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Rothiemurchus - Combining 2 beautiful walks
Distance: 16 km (or 2 x 7 km)
Time: 5 hours (unless you're like me)
Grade: Moderate
Terrain: Mostly waymarked; one section can be boggy
Start: Along the road, Coylumbridge
Let me start by saying that Rothiemurchus is a stunningly beautiful area. Without exaggeration, but this is one of those places that just feels perfect in every possible way. Whether you want to sit by the loch, take a stroll, go for a ramble or eyeball those very appealing Munros nearby, it's all there. 
It is not just the setting, even though that is good enough to endear anyone. It's the fact that it is so well maintained. Even more, this is an estate the owners really care about.
The paths are broad and easy to walk upon. It's obvious entire families, from babies to 100-year-olds (and over), are invited here.
And the flora. The trees. My goodness, the pines in Rothiemurchus. To a self-confessed pine-loving enthusiast, this walk was an absolute delight. You do not want to know how many pines I admired and greeted and photographed... which accounted for the fact our walk took a wee bit longer than expected. Aye, this is part of the Old Caledonian Pine Forest. 
And no matter how much I love my pines around Glen Orchy, this is such an amazing place to see pines in all shapes: from babies to toddlers, teenagers, adolescents, granny pines and remarkable skeletons. This is regeneration in all its glory. I have never seen so many young and old pines so closely assembled. Gorgeous, grand, funny... They were all there.
Plenty of juniper too, another remnant of the Caledonian Forest.
So that was my reason to visit this area. But don't let my enthusiasm get in the way.
We decided to combine two walks of roughly 7 km each: Rothiemurchus Forest and the Iron Bridge plus Loch an Eilein and Loch Gamhna. Both these walks are found on the Walkhighlands page, as well as in various walking guides. We opted to combine them because we had to drive over an hour to get there and thought it would be a waste to drive back after only two hours walking. One piece of advice though: admiring the surrounding scenery can be very time-consuming.
We started with the Iron Bridge walk and went as far as the Iron Bridge. Instead of returning to Coylumbridge, simply follow the waymark pointing to Loch an Eilein. That's all there's to it (please do notice the juniper and the abundance of young pine trees in this picture).
It takes roughly one kilometre from the waymark to the loops around Loch an Eilein and Loch Gamhna, but the path is very easy-going.
The views are excellent. Snowy Braeriach peeped through the forest on various occasions.
When you arrive at a junction, you can take either left or right. I'm a clockwise sort of individual, so we chose left, skirting the shore of Loch an Eilein a first time.
A while further, a smaller path to the left appears. This is the path to Loch Gamhna.
This path is not maintained, smaller, rougher and boggy in places. Also, be careful not to miss a fainter track to the right a wee bit further on, because otherwise you'll find yourself walking on the East Highland Way, which takes you all the way to Feshiebridge. So don't make the mistake we did. The correct path sticks closely to Loch Gamhna.
Basically, Loch Gamhna is an option. You could easily just continue walking around Loch an Eilein. This said, Loch Gamhna is a lovely loch by itself (see picture above), and it boasts some lovely granny pines. So you decide if you want to pass on this magnificently shaped gran.
Truth be told, when we took a wee break at Loch Gamhna - roughly in the middle of our walk - we had had a picnic at the Iron Bridge, I had taken a zillion pictures and we had done the wee detour on the East Highland Way. It had taken us four hours straight. Oops.
So we decided not to take as many pictures for the second half. But please forgive me for stopping and briefly admiring the ruins in Loch an Eilein, which previously housed ospreys (until they were chased away not to return as yet). 
The impressive birds returned to nearby Loch of the Lowes.
Loch an Eilein is a popular place, and no matter what time of day, you will always find people in or around the loch. Crowds make it harder for me to admire beauty, so we moved on again.
When you make the full tour around the loch, you arrive at the junction taking you back in the direction of the first walk. Fine, you did this stretch already. It's still beautiful. Enjoy the scenery.
Then there is the waymark pointing you in the direction of Coylumbridge. Aye, we were slightly drained, but the views were still breathtaking. So many lovely pines, and Mr Cairn Gorm himself was trying his hardest to be as appealing as possible. Doesn't he look all handsome?
My other half, though, is indifferent to such
macho behaviour.
The second half took us "only" two hours. Not bad, right. But what a day, what a beautiful day in this wonderful estate.
You can find more information about Rothiemurchus and all its activities on their website.
