Craigellachie NNR - Visiting the reserve leaflet
Read in Gaelic / Leugh ann an Gàidhlig
Welcome to Craigellachie National Nature Reserve
Craigellachie National Nature Reserve (NNR) near Aviemore is a fantastic mixture of birch woodland, open glades and tree-fringed lochs, rising to a craggy summit with superb views out across the Cairngorms National Park. Its name is thought to derive from the Gaelic Creag Eileachaidh, meaning the ‘crag of the rocky place’.
Craigellachie is one of several NNRs in the Cairngorms National Park.

Getting to Craigellachie
What to look out for
Birds of prey
The crag is an occasional breeding location for a pair of peregrine falcons and a pair of kestrels, while a larger bird of prey, the common buzzard, also patrols the hillside.
Flora
Over 350 different species of plants have been recorded at Craigellachie, including shade lovers like the delicate dog violet and the white, spring flowering wood anemone. Look out for the yellow petalled tormentil along the paths.
Animals
Frogs, toads and palmate newts are all attracted to the wetter parts of the Reserve, while common lizards and slow worms can occasionally be seen basking on sunny banks. Red deer and roe deer, which can sometimes be seen along the trails.

Tree life
Like many Highland birchwoods, Craigellachie’s trees thrive on poor, well-drained, soils.
Look out for individual birch trees that have grown out to their full form. They have an elegant look, with their delicate branches and cascading tresses of light green leaves, and are often given the name ‘Lady of the Woods’.
Other trees include aspen, rowan, hazel, bird cherry, willow and Scots pine, while you may also spot the occasional juniper bush and the scented shrub, bog myrtle.

Insects
The lochans attract dragonflies and damselflies, including the Highland darter and the large golden-ringed dragonfly. Craigellachie is also renowned for its moths such as the Rannoch sprawler, which loves living among the birch trees.
Seasonal highlights
Spring
The sound of birdsong fills the woods while colourful wildflowers carpet the woodland floor.
Summer
Butterflies will be flitting around the Reserve, while over the lochans, dragonflies and damselflies hawk for insects.
Autumn
The birch woodland puts on a truly stunning display of autumn tints and look out for the array of fungi. You may also hear the ‘barking’ of roe deer.
Winter
Perfect for taking in the snow-covered peaks of the rugged Cairngorms’ landscape from the Reserve’s viewpoint.
Need to know
Dogs can disturb wildlife. Please keep dogs on a short lead or under close control during the bird breeding season - 1 April - 31 July and respect any notices you see.
The weather can change quickly and there is no shelter on the open hill of the Viewpoint Trail.
Follow the Scottish Outdoor Access Code.

There is information in the Youth Hostel about the nature reserve. From there, follow a short path, through an underpass beneath the A9 road, to the reserve entrance to start the trails. This path is mostly firm gravel with some uneven and one rough section, and one short, steep slope. There are regular perches. This access path is ¼ mile /0.3 km long (allow 10 minutes) each way and should be added on to the different trail distances and times.
A panel by the reserve entrance gives details about the four trails, all of which are colour-coded and waymarked. The paths increase in difficulty the further up the hillside you climb. The distances and times given use the reserve entrance as the start point.
Reserve map
Trails

Lochan
A gentle trail that goes round the banks of Loch Puladdern.

Woodland
A pleasant trail to the old reservoir that explores the lower birch woodland.

Buzzard
A wooded trail with views across the reserve from the hillside above the old reservoir.

Viewpoint
Climb through woodland to the open hill above for wonderful views over Aviemore and beyond to the highest Cairngorms. Time and distance is for out and back.

Find out more on
- Visiting the reserve
- About the reserve
- Visit more of our nature reserves