Jocks Road is a right of way of significant importance in Scottish history. It is a route which crosses the southern Cairngorms from Glen Clova to Braemar and at one point the land owner closed access. A court case followed, until it was eventually declared a right of way in 1888.
This route follows a small section of it up through the forests in the Glen Doll valley and gives great views up towards the valley head whilst being a sheltered walk which can be done in any weather.
The walk starts from the Glen Doll car park where there are toilets and a visitor center. This is the same start point for the Corrie Fee walk, and the first km or so is along the same route. Once you cross the river on the large bridge you continue up hill until a large track splits off right, back towards the river. After crossing a bridge the path continues up until the edge of the woods is reached. A good footbridge now leads across then river and the footpath continues up until it meets Jock’s Road.
Here is a great place to have a picnic or break before descending back to the start. It is possible to extend the walk by continuing up the valley as far as you like, but this section is much more exposed than the forestry section. It is often possible to see deer high on the mountainsides here so it is worth having a good look around just in case.
Once you are ready to start the return journey you follow the good path through a gate and into the woods. Jock’s Road follows a straight line path back to the valley floor through a mix on natural and plantation forestry and has a much more closed in feel than the outwards section of the trip.
After a km or so you reach a path junction where you rejoin the large forestry track back to the Glen Doll visitor center. There are so many good shorter walks which are also very suitable to families with young children in Glen Doll and Glen Clova that it is well worth exploring if you are in the Southern Cairngorms. These include the Corrie Fee walk, the Loch Brandy walk, the Loch Wharral walk and Mayar and Dreish walk.
An Outdoors Family 