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Falls of Shin Walk

1.7 miles (2.7 km)

Ordnance Survey Map Open Streetmap This circular walk visits the beautiful Falls of Shin in the north of Scotland. The picturesque falls are located on the River Shin, near the Kyle of Sutherland and the villages of Lairg and Bonar Bridge.
The walk starts from the visitor centre and car park. From here it's a short walk to the viewing platform where you can enjoy an excellent view down to the falls where Salmon can be seen leaping during the late summer months.
After viewing the falls head west and you can enjoy the circular woodland walk through the Shin Forest. The visitor centre houses a shop and a cafe where you can enjoy some post walk refreshments.

Postcode

IV27 4EE - Please note: Postcode may be approximate for some rural locations

Falls of Shin OS Map Ordnance survey map - Mobile GPS OS Map with Location tracking

Falls of Shin Open Street Map Open Streetmap - Mobile GPS Map with Location tracking

Pubs/Cafes

You could head north along the River Shin into Lairg and visit The Pier Cafe. The cafe is in a fine location overlooking Loch Shin. They have a decking area where you can enjoy a delicious meal with excellent views over the water. The cafe can be found at postcode IV27 4EG for your sat navs.

Dog Walking

The falls and the surrounding woodland are ideal for a dog walk so you'll probably see other owners on a fine day. The on site cafe is also dog friendly.

Further Information and Other Local Ideas

To continue your walking around Sutherland head east to Golspie on the coast. Here you can enjoy a climb to Ben Bhraggie where you'll find the Sutherland monument and wonderful views over the area.
The John O' Groats trail runs from Brora to Golspie with some splendid views over the Moray Firth. Here you could also visit the historic Dunrobin Castle. The 14th century castle has a fascinating history and some beautiful gardens to explore. The lovely waterfall on the Golspie Big Burn Walk can also be found in this area.
Also near the coast at Brora is Loch Brora where there's another peaceful waterside trail to try.
To the south east you'll find the splendid Loch Fleet National Nature Reserve. The coastal reserve includes sand dunes and nature trails with seals, otters and various wildfowl to look out for on the way.
If you head north to Lairg you can enjoy trails along the expansive Loch Shin and visit the impressive Hydro Dam in Lairg.
For more walking ideas in the area see the Scottish Highlands Walks page.

Photos

Falls of Shin - geograph.org.uk - 921628

Falls of Shin

Playground at the Falls of Shin Visitor Centre - geograph.org.uk - 871801

Playground at the Falls of Shin Visitor Centre. A popular tourist destination in Sutherland. In addition to the cafe, shop and playground at the visitor centre, and the Falls themselves, there are a number of forest walks starting from here.

2017 Falls of Shin Visitor Centre

Visitor Centre

2011 Schotland Falls of Shin pan 1-6-2011 18-05-59

Falls view.

Viewing Platform, Falls of Shin - geograph.org.uk - 1501392

Viewing Platform. Salmon were attempting to leap the falls, but the river was in spate and none succeeded while we were there.

Salmon Leaping at the Falls of Shin, Sutherland - geograph.org.uk - 728824

A leaping Salmon at the falls. The strength of these fish is amazing as they leap against the torrent of water.

Forest clearing - geograph.org.uk - 614100

Forest clearing. The track meanders close to the boundary between grid squares in this area. The clearing and a couple of path intersections allow an accurate location though.

Shin Forest - geograph.org.uk - 1513921

Shin Forest

Video

GPS Files

GPX File

Falls of Shin.gpx (On Desktop:Right Click>Save As. On Ipad/Iphone:Click and hold>Download Linked File)

Memory Map Route

Falls of Shin.mmo (On Desktop:Right Click>Save As. On Ipad/Iphone:Click and hold >Download Linked File)