North Glen Sannox Waterfall Walk, Arran

North Glen Sannox Waterfall Walk

North Glen Sannox is, as the name suggests, the northern arm of Glen Sannox, beginning on the northeastern coast of Arran a few miles beyond Corrie.

A relatively easy walk along the North Sannox Burn leads through a forest plantation and past spectacular waterfalls before emerging into the open at the foot of Caisteal Abhail. The views are stunning, even on a dull day, making the North Glen Sannox Waterfall Walk one of the most rewarding on Arran.

North Sannox Bridge

The Walk

The walk begins at a car park on the A841 at North Sannox Bridge. Look for the obvious footpath in the right corner of the car parking area. The path is gravelled and well-maintained, making for an easy start to the walk. The trail splits by a footbridge, and it is easy to take the [wrong] righthand fork, which simply leads to a bench overlooking the burn.

Unless you really want to just sit on the bench and watch the water flow past, you need to take the left fork.

This leads through beautiful pine woodland, with the rush of the water never far away. The trail climbs steadily, but the going is easy, and you catch wonderful glimpses of the burn as you go. You cross over several small tributaries of North Sannox Burn.

North Sannox Burn

Small waterfall along the burn

The burn narrows and forms a steep-sided gorge, and you pass several small waterfalls before you come to a gorgeous view over a split cascade in a cleared area.

Beyond this unnamed waterfall, you reach the edge of the forest and the views open out so you can see the dramatic Glen Sannox ridge in the distance. Look for the ragged castellated peak that gives Caisteal Abhail its name. Beside it is a cleft in the ridge known as Ceum na Caillich (or The Witch's Step).

Shortly after you reach open ground a trail forks off to the right, crosses the burn, and curves west and then south to tackle the ascent of Sail an Im. The main path, however, leads straight on, until it comes to an end at a fence.

Looking up the glen

You can stop here, or carry on beyond the fence on a much rougher path that leads directly towards Coire nan Ceum. On the way, this rough trail passes several more dramatic waterfalls. This trail ends about 700m south of the forest, at which point you simply turn around and head back the way you came -- unless you fancy tackling Caisteal Abhail without a trail!

From the car park to the end of the trail and back is roughly 4.75km (3 miles) and should take between 1.5 and 2 hours. That's how long it took me, but I stopped to take plenty of photos on the way.

Don't mistake this North Glen Sannox Waterfall Walk for the short circular walk at the foot of the glen that begins further south on the A841 at Sannox.