Barcaldine Forest Walks - the Yellow route

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1 - The yellow route from the car park goes south-west and uphill besides the stream. Allow about 10 minutes to follow this route on the web or about an hour if you are walking it 'for real'. 2 - Marker posts show the route starting from the southern end of the car park. 3 - After a few metres stop by this tree and look to the right to see... 4 - ...a view down the burn to the old bridge. ('Burn' is the Scots word for a stream)
1 - Map 2 - Start of walk 3 4
       
5 - A little further up the track wander to the right where a high bank gives good views of a series of waterfalls. 6 - The lower waterfalls - where we have sometimes seen 'Dipper' birds. 7 - The track now follows the burn upwards. 8 - The burn is strewn with large boulders, evidence of the powerful winter water flow.
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7 - The wood gets thicker now, with a mixture of native and planted tree species. 8 - Don't forget to look up through the tree canopy. 9 - Now the track climbs up the side of the gorge - the handrail is for safety! 10 - The damp micro-climate in the gorge is a good habitat for ferns.
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11 - Single file as the track climbs. 12 - A fallen tree spans the gorge and provides yet another habitat, this time for mosses. 13 - Take care when looking over the edge! 14 - Almost at the end of the steepest part!
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15 - During this June walk, rhododendrons were in bloom. 16 - The 20cm heads of rhododendron. 17 - The walk can be fairly quiet so it's nice to meet a friendly face. 18 - The track levels as it reaches a fork above the first footbridge.
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19 - Here it's worth descending the carved steps to the footbridge... 20 - ...for views upstream of narrow waterfalls 21 - and downstream, where fallen tree trunks sometimes get lodged. 22 - Across the footbridge is the start of the 'Blue' route, which we hope to follow at a later date.
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23 - The footbridge from below. 24 - Looking across the bridge to the steps carved out of solid rock. We retrace our steps up here to rejoin the 'Yellow' route. 25 - A few metres above the bridge the track divides again. 'Red' and 'Green' routes continue up and follow the burn. 26 - The yellow marker posts tell us to turn left and down.
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27 - Leaving the sound of the water behind the track enters more open woodland. 28 - Young deciduous trees line the track contrasting with the height of older, well-established conifers. 29 - The extra light here allows the growth of bracken, bluebells, and rhododendrons. 30 - Looking down onto some 'Tormentil' in flower.
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31 - Narrow rides (or gaps in the plantings) run steeply downhill below the track. 32 - More bluebells and flowering grasses. 33 - Mosses and lichens proliferate in the drainage ditches alongside us. 34 - Another yellow marker leads us down over leaf covered ground through the lower part of the forest.
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35 - Young oak saplings struggle up towards the light. 36 - As the other routes rejoin us a well defined track leads downwards. 37 - Shafts of sunlight illuminate fresh conifer growth. 38 - Remember to point your camera skywards for unusual views of the foliage.
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39 - The ground levels and the trees begin to thin as we approach the road back to the car park. 40 - Turn left for the car park. There are picnic benches amidst the Douglas firs on the right - we have seen Pine Martens here. 41 - Back where we started.
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