Braan Walk

waterfall on the River Braan

Yesterday we ventured north-west into Perthshire for our first ramble of the new year.  We selected the Braan Walk for this occasion due to its close proximity to Dundee and also because it was one of the few walks we've found in our Scotland walking book with a recommended time of year as January/February for the waterfalls and snowdrops.

Bridge to Dunkeld from Birnam
over the River Tay

Our ramble started from Dunkeld & Birnam train station, which is actually only about 40 minutes away from Dundee but, due to our layover at Perth train station, wound up taking us closer to two hours one way.  Regardless, we arrived in Birnam before noon, walked into the tiny town for a coffee, and then set off on our ramble.

We began by walking along the River Tay and then branching off along the River Braan into the Hermitage.  The scenery we encountered was beautiful, reminding us quite a bit of the Pacific Northwest.

The Hermitage

The weather was chilly, probably warming to only about 1 or 2 degrees Celsius, but did not prove to be too much of a problem.  On the other hand, the snow and ice, and especially the ice, did prove challenging, adding a bit of excitement and comedy to an otherwise serene adventure.  Next time though we'll remember to bring extra pairs of socks and wear more weather appropriate shoes.  Scotland is a year round rambling destination only if the correct kit has been selected.

River Braan

The ramble was about 6 miles long with barely any elevation gain.  We started our walk around noon and ended around 4PM.  We saw several small and lovely waterfalls along the river but, besides seeing evidence of deer and/or rabbits, we had no wildlife sightings beyond a red squirrel.