Gartmorn Dam Country Park — Attraction in Scotland

Dam, that's good! . We often visit here for an interesting and easy dog walk. I say 'easy' because mostly it is flat, however, some of the path is uneven and muddy after wet weather. The walk is a 3 mile circuit around the edge of the body of water, taking in the Ochil Hills in the background and native woodland. . Interesting/Good Points: The parking is currently free. There are also little 'beachy' bits on 2 sides of the lake which make good picnic spots of paddling spots. There are quite a few species of water bird and small woodland birds. It's very scenic and the cinder path is relatively easy to follow. If you do the full circuit you walk past a farm at the far end which is a typical old Scottish structure, and it adds character to the area. . Frustrating/Bad points: There currently aren't any toilets and the coffee shop was closed. People tend to congregate at the car park and only walk close to that, so at the start/end there may be more dog walkers and even some horses. The swans expect to be fed and can be aggressive. There are no information signs about the dam, but there is one hidden information sign on the far side about the ruins of an industrial building... an important footpath is missing from Google maps... . You can get ALL the way around close to the lake using the cinder track footpaths. After the farm just head up the track and then take you first left, back towards the lake. On Google it only shows the farm track heading away from the lake in an arc then back round adding an extra mile. Ignore this! You can do a nice easy loop, there's just a few signs missing. Top tip: whichever way you choose to walk around the water, always keep it on that side of you and you can't go wrong. . Accessibility: Most of the paths are suitable for buggies, although they are not very wide. Don't expect any tarmac areas apart from the carpark. For wheelchair users, you would need to go and find out if your chair can use the paths, but if you're not wanting to do a full circuit, you can still enjoy the massive lake from the side of the dam near the car park as there is a hundred meter stretch...

Parking is easy enough at the Visitor centre, once you've negotiated all the speed bumps on the access road. The lake circular walk is a tranquil easy 3-mile flat circuit of the lake, with a path just good enough to take a mobility scooter. There are plenty of waterfowl of various sorts - I saw a bevy of swans near the Visitor Centre, (perhaps even a lamentation of them?) as they were so noisy! See the third photo. The downside to the walk is that the very pleasant views of the lake itself and the Ochil hills just above the country park are limited. Most of the lochside path is lined with trees that obscure a scenic view. Watch out for the occasional gaps where you can get a good view of the hills. See photo 1. The path is narrower, a bit rougher and more stony on the eastern side near the wee farmhouse. The ploughed field in the second photo is presumably the work of that farmer, or his wife. There are also a number of marked paths leading off into the woodland from the main lochside circuit, but I didn't explore these. It's a pleasant enough way to spend an hour or two. I did the walk all round in an hour...

We visit here fairly often. Good, easy walking for the most part, a few gentle slopes to deal with if you're walking right round the reservoir. Paths on the Northern side can get a bit muddy. Sunken garden and the southern end of the dam could be nice but generally seems to not be quite as much attention as it deserves. Usually plenty of wildlife on the water and damselflies in spring/summer. The route in from the main road through Sauchie runs through a housing estate and is a bit of a weave through parked cars and speed cushions, but don't let that it put you off. There's not a huge amount of parking spaces but we've never found the place full. The visitor centre and toilets have been closed for the last couple of years, so only three stars (used to be a very chatty lady looking after the place before), but it looks like there's work going on to renovate the building...