Inchewan Falls

One Man and his Dog

I'd been too involved filming the Inchewan to have noticed my friend Peter walking up the path with his dog. I did see him on the way back.

"I could see you were filming so I didn't say anything," he said, "but have you been up to the waterfall?" I hadn't. Peter told me that you used to be able to get there by following the path to the left just after the footbridge. "But there's a deer fence now."

A week later Genie and I headed up Birnam Glen in search of the waterfall. Sure enough the deer fence runs between the Inchewan and the old path which is now overgrown. We decided to walk alongside the burn on the Birnam side of the footbridge. The going got rough and we found ourselves wading through bracken and repeatedly having to cross the stream. We both got wet feet.

As we progressed, the gorge rose up on each side and eventually we weren't so much walking as climbing across the narrow ledges and hanging on to tree branches and rocks. Eventually we rounded the final bend and found ourselves looking up at the falls. Wonderful. We filmed for half an hour and then made our way back.

The following week I was on my way to Dunkeld and Birnam railway station when a familiar looking dog came bounding down the glen. I decided to wait and sure enough, after a couple of minutes, who should I see but Peter. I told him about our adventure at Inchewan Falls and he laughed.

"If you take the main path up towards Balhomish you'll see a little sign someone's put up there on the right-hand side and the path has been marked out by stakes."

I haven't walked that way yet but I would imagine the view down onto the falls is less impressive than the view we had from the bottom of the gorge. Here it is, anyway, in this video.



See also The Inchewan, Birnam Glen (the previous post) and the Highland Perthshire website.

The Inchewan, Birnam Glen

Walks in Dunkeld

I'm lucky to be living in Birnam, Dunkeld. Within five minutes of leaving the house I can be far enough up Birnam Glen not to be able to hear the A9 traffic. This valley walk follows the winding course of the lovely Inchewan Burn and is the starting point for many other walks including the Birnam Hill ascent. You can also choose to walk a short loop through the forest or go further afield – Rumbling Bridge and The Hermitage on the River Braan can both be reached from here.

The Inchewan

My wife and I walked up Birnam Glen one evening in late August after hours of torrential rain. The Inchewan looked fit to burst its banks – brown water crashing down the glen, completely hiding even the larger rocks on the burn's bed. The light was fading fast, otherwise I'd have nipped home to grab a video camera, and I decided instead to come back the next day. In the morning the Inchewan was at its most beautiful – a vigourous stream of pure, clear water dancing over and around the rocks. I walked as far as the footbridge with my Canon XL1, recording all the way. Here are the edited highlights.



See also Inchewan Falls (the next post).