Geo-Trips :: An 7.6 mile circuit of the Millbuie Forest
North side of the Black Isle
A walk from Agnes Hill, Fri, 16 Oct 2015 by Julian Paren
The Millbuie Forest occupies the high ground of the Black Isle. It has a good network of all weather forestry roads, popular with cyclists and walkers alike. This circuit starts and ends at Grid Reference NH 67636361 between Easter Brae and Agnes Hill where the Forestry Road meets the public highway and there is ample room to park. This route visits two Long Cairns and also passes a mapped Chambered Cairn that appears invisible. The route includes quite enclosed sections of the forest as well as cleared areas, and finishes by skirting the edge of the forest giving good views over to Easter Ross. Although failing to pass an inland lake/bog or a disused quarry, the walk presents a good cross-section of the forest. This 7.6 mile walk took me and my collie three and a half hours including time spent puzzling over the stones of the Long Cairns.
On the map below, the grey line is the GPS track from this trip. Click the blue circles to see a photograph taken from that spot and read further information about the location. The blue lines indicate the direction of view. There is also a slideshow of this trip. ( )
↓ Scroll down here ↓
Agnes Hill South
Agnes Hill South is the address of this croft house. The house was built entirely... more
Minor forestry track from Agnes Hill into the Millbuie Forest
Marked as a track on OS Mapping, this is by contrast a delightful footpath which... more
Looking along the footpath to Agneshill
This is the place where the delightful footpath (marked as a forestry track on OS... more
Marker post in the Millbuie Forest
Perhaps this is a long-forgotten sign indicating a footpath route. It is the only... more
Gorse, pine and deciduous trees beside a track in the Millbuie Forest
Although a sunny October day, little sunlight penetrated into the forest except... more
Glade in the Millbuie Forest
The Millbuie Forest has a number of open areas as part of the forestry cycle.
Forestry road through the Millbuie Forest
An excellent wide and well-surfaced forestry road that hardly bends as it... more
Millbuie Forestry Road heading to Brae Farm
Heading out into a more open part of the forest.
The floor of the Millbuie Forest
Scots Pine and heathers in this location.
Well maintained forestry road through the Millbuie Forest
A wide track and dry, and few hazards to contend with. The forestry roads are... more
Floor of the Millbuie Forest
Each compartment of the wood has a different character. Just crossing the road... more
A straight forestry road across the Millbuie Forest
Strangely there are signs in a number of places pointing into the forest with the... more
A compartment boundary in the Millbuie Forest
A wide boundary, devoid of trees, but not marked as any significant feature in OS mapping.
Minor forestry road across the Millbuie Forest
This track looked so much more enticing at its other end where it meets the... more
By a boundary in the Millbuie Forest
Beyond the established Scots Pine is a compartment recently planted and allowing... more
Forestry track beside a cleared section of the Millbuie Forest
The segment of forest containing the Long Cairn of deep antiquity is now a mass of... more
Sign post for Long Cairn (presumably)
In a forest that contains a number of archaeological sites it was a surprise to... more
The axis of Woodhead III Long Cairn
An authority on this cairn, Anthony Woodham, wrote in his memoir Survey of... more
Minor track through the Millbuie Forest
This track is not marked on OS 1:25,000, but is shown on the most detailed mapping... more
Axis of Wester Brae Long Cairn
The memoir Survey of Prehistoric Monuments of the Black Isle states:
Within the... more
Side of Wester Brae Long Cairn
These stones were the only hard evidence of any structure related to this mound -... more
Track across an open section of Millbuie Forest
Heather at your feet and a few scattered pines beside the track.
Productive farmland of Easter Ross
From the perimeter forestry road there are views over the Black Isle to the... more
Access road to West Brae
This road provides the access for walkers heading for the Kingsley Wood Way - a... more
Rough grazing below the Millbuie Forest
The view enhanced by three trees that got away from the confines of a forestry plantation.
Redundant farm building
Belonging to the farm of Easter Brae, this structure could be excuse enough for... more
The perimeter forestry road of the Millbuie Forest
Farmland of Springfield and Cullicudden
Good Black Isle farmland. The town of Alness is seen across the Cromarty Firth.
All images © Julian Paren and available under a
Creative Commons licence 
.
