Loch Callater

Loch Callater is an upland freshwater loch about eight kilometres south of Braemar in Aberdeenshire. It stretches roughly one and a half kilometres from northwest to southeast and sits between steep hills on both sides. The water is clear and cold, fed by streams that tumble down from the surrounding slopes. In summer the loch reflects the pale sky and the dark heather on the hills. A narrow path runs close to the western shore, while the eastern shore is steeper and less accessible. The loch was first measured in July 1905 by surveyors T.N. Johnston and L.W. Collett. Their work formed part of Sir John Murray’s wider study of Scotland’s freshwater lochs between 1897 and 1909. Anglers visit for brown trout, Atlantic salmon, eels and perch, though a permit is needed to fish. Walkers come to follow the lochside tracks or to reach the Callater Stable bothy at the northern end. The bothy offers simple shelter for those exploring the wider Cairngorms. Visitors find a quiet stretch of water where the only sounds are wind in the rushes and the cry of curlews overhead. The path along the west bank is wide enough for two people to walk abreast, with views across to the rounded tops of Carn an Fhreiceadain and Carn Eas. On calm mornings the loch surface is still, mirroring the hills so perfectly that distance seems lost. At the southern end a small outflow trickles away beneath a footbridge of rough stone. Beyond the loch the hills rise quickly, their slopes patterned with heather and patches of bog cotton.