Inverness & Loch Ness
Craig Phadrig (172m) — Parking
Craig Phadrig Car Park, Leachkin Brae · Grid ref NH 640 452 · IV3 8PN · Free — "There is no charge to park in this car park" (forestryandland.gov.scot Craig Phadrig visitor information, read 6 Sep 2026).
Quick facts
- Grid reference
- NH 640 452
- Postcode (satnav)
- IV3 8PN
- Spaces
- A main car park with a smaller one just before it on the same road; FLS publish no count for either.
- Cost
- Free — "There is no charge to park in this car park" (forestryandland.gov.scot Craig Phadrig visitor information, read 6 Sep 2026).
- Surface
- gravel
- Drive from Glasgow
- 3h 15m
- Drive from Edinburgh
- 3h 15m
From the car park
A few minutes from the centre of Inverness. Take the A862 for Beauly, cross the canal bridge at Muirtown, turn left at the second set of lights onto King Brude Road following signs for Kinmylies and Leachkin, then right at the next lights towards Leachkin and right again onto Leachkin Brae. The main car park is a quarter of a mile (400m) up on the right (FLS route card).
The walk
Two waymarked trails. The Hill Fort Trail is the one that goes up — 1¼ miles / 1.9km, allow ¾ hour, described by FLS as an "uneven earth section with potentially muddy patches" and a "steep slope up to the fort with some wooden steps". The Craig Phadrig Trail is 1½ miles / 2.3km, allow 1 hour, on a wide and largely smooth gravel surface with moderate slopes, and circles the foot of the fortifications rather than climbing to them. Both from the FLS Craig Phadrig route card.
Busy times
Steady local use — dog walkers and after-work laps. It never feels like a honeypot.
Getting here without a car
City buses from Inverness centre serve Scorguie and Balnafettack, both a short walk from the foot of Leachkin Brae. Traveline Scotland for current routes.
Winter access
The gravel Craig Phadrig Trail stays usable most of the winter. The Hill Fort Trail is earth with wooden steps and gets slick and muddy — it is the section to think twice about in a freeze or after heavy rain.
Overflow parking
The smaller car park a little further down Leachkin Brae takes the spillover. Beyond that it is residential street parking, which is not what it is there for.
Current conditions
Daylight Today
- Sunrise
- 06:28
- Sunset
- 20:03
- Civil dawn
- 05:48
- Civil dusk
- 20:44
NOAA Solar Calculator · 6 September 2026
Frequently asked questions
- Is parking free at Craig Phadrig?
- Yes. Forestry and Land Scotland state that there is no charge to park in the car park on Leachkin Brae. There is a smaller car park just before the main one on the same road.
- How long is the Craig Phadrig walk?
- The Hill Fort Trail, which climbs to the fort itself, is 1¼ miles / 1.9km and FLS suggest allowing three quarters of an hour. The lower Craig Phadrig Trail is 1½ miles / 2.3km in about an hour.
- What is at the top of Craig Phadrig?
- An Iron Age vitrified hillfort, built over 2,000 years ago. Its rampart was destroyed by fire and the stones fused together by the heat — that fusing is what vitrification means. St Columba is said to have visited in 565AD to meet the Pictish king Bridei.
- Can you see Inverness from Craig Phadrig?
- In glimpses. The conifers around the fort have grown up and the views over Inverness and the Beauly Firth are now through the trees rather than open — FLS themselves put it as a question rather than a promise.
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