Flow Country (1 Viewer)

Hi,

I would love to do a weekend's birding around Forsinard. I have read that there is a short walking trail from the visitors centre, but that apart, I was wondering how practical a birding trip up there is for one who doesn't drive? I have read that there are scarcely any paths there, which presumably means that the walking terrain would consist only of blanket bog - not the ideal conditions for walking. Any advice much appreciated.

Tom

Hi Tom

I passed through Forsinard a year ago and put a bit of information into Opus. The train stops at the station, which is the Visitor Centre for the reserve. The short, bog walk is only yards from there. The other (longer) walk starts a good mile away up the road. See map

It's not a very busy road. Can you hire a bike?

D

Hi Tom,
If you are staying at Forsinard there are several walks you can do without traipsing through the bog (that would be a no no in the breeding season anyway) The road running through the strath is a good start it's a very quiet single track and it runs parallel to the river Halladale, if you head north you should see Golden plover, Dunlin, Snipe, Curlew and Common sandpipers i have often seen Buzzard Merlin Kestrel Hen harrier and SEowl between Forsinard and Forsinain.At Forsinain a track leads over the river and through some sitka plantations and brings you out to open vistas of the flows these tracks go for miles (mostly used by fishermen to access the many lochs) and are easy walking. The scenery is not as breathtaking as the west coast but the wildlife is amazing and you more or less have the whole place to yourself!

Dean,

Delia - thank you. I have never cycled either so I think I'll happily stick to walking.

Dean - thanks for the info; I guess it's worth my while to get an OS map anyway. The advantages you mention are what attracted me to this area in the first instance.

Tom

treecreeper said:

Delia - thank you. I have never cycled either so I think I'll happily stick to walking.

Dean - thanks for the info; I guess it's worth my while to get an OS map anyway. The advantages you mention are what attracted me to this area in the first instance.

Tom

Click to expand...

Hi Tom,

Have a look at http://www.rspb.org.uk/reserves/guide/f/forsinard/ which has some useful information and downloads as well as suggested trails etc.

They also run regular guided walks though none are specifically listed at the moment.

HTH

Gordon

Thanks Gordon; that should be a great help.

Tom