The Birks of Aberfeldy is a short (but steep in parts) circular walking route which takes in scenery that inspired Robert Burns himself. This is a waterfall walk with huge views.Here’s how it went:
| Hike date | 14th December 2024 |
| Weather conditions | Rainy, windy but not too cold for the time of year |
| Distance hiked | 3.80km – it’s a short one with steep steps in parts |
| Walking time | 1 hour 20 minutes (including photo stops and stopping to fly the drone out) |
| Elevation gain total | 176m |
| Terrain | Easy to follow path through woodlands and past small waterfalls before the main waterfall viewing point. Slippy in points with ice when I went. Steep steps in parts. |
So this, in short, is a very short hiking route but with some really big views!
The Birks of Aberfeldy Circular Hiking Route
Here’s the route I took:
The Alltrails estimate is 3.5km. It didn’t come in too much more than that on my Apple Watch (3.8km) and I did a little bit of extra wandering here and there mostly for photos.
Parking for the Birks of Aberfeldy
There is a car park at the start of the Birks of Aberfeldy hiking trail (which is where the route above starts from).The What3Words location for that parking area is:
///scoop.tile.contracts However, to extend this walk you could also park in the centre of Aberfeldy and walk up. It’s not far!
The Route
The route is really straightforward to follow and if you follow the AllTrails route as above, the path is very simple to navigate.I hiked this in mid December 2024 and it was icy. Everywhere, there were such pretty icicles:
This also meant, however, that there were slippy patches on the path, so care needed to be taken.However, it really is easy enough to follow. Following this route, you see lots of little waterfalls on the way up too:
In this case, lots of icicles dramatically hung from these falls too, creating really beautiful scenery.
The Birks of Aberfeldy was the inspiration for a Robert Burns poem of the same name and this is commemorated with a plaque here too:
There are steps for quite a lot of the latter part of the route and while they can be steep in parts, it’s not unmanageable if you have a moderate level of fitness.And the view at the top if very much worth it!
Once I reached this wonderful view point of the main waterfall, I stopped to fly the drone out (video below).From here, you cross the bridge over the top of the waterfall and make your way back down a much more gradual incline on the other side.But the views don’t stop! You’ve got wonderful panoramic views over nearby hills.
It’s a quick ascent but a scenic one and you’re back in the car park before you know it.
Birks of Aberfeldy Drone Footage
Here’s some drone video footage I took from the main view point of the Birks of Aberfeldy:
Would I do this one again?
This is a lovely waterfall walk. I would absolutely do it again and it’s a perfect route for a day when you’ve not got a full hiking day available, but would still like big views in little time!
