Colony walk
This walk passes crofts that were built in the 1800s by The Bennachie Colonists. By the 1850s, sixty people lived on the slopes of Bennachie. They lived in simple houses, built of granite walls packed with clay, and with wooden and heather turfed roofs. The walls of these houses are all that is left now. You can still see a crude oat-drying kiln, an old quarry and a road when you take this route.
You can view a map of the walking trails at Bennachie in the What's of Interest column on the right of this page.
How to get there:
Colony walk can be started from The Bennachie Centre Car Park in Bennachie. Chapel of Garioch is the nearest town or village.
Travel on the A96 north past Inverurie. Approximately 2 miles beyond Inverurie take a road on the left sign posted to Chapel of Garioch. At Chapel of Garioch turn left (sign posted to the Bennachie Centre). Follow this road for 2 miles. The car park is on your right.
OS Grid Reference: NJ 698 216
Mammals: Red squirrels can be seen occasionally. Roe deer can sometimes be seen in the forest clearings. We have information about Red squirrel and Roe deer
Birds: In the woods look out for great tits, coal tits, blue tit,long tail tits, chaffinch, wood warblers, chiff chaff and many more.
Wrens can often be seen on the forest floor nesting in the piles of branches.
Insects and reptiles: In the summer, a large area of Foxgloves can be seen. This is a great place to look out for insects.
Habitats: We have information about Pinewood
