Balgavies Loch

Balgavies Loch (correctly pronounced "Bal-guys"), near Forfar, Scotland, is an ideal place to spend a couple of hours and is only a 15 minute drive from the A90. It is a wildlife reserve managed by the Scottish Wildlife Trust and, depending on the time of year, is home to a great variety of waterbirds and songbirds. If you're lucky, there are Red Squirrels to be found and this is the only place in Scotland where I have regularly seen Jays. The map below provides full directions from the A90 to one of the reserves two main car-parks. The walking route (approximately a mile and a half) is shown in red.

The loch was formed after the last ice age. As the last glaciers retreated they calved huge chunks of ice. These enormous blocks were gradually surrounded and partially buried by glacial outwash, which is simply gravel, mud and sand carried by water from the melting glacier. As the block of ice melted all that remained was a depression in the ground, called a kettle hole and it's this flooded kettle hole which 10,000 years later, is the site we see today.

There are two car-parks available, one is in a lay-by immediately off the road and is the easiest to access with a fine viewpoint over the loch but is only suitable for four cars. There is another, larger car park to the west of the first which is down a narrow track just off the main road. We usually park in the lay-by.

The path is clearly visible from either car park. As the route is circular you can walk either way around the loch but we always go clockwise so we head west from the car-park, through the gate and up a very short incline through the trees. The path is very well maintained and the whole route is a very easy walk for all ages, though the large number of kissing gates make this unsuitable for prams or wheelchairs.

At the top of the incline we come out of the trees and are presented with a view over the west of the loch. The path, zigzags gently down the hill into a small cope, through a gate and then skirts the south edge of the loch before rising gently until we're at the south west corner of the loch. This is where the hide/blind is located (marked with the camera icon on the map above).

The hide is not large and will only sit 4 people comfortably but there is room for 6 if you're willing to squeeze. Be warned: during the breeding season (May to July) this hide gets very busy as Ospreys breed on an island on the loch and this attracts a great many visitors. If you intend visiting during this time my recommendation is to be there as early as possible - around 7am to 8am and you may have the hide to yourself. However, in my opinion the hide /blind is not the best place to view the Ospreys from and I will come to that later in the article.

View from the hide/blind at Balgavies Loch

There are some feeders outside of the hide/blind and these often attract Goldfinches, Greenfinches, Blue tits, Great tits and Coal tits amongst others. With patience you may see Great-spotted woodpecker and Jays. Red Squirrels are always in the area though they are shy. There is a book inside the hide where visitors record their sightings so have a look there to see what's been recently spotted. If the feeders have not been topped up you may not see anything at all so like all things in nature please don't assume anything is guaranteed.

Various pictures taken from the hide/blind at Balgavies Loch (not taken on same day)

Back on the path we continue through the second car park onto a track which takes us through the woodland to the west of the loch. Keep your eyes peeled for woodpeckers and Red Squirrels here too. In short order the path will take a sharp right turn and this brings us to the north west of the loch. Here the path lies on the trackbed of the long extinct Arbroath-Forfar railway line which opened in 1838 but after years of decline finally closed in 1967. There are still some fascinating remnants of this era which add a slightly melancholy dimension to this part of the walk.

Path along the old railway line to the North of Balgavies Loch

Here the woodland is predominantly Silver Birch. I have seen Blackcaps in this area and on every visit I've spotted Treecreepers so a sedate, observant pace is recommended. As the path comes to the northern shores of the loch, looking south towards the islands in the loch will give you a much clearer and closer view of the Ospreys (if they are in the vicinity!) than anything visible from the hide/blind. You will be hard pushed to get a better view of Osprey anywhere else in Scotland than you can from there, however because you are looking to the south bear in mind the time of day as in late morning and afternoon the sun will be in your face so once again, I recommend a dawn visit.

Continue east down the path until you reach the remains of Auldbar Road railway station.

The remains of Auldbar Road railway station at Balgavies Loch.

Maybe it's just me but I find the remains of these old railways really quite sad. There was once a large wooden waiting room and footbridge here too but there is no longer any trace of these. I've stood on the overgrown platform imagining what this place would have been like during the heyday of steam and it's quite haunting.

Moving on, the path passes in front of the brick building then descends slightly back to the edge of the eastern side of the loch.

Looking North on the path at the Eastern side of Balgavies Loch

If there as been a great deal of rain then it has been known for this part of the path to flood, in which case you could either return the way you came or walk up onto the road at the old station and continue to the car park that way. Otherwise there are very pleasant views west across the loch. You must pass through another couple of kissing gates to get back to the southern side of the loch then the path meanders through woodland with a gentle gradient back to the car park. Though there are no toilets, cafe or visitor centre here, just a few minutes along the road (head towards Forfar) you will find Murton Farm Tearoom which is a pleasant place to stop, have a coffee and snack and avail yourself of the facilities (see website for opening times). God, I'm so middle aged...

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