Scotland’s Great Trails, with the three recently completed new trails added to this national network of long distance routes, sees its now 23 trails add up to more than 1500 miles of walking.
The newbies in the portfolio are the Berwickshire Coastal Path, the Rob Roy Way and the Great Glen Canoe Trail.
Stretching from the Borders to the Highlands, the trails provide opportunities to explore some of the best of the country’s landscapes and nature by foot, bike, horseback and canoe – on well marked, high quality routes.
The Great Glen Canoe Trail makes it possible for people to paddle from coast to coast between Fort William and Inverness and see the Caledonian Canal and Loch Ness from a totally different perspective.
The Rob Roy Way, running between Drymen and Pitlochry, follows the tracks and paths used by the notorious outlaw Rob Roy MacGregor in the 17th and 18th centuries.
The most southerly of the three, the Berwickshire Coastal Path, follows one of the most spectacular coastlines in Britain. Linking Cockburnspath to Berwick-on-Tweed, it takes in dramatic cliff top scenery complete with arches, stacks and crumbling castles.
Pete Rawcliffe, People and Places Manager (why do organisations opt for such absurd titles?) at Scottish Natural Heritage, which oversees the Scottish Great Trails, says: ‘In Scotland we’re very lucky to have so many long distance trails running through some of our finest scenery, so it’s great to add another three routes to ‘Scotland’s best’. The trails offer people the chance to go out and enjoy the countryside close to where they live as well as exploring further afield. And the beauty of these trails is that you can just dip in for short trips as well as going the whole distance.’
Riddell Graham, Director of Partnerships at VisitScotland, says: ‘VisitScotland is delighted to be working closely with Scottish Natural Heritage and other interested countryside partners in the development and promotion of ‘Scotland’s Great Trails’. As we prepare to celebrate the Year of Natural Scotland in 2013, as part of our Winning Years programme, the addition of three new routes will add greatly to the visitor appeal of the extensive paths network already in place and provide great opportunities for tourism businesses to benefit from the natural experience on their doorstep.’
The trails
Here is a downloadable map showing the location of the trails, which are:
- Annandale Way
- Ayrshire Coastal Path
- Berwickshire Coastal Path
- Borders Abbeys Way
- Cateran Trail1500
- Clyde Walkway
- Dava Way
- Fife Coastal Path
- Formartine & Buchan Way
- Forth-Clyde/Union Canal Towpath
- Great Glen Canoe Trail
- Great Glen Way
- John Muir Way
- Kintyre Way
- Moray Coastal Trail
- River Ayr Way
- Rob Roy Way
- Speyside Way
- Southern Upland Way
- St Cuthbert’s Way (cross-border)
- Three Lochs Way
- West Highland Way
- West Island Way
Three of these and part of a fourth are in Argyll and the Isles – the Kintyre Way, the Three Lochs Way (approximately Helensburgh to Arrochar) and the West Island Way (Bute). The fourth is part of the West Highland Way. There is also the Cowal Way, which is a great trail, even if it is not one of the Great Trails.
What makes a ‘Scotland’s Great Trail’?
The 23 routes promoted as Scotland’s Great Trails meet the following criteria:
- a continuous, clearly identifiable and appropriately waymarked route betweendefined start and end points (or defined access points in the case of circular routes)
- largely off-road (generally no more than 20-30% should be on roads)
- at least 40 km/ 25 miles and have potential for multi-day journeys by foot, bikeand/or horse, or canoe
- offer at least a basic range of visitor services, with information on the route, facilities and services available for users in appropriate formats
- offer opportunities to appreciate the natural, cultural and historic interest of the area through which it passes
- designed, maintained and managed with user experience as a key consideration.
The list will be reviewed annually. Other routes are under development and may be added to the list in the future.
Further information
Information on each of Scotland’s Great Trails is available here from the dedicated website.
Further information about Scotland’s Great Trails, including information about events, can be found on this page at the Scottish Natural Heritage website.
