Loch Monar Drove Road Show path on map
Start location: track junction east of Loch Monar Dam ( NH 205 394 )
End location: A890, Craig ( NH 041 492 )
Geographical area: Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey, Ross and Cromarty
Path type: Drove Road
Path distance: 31km
Accessibility info: Suitable for pedestrians
Route Description
From the Monar Dam, walk along the north shore of the enlarged Loch Monar. After about 10km, go north from there up the Abhainn Srath Mhuilich past Loch Mhuilich to the col on the north side of Bidean an Eoin Deirg, then down An Crom-allt on its north-west side. At NH113468 bear west-northwest across rough peaty ground towards a small plantation, from where a track goes west-southwest over the watershed to the Allt a’ Chonais and down the glen to Craig.
OS Landranger 25 (Glen Carron & surrounding area)
Heritage Information
Signed at the roadside, this old drove road and right of way crosses the railway at Craig, site of a former inn. Here, gates were provided for the passage of the droves. As recently as the First World War, cattle were driven from Patt Monar to Achnashellach Station along the line of this route.
The water level of Loch Monar used to be much lower until the inundation caused by the hydro-electric scheme in the 1950s, so the original line along the north shore of Loch Monar is lost. However, looking at OS maps today, a network of hillpaths can still be seen converging on the area around Pait Lodge.
Iain R Thomson's fascinating book Isolation Shepherd (1984) is full of detail about the way of life around Loch Monar before the coming of the hydro. He lived at Strathmore which lay across the then narrows of Loch Monar from Pait. His account testifies to the potential harshness of weather conditions in Glen Strathfarrar. He tells of a party of climbers lost in blizzard conditions after an ascent of Sgurr a Chaorachain from Achnashellach. Fortunately they found Strathmore and after fortification were able to get back through Strath Mhuillich. Around 1900, a passing tramp heading from Monar to Strathmore wasn't so lucky. Caught in a March storm, his body was found in a snow drift in April; his name was never determined.
