Silverbridge and Little Garve – A family walk
Silverbridge to Little Garve is a short circular walk based around two beautiful historic bridges. These two bridges are crossing points over Black Water or Alltan Dubh, a fast flowing river running down to Loch Garve. There is a wonderful forest playground at Little Garve, and part of this route on the south bank is on a high quality path suitable for pushchairs, making this a great walk for families.
Distance: The full circuit is about 2 miles / 3.3km. The out-and-back pushchair friendly section from Little Garve is roughly 1.7 miles / 2.7km.
Parking (full circuit): Heading north from Garve on the A835, pass the A832 turning, and then look out for a left turn signed for toilets and parking. This is the Silverbridge car park. There are steps down from the bridge here, so it is not a suitable place to park if you have wheels – in this case you should park at Little Garve (see below).
Parking (pushchair-friendly section): Heading north from Garve on the A835, pass the A832 turning, and then the second right turn, a sharp turn signed for Little Garve. Follow a bumpy but very straight tarmac track down to a left hand turn, which will take you to a small car park with picnic benches by the bridge at Little Garve.
Amenities: there are toilets at the Silverbridge car park.
Buggy/bike-friendly? Starting from the Little Garve car park, the route across the bridge on the south side of the river is suitable for pushchairs nearly as far as Silverbridge. The final section is too steep for pushchairs really. I would be cautious about taking balance bikes on this route as it is fairly close to running water; not close enough to fall in, but close enough to want to maintain visibility of small children.
Little Garve to Silverbridge: the route
CAUTION: sections of this route, particularly the bridges, are close to fast moving water and rocky terrain. Take care, especially with small children.
For the pushchair friendly section of the route, start at Little Garve. Cross the old military bridge, and take the footpath to your left signed for Silverbridge. Follow this path through the forest with views of the river to your left (I think these views would be better when the bracken has died back in the autumn).
After three-quarters of a mile, you will arrive at a picnic bench with views of a waterfall. I would suggest turning back here with a pushchair, as the path becomes steeper up to a bridge over a burn.
If you are starting from Silverbridge and completing the full circuit, you can walk onto the bridge to admire the views, and then when you are ready, set off down the steps to begin your walk.
Little Garve to Silverbridge: What is the terrain like?
The path over the bridge and along the south bank is wide and of good quality. The final section to Silverbridge is really too steep for pushchairs.
Things to look out for:
When we did this walk in September there were thousands of blaeberries along the route. We also saw some very interesting mushrooms and toadstools.
There is also the excellent Wyvis Natural Play Park at Little Garve, which is on the other side of the bridge from the car park, just after the turning for the walk. A perfect spot for a play after your adventure!
