Walk: Linn of Quoich - pleasing as punch
Aberdeenshire | Braemar | Short walk | ★★★
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[The Punch Bowl, Linn of Quoich] |
A couple of miles west of Braemar, the Quoich Water pours out of the Cairngorms into the Deeside floodplain by way of a series of serenely beautiful rapids. Waterfalls, shallow pools and bubbly flumes make this an exquisite leave-no-trace picnic spot - though on a sunny summmer's day you won't be alone. A curious, water-sculpted pothole well seen from the footbridge was reputedly used by the Earl of Mar as a punch bowl - either to celebrate a successful deer hunt or as a toast to the Jacobites, depending on which story you fancy. The debris-strewn river course a short distance below the falls serves as a testament to the intensity of past flood events; a newly replaced bridge has made this circular walk possible again after several years without.
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[Quoich Water from the east bank] |
📌 Walk: Linn of Quoich - pleasing as punch ★★★
Start / finish at car park for Linn of Quoich, end of minor road, 2 mi (as the crow flies) west of Braemar, G.R.: NO 118910 ///stowing.finest.version
▶ 2 km / 1 mi | ▲ 50 m | ⌚ Short | ⬤ Easy
Features: Linn of Quoich
Terrain: Clear paths and tracks, though fairly steep ascent to start with.
Route & map
Car park - path to northwest - footbridge over Quoich Water at Linn of Quoich / The Punch Bowl - return by east bank
Route credit: Scotland Off the Beaten Track
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On our visit
Wildlife: Small birds in the forest.
Weather: Mostly sunny, comfortable temperatures.
Also on this walk
📌 Linn of Quoich ★★★
On the Quoich Water, 10-min walk north of nearest road, 2 mi west of Braemar, G.R.: NO 114913 ///dries.exactly.coconuts
Always open | Free
💬 If not doing the whole walk (why not?!), the quickest route to the falls is a 10-min walk (each way) using the end of the route described above, in reverse.
Chronological photo guide
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[Ascent from the car park] |
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[The first section has excellent views over upper Deeside] |
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[Approach to Linn of Quoich] |
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[Quoich Water above the rapids] |
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[Linn of Quoich upper rapids] |
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[Linn of Quoich upper rapids] |
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[The Punch Bowl] |
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[Waterfall at The Punch Bowl] |
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[View of The Punch Bowl from the footbridge] |
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[Waterfall underneath the footbridge] |
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[Quoich Water from the east bank] |
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[Quoich Water from the east bank] |
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[Quoich Water below the falls] |
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[Quoich Water below the falls] |
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