Craigellachie NNR - Visiting the reserve leaflet

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.

An aerial view of the old reservoir and birch woodland at Craigellachie

Getting to Craigellachie

From Aviemore, take the track leading to the Youth Hostel, carry on past the caravan park and enter the Reserve via the subway under the A9. Toilets and car parking are available in Aviemore.

Craigellachie National Nature Reserve map — Enlarge this map

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.

Common Lizard warming its self on a rock

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.

View over the old reservoir at Craigellachie

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.

Follow a trail

A panel by the Reserve entrance gives details about four trails, all of which are colour coded and way-marked. The paths increase in difficulty the further up the hillside you climb.