Loch Morlich

Pine-fringed loch below Cairn Gorm with a sandy beach, watersports and an easy shoreline trail.

Loch Morlich lies in Glenmore Forest at the foot of the Cairngorms, just before the road starts its long climb to the ski area. Long stretches of the shore are sandy beach. In 2009 it became the first freshwater loch to win a Seaside Award, and at 300 metres it is the highest beach ever to get one. On a warm summer day it is packed.

A watersports centre rents kayaks, sailing dinghies and windsurfers, and an easy path of about four miles goes all the way round the loch through Scots pine. The Cairngorm bus from Aviemore stops here.

things to do sight beach watersports walking
A story
The sand on Loch Morlich's beaches contains a surprising amount of broken glass, and tourists didn't leave it. During the Second World War the area was a training ground for Kompani Linge, the Norwegian commandos trained by the Special Operations Executive. They picked it because the landscape and climate are so close to Norway's. A memorial to the unit stands outside the Glenmore visitor centre.