Hiking The Highlands of Scotland and the Village of Kinloch Rannoch

 I hope you like sheep?  Hiking the Scottish Highlands is exactly the reason that I booked the timeshare that we are currently staying at called Loch Rannoch Highland Club.  There are many hikes around the village of Kinloch Rannoch.  They range from easy to moderate to strenuous.  Whichever path you choose, there are great opportunities to see great expansive scenery, plants, trees and of course sheep and cows as well.  Views of the Loch are always ever-present.  

Our favorite hike was Craig Varr which was strenuous and it is a rocky outcrop high up above Kinloch Rannoch.  When you reach the summit and continue to walk you can see two other lochs in the distance.  It is much colder and windier on the other side of Craig Varr.  The sheep did not seem to mind it though.

This is Craig Varr taken about 1 km from Kinloch Rannoch.  It was a steep climb but well worth it for the views and exercise.  The hike took us about 3 hours.  You walk just out of the village over the bridge and you will come to a gate and notice the tiny orange arrow directing you which way to go.

The Scots have the best names for their towns, villages and hikes like Meall Dubh and Craig Varr.  They seem to be a mix of Gaelic and English.

Ferns are abundant in and around the loch, as well as up the sides of the hills. Unfortunately, due to a few extremely cold nights, most of the ferns did not survive by the time we arrived in the middle of October. In most of my highland photographs, you can see the reddish-brown colour of the ferns that did survive. They would have been a spectacular sight to behold in season.  I have no idea why this is underlined but I could not for the life of me get rid of it.

This is taken on top of Craig Varr of the tiny village Kinloch Rannoch.  I zoomed in as much as my camera would let me.

Views are stupendous from anywhere in the highlands.  The trees at the top of Craig Varr grow on a slant and are unusual-looking and due to the constant winds.

To the right is a shot of a craig which in Scotland means a man-made structure to mark or store something.  They are very prevalent in Scotland.

Pictures never do justice but I was trying to capture how steep Craig Varr is on the final descent up the side to the top.

Darren communing with the local cows.  On our way up the mountain, we came across many sheep and a roaming herd of cows that did not seem to want to get off of the path.  There are many boggy areas in the highlands so we did need to stick to the path in this area.  I asked Darren to turn on his music to see if they would leave and they did not appreciate his music because they mooed and then left our pathway up the mountain.

The flora is unusual on the highland hills.  This appears to be a carpet sedum.  It was very thick and soft to the touch.  This was high up above the loch in the background near the top of Craig Varr.

The moss can grow so incredibly thick here.  We saw some that was over a foot thick growing on top of a fence and it certainly adds height to your fences here.  The moss is so soft and squishy it was nice to step on.  It cushions your step, so if you have bad knees it helps with the soreness of your aches after the hike.

I am not completely sure what this purple plant is to the right.  I think it might have been a type of heather.  There were just a couple of patches high up on Craig Varr.  We came in the middle of October and were just outside of Heather's season.  Apparently August is the time to come and it must be a glorious site to behold.

We were still smiling on our first rest climbing up Craig Varr.  Darren is seated on a rock behind me.

This is on the top of Craig Varr and you can see other lochs in the distance.  It was very windy and much colder on top of this mountain.

Meall Dubh is an easy walk but can be quite boggy in areas and watch the sheep shit.  It basically takes you from the resort to Kinloch Rannoch and back and past the lovely waterfall and through some ever-present streams.  There are many mountain springs making for numerous small and large streams throughout this area and this contributes to the boggy areas.  Many have had large or small rocks strategically placed to help with the stream flow and consequently to assist people walking on these paths.

I LOVE this picture to the right!!!!  This is on the Meall Dubh hike into the village.

Stone fences are everywhere in Scotland and the Highlands.

The trees are beautiful and many grow in a crooked fashion.

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A quintessential photo of Scotland with green rolling hills and grazing sheep.

Another hike that juts off of Meall Dubh Hike.

On the Meall Dubh hike, there is a beautiful waterfall but this picture does not do it justice.

There are hikes that shoot off of Meall Dubh and we walked many of these.  If you walk straight up the mountain on this one it is quite strenuous but is marked as easy if you follow the path.  Darren eventually went back to the path.

This is not a black sheep in the middle of the photo that is Darren resting.

Darren and his friends are behind him.

Darren is walking through the dead ferns.  He decided to go rogue on this walk and took us off of the path and into a field 'where the dead ferns grow'.  There were some very steep areas in this section and using the ferns as ropes helped me quite a few times.

Kinloch Rannoch is a beautiful little village on the east end of Loch Rannoch.  The buildings are all made of this beautiful highland rock and most have slate roof tiles.  When you think of an old quintessential Scottish village this one should come to mind.  It was settled in the 1700s and there is some interesting history on it.  The village is overshadowed by Mount Schiehallion which is one of the most prominent mountains in Scotland

Sheep have their own agenda here.

I have a thing for doors but only the ancient ones.

Mount Shiehallion which can have snow at the top is ever present in the photos.

Interesting history on the Rannoch area to the right.

Beautiful and centuries-old bridges are everywhere in Scotland.

This gorgeous picture was taken in front of the timeshare.  The sheep were quite shy and would not come to me but one did pose for a great picture while eating grass on the bank of Loch Rannoch.

Many of the old buildings have been restored and renovated for tourism.

The Church.

Kinloch Rannoch is a beautiful little village.

The stone used to build these old beautiful buildings is sturdy and strong just like the Scottish people.

There was some serious wealth in this area.  There were many Estates and grand old homes.  Land, Railway, Lumber, and Sheep Barons would have owned these large estates of land.

Fog rolling off of the Loch.

Fog just burning off one morning over the Loch.

Amazing fog one morning when the evening got down to zero degrees Celsius and the water was warmer than the outside temperature creating this beautiful but spooking-looking scene over the Loch.