Falls of Foyers – with a photo guide to the path

The Falls of Foyers is one of the most famous sights around Loch Ness, a waterfall on the River Foyers tumbling 50 metres into a pool below. Getting down to view the pool is something of a scramble, though much less dangerous than it used to be! Apparently an early visitor donated £5 to start a fund for the building of a path, after the hair-raising experience of getting down to the Falls.

Distance: Less than 0.5 miles / 800m

Parking: Follow the B852 into Foyers from Inverness. Turn left immediately after the Post Office and village shop into a public car park. It’s a steep slope up to the parking spaces!

Amenities: The toilet block in the Foyers car park was being rebuilt at the time of our visit (February 2023). There is a cafe and shop right next to the carpark.

Buggy/bike friendly? Definitely not!

Photo guide to the Falls of Foyers Path

The whole walk out and back is roughly half-a-mile, so not really needing a full walk report, but I thought it would be helpful to families to post some pictures of the terrain, so that you can decide whether it is suitable for your children.

The path is well built but the descend is steep. It is mostly flights of steps, with some rocky areas to scramble over. Many areas are well fenced, but there are some exposed steep drops off to the side of the path.

Speaking frankly, I will not be doing this route again with our small children any time soon! We went after rain, the path was slippery in places. I think in dry weather, with older children, or with one or two children (so that it would be easier to keep tabs on them) I would attempt it. We had children in back carriers, and even with walking sticks I didn’t really enjoy that experience, at least not in combination with supporting a child walking. I’m generally fine with heights, but when my children are around I find them scarier, and looking over the edge of the upper viewing platform made me feel rather ill!

There are two viewing points, one about half way down and one near the bottom of the Falls. Both are spectacular. They are fenced in, but I would keep your small children close!

Robert Burns at the Falls of Foyers

Robert Burns wrote a poem at the Falls, which I have copied here. At the time of Burns’ visit, the falls were far more dramatic than they are now; the water volume has been greatly reduced by the local hydro plant. They are still well worth seeing however!

Among the heathy hills and ragged woods
The roaring Foyers pours his mossy floods;
Till full he dashes on the rocky mounds,
Where, through a shapeless breach, his stream resounds,
As high in air the bursting torrents flow,
As deep-recoiling surges foam below,
Prone down the rock the whitening sheet descends,
And viewless Echo's ear, astonish'd rends.
Dim seen, through rising mists and ceaseless showers,
The hoary cavern, wide-surrounding, lowers.
Still, through the gap the struggling river toils,
And still, below, the horrid cauldron boils.

Robert Burns, 1787, written in pencil on the spot

You might be interested in these other short walks around Loch Ness.