Drove Road to Fort Augustus Show path on map
Start location: Tomich, Strathglass ( NH 307 273 )
End location: Jenkins Park, Fort Augustus ( NH 371 095 )
Geographical area: Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey
Path type: Drove Road, Military Road
Path distance: 28km
Accessibility info: Suitable for pedestrians
Route Description
Although the droves were heading south towards Fort Augustus, our route description instead takes you north along this long distance drove road.
Leave Fort Augustus along the road to Jenkins Park and in about 1km turn right up the Old Military Road, climbing in a series of zigzags. The track becomes more level and leads west then north-west through the Inchnacardoch Forest for 4km to emerge on the open hillside above Glen Moriston, and a good path continues to the Allt Phocaichain.
The onward drove road to Torgyle Bridge leaves the Old Military Road on the east side of the Allt Phocaichain at NH325109, where a good track roughly follows the old drove road north and crosses the river via a new vehicular bridge at NH324114. Roughly parallel the transmission lines until circa NH317122 where the onward route is difficult to discern; it is suggested instead to stay on the forest track which makes a long traverse west before turning north-east down to Torgyle Bridge to regain the drove road’s historic line.
From Torgyle Bridge walk along the A887 for a short distance to Torgyle Church, this is where the drove road used to come down to Glen Moriston from the north. Now continue a few hundred metres eastwards along the A887 to a sign at NH311137 and follow a small path through a kissing gate north to join the hydro access track which is known locally as Eve’s Road. It is also possible to avoid this section of main road by taking a track west then north from NH308131 as this too links with Eve’s Road.
Either way, continue along the hydro access track, which goes under the transmission line all the way over the ridge between Beinn Bhan and An Suidhe, past Loch na Beinne Baine and down towards Guisachan Forest. From the upper edge of the forest, go north down the forest road to Hilton Cottage, and then follow the private road to Tomich.
OS Landranger 25 (Glen Carron & surrounding area), 26 (Inverness & Strathglass area) and 34 (Fort Augustus & Glen Albyn area)
Heritage Information
This is part of the long distance drove route between Wester Ross and on to the Corrieyairack Pass and further south. The section between Glenmoriston and Strathglass was used for driving stock during the First World War and can be seen on a mid-nineteenth century estate map. There was an Inn at Torgyle until the mid 1880s. The section between Glenmoriston and Fort Augustus was commonly used in the late nineteeenth century by cattle from Skye and the west coast going to Dalwhinnie Station. Leac mhor Drove stance is marked near where the drove road and Old Military Road meet west of Fort Augustus.
The section between Fort Augustus and Glen Moriston has a long history. It at least partly follows the line of a very old track that was shown in Moll’s Atlas of 1725; at that time the track was the road to Skye and for that reason Bernera Barracks had been built at Glenelg in 1719-20. In 1750 and the following years it was reconstructed as a Military Road and was marked on Roy’s Map of 1755 as Great Road of Communication between Bernera and Fort Augustus.
Prince Charlie travelled southwards on this route between Strathglass and Glen Moriston in August 1746 to hide near Loch Arkaig after learning that the boat he hoped to board at Poolewe to take him to France had sailed without him.
