Hill 99 viewpoint trail

This waymarked trail through the forest is a 2 to 3 hour walking route and is ideal for first-time visitors.

The path leaves the main Culbin car park at Wellhill and winds along dry, sandy paths through the forest to the Gravelpit Ponds, a pretty stop for a picnic or for birdwatching. 

From there the route wanders along forest tracks, across shingle ridges and through lichen beds, then climbs Hill 99, Culbin's highest sand dune at 99 feet high.  Here, a state-of-the-art ‘squirrel’s-eye’ viewpoint will take you high into the treetop canopy.  On a clear day you will see the sea to the north with the hills of Sutherland beyond – not to mention the green, rolling canopy of Culbin pines. 

Meandering down through the mossy glades of Hill 99, the trail then stops at the Dragonfly Pond, teeming with wildlife, before leading you back towards the entrance at Wellhill.

See a map of the Hill 99 trail (PDF 550k).

Accessibility

The Hill 99 viewpoint trail has been designed as accessible for walkers of all ages and for wheelchair users.  There are benches at the Gravel-pit Ponds and Dragonfly Pond, and perches on the way up to and down from Hill 99.  

The path is reasonably level with a solid, sandy surface.  The hilliest section (up to the viewpoint, between junctions 44 and 45) can be easily bypassed by a straight, level forest track if preferred.  Perches are available at each of these junctions for those who wish to wait for others completing the higher section.

The viewpoint tower is accessible to wheelchair users up to its mid-point, which still allows fine views out into the forest and beyond.  Stairs lead beyond this mid height to the very top, up above the tree canopy.

Building on sand

The technical challenges of building a 20m high viewpoint tower on a sand dune are great.  Culbin sand is immensely mobile - dig into it and it runs like water. 

To make the tower foundations safe, the expert engineers at Forestry Civil Engineering had to look at a form of construction which would work on sand, and which was both simple to transport into this fragile environment and would have as little impact on the site as possible. The result aims to be not too obtrusive on site and yet provides a strong, safe and long lasting structure for visitors to enjoy well into the future.

The engineers used an innovative, environmentally-friendly technique, sometimes called earthship construction, which takes old rubber car tyres (a natural material and freely available waste product), links them together, and fills them with soil (or in this case sand).  These then buttress the approach ramp to the 15m long walkway. 

The viewpoint has been carefully designed to reduce its impact on Culbin as a whole.  What is important is not the viewpoint itself but what you can see from it, both above and below.  It is light and airy and climbing to the top provides a memorable experience of an extraordinary place.

Building in an internationally-recognised natural site

Culbin is a site of national and international importance and significance for its habitats, species and geomorphology.  Before any building takes place here, Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) is consulted in detail over the location of the structure and materials which are planned to be used and the risk of damage to the environment carefully assessed.

All the organisations who are involved in managing Culbin – Forestry Commission Scotland, the RSPB and SNH - are keen to see more visitors discovering its secrets, and the viewpoint is an excellent way of encouraging this. 

Back to 12 places to see at Culbin.