Glenfarg Railway Tunnels
A slightly different type of walk this one. It is perhaps not for anyone who suffers from claustrophobia or doesn’t like dark tunnels. The tunnels were in active service as part of the North British Railway Forth Railway Bridge to Perth route. They were in use up until the 1970s. There are two tunnels. Each is approximately 500m long. They should take between 5 to 10 mins each to negotiate. You should take a torch with you for this walk.
- Distance: 5.2 miles / 8.4 km
- Ascent: 650 feet / 200 m
- Terrain: mucky and wet unsurfaced paths, and quiet road
- Start / finish: Bein Inn, Glenfarg. You may be allowed to park there if you ask permission. A refundable deposit may be requested.
Route Map
The walk can be started from the Bein Inn Hotel at the junction of the A912/B996. It can also be started from laybys on route. If parking at the hotel, please ask permission as their car park is for customer use. From the hotel walk north along the A912 for about 200m. Opposite a road signed for “Binn Eco Park” (a landfill site), turn left on to a farm track. This section of the road can be busy and there is no pavement so take extreme care.
The farm track rises and takes you across a railway bridge. From there, you can look over the parapet to the southern tunnel, if you are tall enough. Follow the track for a further 100m to reach a wooden gate on your right (the second of two). Go through the gate and down the grassy track to join the route of the railway line.
Walk northwards (left on reaching the railway). Walk for about 800m on the line of the former railway. It provides a reasonable surface for walking on. The entrance to the northern tunnel will start to emerge through the trees in front of you. This first tunnel is curved. When you are in the middle, you will be out of sight of both ends for a few moments. Beware of uneven ground which may cause a trip hazard in the dark.
Once out of the tunnel, stay on the railway line for about 600m. Pass over a bridge to reach a quiet road. Go round the gate to the left (gap in the fence) and turn left onto the road. You can look back to see where the railway once crossed the road but the bridge has now been removed.
This next section is road walking. There is very little traffic on the road. Even the noise from the nearby motorway is not too obtrusive. After crossing the motorway, the road starts to go uphill for a few hundred metres which may seem like a bit of a slog. Once over the summit of the road turn left on to the farm track for Miekle Fieldie crossing a motorway bridge.
Keep right once across the bridge and follow the road/track to the farm. As you start to approach the farm look out for a gate on your right opposite the first shed. Go through the gate on to the track beyond. A sign on the gate warns about bulls. There may be bulls in the adjacent fields, but the track appears to be fenced off from the fields. There is no need to walk into the farmyard and if you reach the farm you have gone too far.
The track leads to a double set of gates to your left into a woodland area. These gates may need to be climbed although the first one might be openable if you look carefully. The track continues downwards through the woodland alongside a burn. This is quite a contrast to the open farmland that you have just passed through. The track exits the woodland at a gate on to the B996 road.
Cross over the road. On the other side of a wire fence, you will see the remains of the railway line. Turn left (north). Walk down the road for about 150m. You will reach a gate that can be used to access the railway line. Again there is no pavement on the road. A layby at this point could be used to park a couple of cars without blocking any of the gates. From here it is a short walk of a few hundred metres northwards to the entrance of the southern tunnel. Beneath you is an impressive stone viaduct (over the river and road) leading to the tunnel entrance. This tunnel is slightly longer and straighter than the northern one and you will never be out of sight of one end of it. Note the remains of an old car in the entrance to the tunnel. Again watch out for the uneven surfaces.
On exiting the tunnel the ground may be a bit muddy for a while. You will pass under a bridge. The bridge carries the farm track that you used at the start of the day to access the railway. If you are feeling brave you could scramble up the bank on the right-hand side of the bridge as a short cut. If you prefer an easier option, walk on for about 150m. Then turn left, back on yourself up on to the grassy track. This track leads back over the bridge and to the A912 road.
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