Here I am again bearadventurers!
Today I will show you a gorgeous walk to the Burn O’Vat we took way back in July, Mum is so busy that our posts are piling up a bit… But don’t panic, they are coming sooner or later!
The impressive Burn O’Vat is located near Dinnet, Aberdeenshire, in the Muir of Dinnet National Nature Reserve.
This is a super easy and affa bonnie walk, suitable for children. You don’t need any map given that the path and signs are perfectly clear, though in case you want to explore the area a bit more as we did and walk a circular and longer route here I leave the link to the track we followed.
The only advice we have for you is to wear waterproof shoes, mountain boots are good enough but if you don’t have any just bring some shoes to change afterwards. Just a quick tip, any time you read any nature name containing ‘burn‘, remember that it’s for sure a water-related place.
There’s a big car park just beside the visitor centre where we started walking in a beautifully overcast and warm day. We were very lucky indeed.
As soon as we walked into the fresh and lush pine forest we encounter the first surprise. One of those art forms mum calls ‘literatart’, what means some kind of words artisticaly integrated with the environment. There are loads of examples as this one all around Scotland and we are loving it!
In this particular case we’ve found the poem ‘A Single Quaver’ by Gael Turnbull:
A single quaver
Of loosening ice
Extends across the silence,
Revives the air
With the almost forgotten song
Of snow melting to water
And of water flowing
To reaffirm
As winter’s claw
Holds a little longer,
Although what was
Is strong,
What will be’s
Stronger.
I know we don’t leave much to the imagination with our pics but anyway I’m not going to reveal the location so you can have some fun looking for it! A piece of cake 🙂
As you continue walking the path suddenly reaches a point where it vanishes. There you find a river and a huge wall of mossy boulders with what looks like a narrow passage in the middle. Go on. Be brave, step into the water and walk carefuly through that rocky alley.
There it goes daddy first, through the magical door to the Burn O’Vat, that literally takes you to an otherworldly place.
Here you have the Vat, a mammoth water-carved bowl formed after the last ice-age. No wonder it has been a popular attraction since Victorian times.
After exploring this natural marvel you can return to the car following the same way back or continue through the forest as we did. You’re not going to find anything else as impressive as the Vat, though during the summer you are going to find loads of blueberries for sure, so worth it!
Hope you’ve enjoyed this new bearadventure! Join me in the next one which I will be posting really really really soon, I promise.
See you soon!
Best wishes,
MrBear The Mountaineer
MrBear the Mountaineer 