scotland I've ever done.

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Scotland is a hiker’s dream. Aside from the mountains, it is home to some of the most spectacular waterfalls in the country. Here are 6 of the loveliest I’ve walked out to on my hiking and walking trips to Scotland.

6 of the Best Waterfall Walks in Scotland

I’ve walked or hiked out to a number of Scottish waterfalls now. Typically shorter walks than big mountain hikes, I love a waterfall route for big views on those days when, perhaps, weather isn’t playing ball for the mountains.

Here are 6 of the best waterfall walks I’ve done in in Scotland so far (in order of my personal preference).

  1. Falls of Braan (Hermitage, Dunkeld)
  2. Steall Falls, Glen Nevis
  3. Grey Mare Tail in Moffat
  4. Grey Mare’s Tail in Kinlochleven
  5. Birks of Aberfeldy
  6. Falls of Falloch, North of Loch Lomond

These are based on my own personal views of the walks but here’s a summary of them.

Waterfall WalkOverall Enjoyment (out of 10) for meHike LengthElevation Gain
 Falls of Braan10 8km191m
 Steall Falls 9 3.8km126m
 Grey Mare’s Tail, Moffat 9 7.5km 341m
 Grey Mare’s Tail, Kinlochleven 8 1.5km74m
Birks of Aberfeldy 8 3.8km 176m

Now, I haven’t put the Falls of Falloch on there because it doesn’t really require a walk! There’s a short boardwalk and path but it’s a couple of minutes, so doesn’t really constitute a proper walk! Let’s take a little look in more detail at the waterfall walks here.

Falls of Braan

The Hermitage in Dunkeld is home to two sets of falls – Falls of Braan and Falls of the Braan.The Falls of Braan at the first waterfalls you come to from the car park. These are only a short walk along a woodland path. But if you carry on along the circular route below, you come to a second set – Falls of the Braan – which are equally spectacular.There’s me looking rather delighted with myself:I think this might be my favourite waterfall walk in Scotland (so far) because the whole area is stunning, the walk is a lovely length for a short day and there’s donuts and coffee in the car park!Here’s the route and the more detailed post below.

Steall Falls

Steall falls is just incredible. Aside from being the second highest waterfall in Scotland and a filming location for some of the Harry Potter movies, this waterfall is also accessed via a beautiful walk through a gorge.

It can be slippy when wet underfoot with care needed as there are steep drops in parts. But this is worth the short walk out!

Steall Falls from distance

You can find the full route and detailed walk post below.

Grey Mare’s Tale Moffat

This is a gorgeous waterfall walk in the South of Scotland with the pretty Loch Skeen at the top. It gets a little busier than others I’ve mentioned in this post but I visited on a wet day which seemed to keep lots of the crowds at bay.

This is the further south of all of the Scottish waterfall hikes I’ve suggested in this list.

 

Grey Mare’s Tail in Kinlochleven

Another waterfall with the same name but much further North in Kinlochleven! This is a beautiful and very short walk with a spectacular waterfall and beautiful woodland area. 

grey mares tale

If you’re feeling brave you can take the board walks with supporting handholds to get a bit closer! But whether you do that or not you will get a spectacular view within minutes of starting your walk here.

The Birks of Aberfeldy

This is such a beautiful waterfall walk in a truly stunning part of Scotland. This one even inspired Robert Burns to write “The Birks of Aberfeldy.”

A short walk but quite steep in parts.

Birks of Aberfeldy main fall winter

Falls of Falloch

So not much of a walk required here but it’s such a pretty waterfall that it would be remiss of me to leave it out!

I’ll leave you with a video of this one!

@staceyhikes

The Falls of Falloch 🥰

♬ Chase Waterfalls – Andy Neal

A simple walk of a couple of minutes from the car park (which is straight off the main road past Loch Lomond) and you’re there! So you can eve just do this one on your way to or from hikes in the area!

Chasing Waterfalls in Scotland

I intend to spend the year chasing many more waterfalls in Scotland. So if you’ve any suggestions for ones that should be on the list, let me know!

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