Reelig Glen

Reelig Glen is a magical, steep-sided wooded gorge west of Inverness, home to some of the tallest trees in Britain — including Dùghall Mòr ("Big Douglas"), a Douglas fir once measured as the tallest tree in the country, part of a magnificent stand planted in the 1880s by the Fraser family of the adjoining Reelig estate.

The route starts from the Forestry and Land Scotland car park, reached via a minor road signed for Moniack Castle off the A862 west of Inverness. From the car park, the Tall Trees Trail heads south along the Moniack Burn through mossy woodland, climbing gently at points, with dippers and grey wagtails often seen near the water and bats emerging at dusk. The path soon reaches the impressive stand of Douglas firs, each well over a hundred years old and averaging some fifty metres in height, before continuing to a wooden bridge beside an attractive older stone arched bridge and grotto, built in the nineteenth century as part of a famine relief scheme by the landowner James Baillie Fraser.

The main loop continues past a small log cabin used for community activities, crossing a minor road before returning through the woods on the higher side of the glen to complete the circuit back to the car park. For a longer outing, the separate Upper Reelig Trail climbs steeply from the back of the car park through beech, pine, and fir woodland to a striking area known locally as "The Cathedral," where fallen leaves carpet the ground beneath towering trees — though this upper route is waymarked in blue and can be tricky to follow given the number of variant paths.

This is a gentle, family-friendly walk on generally good paths, with red squirrels and pine martens both present in the glen, though the Upper Reelig route involves genuinely steep slopes, uneven rocky steps, and exposed tree roots that demand more care and better footwear.

Parking at Reelig Glen is free; there is no direct public transport, though the nearest bus stop is around 1.7 miles away in Kirkhill.