Just outside Golspie just off the A9 there is a short but interesting walk called "Big Burn". It is not very long - only taking 25 minutes to get to the top and the same back again - but it is multi-faceted and interesting. We did this walk first thing last Sunday when the weather was sunny.
You start out near the car park and the valley is wider. On either side of the park there was wild garlic sprouting. The woods are deciduous.
Passing under the railway bridge you get a feel for the scale of the gorge you are going into. The railway must be a good 40 metres above the river. The odd little stream tumbles down the slopes.
In this case there was a healthy crop of wild garlic growing. Further along the gorge widens and there are some large deciduous trees with spectacular lichen growths.
About halfway up the walk the gorge narrows considerably and is vertical on each side. It is darker and damp.
From this waterfall there is the feeling of being in a temperate rainforest with lots of mosses, ferns, etc.
The path leads further upstream to a viewing point at the foot of the larger waterfall.
We saw a grey wagtail near the stream at the foot of the fall but later saw a dipper perched on the log. The video below is not very good but at least records the event. A dipper is interesting because it dives into streams and walks along the bottom looking for food. We have seen dippers in very few places (Spitzingsee in the Bavarian Alps, Rum and along the River Awe near Taynuilt).
Retracing the path for about 200 metres you can then take a branch uphill to the top of the waterfall. Along the way you see fantastic looking wisps of lichen over 10 cm long.
A little further on there is a bridge over the stream from which you can see the top of the waterfall. A short walk but very varied indeed!
2008-03-20 @ 16:39