Watten – Nature at Loch Watten and historical traces

Watten offers two distinct themes to explore: the natural environment around Loch Watten and historical traces associated with the church and pilgrimage route. When planning your trip, you can decide whether you are more interested in lake ecology and seasonal bird roosts or in church history and traditional route stops. At the loch, the focus is on habitats and birds; at the church and along the pilgrimage route, it is on historical accounts.

Loch Watten: habitat and greylag geese

Loch Watten covers around 385 hectares; its naturally nutrient-rich habitat is often characterised by beds of pondweed. In Caithness, it is one of the two best examples of a base-rich lake. Every year from late September to the end of April, Loch Watten is an important roosting site for overwintering greylag geese. If bird roosting is a deciding factor for your trip, this period provides a useful guide. These are two distinct ecological perspectives: the classification describes the loch as a base-rich habitat, while its roosting function is limited to the period stated above.

Church, crannog and pilgrimage route

Watten Church is mentioned in records dating from between 1223 and 1245 and was dedicated to St Magnus. Only the outer walls of the old parish church in Watten remain, at a uniform height of 0.5 metres. The early mention in the records and the surviving walls offer two different historical perspectives.

At the southeastern end of Loch Watten, near the village of Watten, there is evidence of a crannog that is now mostly submerged. Watten also appears to have had a shared convent and monastery centre, with a holy well dedicated to St Catherine.

The Northern Pilgrims’ Way passes through Watten on Route 6 as stop 48. In the Watten section of Route 6, the route follows the B870; at a sharp bend, a narrow road branches off to the site of a chapel on the banks of the Scouthal Burn.

Walks and practical information

Walks on paved roads in Watten are accessible and have no steep gradients. As surface and access conditions can change, check local conditions before setting out.

A walk along a paved road and the Watten section of Route 6 offer different points of reference: for the roads, these are accessibility and gradients; for Route 6, they are the route along the B870 and the turn-off to the chapel site. Before setting out, check the route description for the section you actually plan to walk.

Parking is available in front of the old church and Watten village shop, as well as at Loch Watten. To reach the car park at the loch, take the turn-off from the main road towards Gillock on Station Road; there are picnic tables at the loch. Seven boats are at Oldhall; access to the shore of Loch Watten is from the A882. Check local parking and current access conditions before your visit.

Discover more destinations: Golspie, Croick, Tain, Plockton, Greshornish, Nethy Bridge, Thurso, Glenmore.

For the wider travel overview: Highland.