Gateway to Glen Affric
Cannich
A working forest-and-river village shaped by hydro power, long-distance paths and the glens beyond.
- Best for
- Glen Affric trails and Highland landscape
- Give it
- A village stop plus a half-day outing
- Don't miss
- Dog Falls and the Affric Bar
The Fox verdict
A practical base at the mouth of the glens
Cannich is a forest-and-river gateway rather than a preserved stone show village.
The village combines the practical Cannich Stores and the Affric Bar with access to Dog Falls, Coire Loch and River Affric. Hydro-era buildings and the local shinty tradition give the settlement its own story, while Corrimony and Plodda Falls broaden a short stay.
Where to go
Places in Cannich
Every place below is checked against a published source, listed with what it is and how long to give it.
Local signatures
3 placesDog Falls Trail
A circuit beside the River Affric to rushing rapids and falls in a deep rocky gorge, with ancient pine and birch around the wider Dog Falls area.
- Visit length
- Editorial estimate: About 1¼ hours for the circuit; about 30 minutes for a falls-only return
- Locality
- Dog Falls, Glen Affric
- Access
- The strenuous circuit includes uneven gravel, rocky sections, steps, long steep slopes, a narrow bridge and two road crossings.
Plodda Falls
A waterfall among tall Victorian plantings of Douglas fir, larch, grand fir and redwood associated with Lord Tweedmouth.
- Visit length
- Editorial estimate: allow around 60 minutes
- Locality
- beyond Tomich
River Affric
A deeper Glen Affric destination with a viewpoint, picnic area, trails, toilets and mountain access.
- Visit length
- Editorial estimate: allow around 60 minutes
- Locality
- about 10 miles / 16 km along the glen road
- Access
- The road becomes single track, mobile reception is limited, and there are no shops or cafes in the glen; carry supplies.
Food & drink
2 placesAffric Bar & Cafe
A village bar and cafe in new premises adjoining Cannich Stores, serving house-made pies, sausage rolls and burger patties with an outdoor drinking area.
- Visit length
- Editorial estimate: allow around 60 minutes
- Locality
- adjoining Cannich Stores
- Access
- The new premises has capacity for 50 customers and provides bar meals, on-sales and an outdoor drinking area.
Cannich Stores
A family-run licensed village shop and VisitScotland Information Partner stocking food, drink, groceries, whisky, maps, guides, books, gifts and practical supplies.
- Visit length
- Editorial estimate: allow around 20 minutes
- Locality
- Cannich
Walks & outdoors
1 placeCoire Loch Trail
A route through ancient pine and birch to a secluded lochan where summer brings water lilies and dragonflies.
- Visit length
- Editorial estimate: About 1½ hours
- Locality
- Dog Falls, Glen Affric
- Access
- The strenuous path has roots, rough rock, steps and steep sections.
History & heritage
1 placeCorrimony Chambered Cairn
A near-complete Clava-type cairn, probably dating to about 2000 BC, encircled by 11 standing stones and with cup marks on its loose capstone.
- Visit length
- Editorial estimate: allow around 30 minutes
- Locality
- on the Drumnadrochit side of Cannich
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Three ways to explore Cannich
Signature outings
The Affric Bar at Cannich Stores
Enjoy house-made pies, sausage rolls or burger patties in the new bar premises, with an outdoor drinking area beside Cannich Stores.
Dog Falls gorge
Take the two-mile circuit to the falls in a deep gorge, or use the shorter falls-only return for a roughly 30-minute visit.
Corrimony's ring of stones
See a near-complete Clava-type cairn probably dating to about 2000 BC, encircled by 11 standing stones with cup marks on its loose capstone.
The village story
Cannich Village Guide
A village bar, practical stores and a hydro-shaped Highland gateway to Glen Affric.
The bar and village stores
The former double-decker setting has retired; Affric Bar & Cafe now operates from new premises. In February 2026, Highland Licensing Board approved on-sales, bar meals, televised sport and an outdoor drinking area for Cannich Stores/Affric Bar & Café; its report described the planned extension as accommodating 50 customers, with a separate 16-seat outdoor area. The menu includes house-made pies, sausage rolls and burger patties, with eggs from Invercannich Farm a mile away and meat from John M Munro in Beauly. Taps carry organic Black Isle Brewery beer, other Black Isle beers and Dog Falls Brewery beers; the bar also bottles its own Affric Trail single-cask single malt.
Cannich Stores, which the bar adjoins, is the practical centre of the place. It is family-run and licensed, a VisitScotland Information Partner, and it supplies not just Cannich but the scattered communities around it at Tomich, Cougie and Struy. Alongside the groceries you can buy whisky, maps and guides, books, toys, newspapers, Flogas, coal and salt. In a village this size a shop that stocks both coal and single malt is doing most of the work.
A working gateway
Cannich Hall is the community venue for Cannich, Struy, Tomich and wider Strathglass, hosting sporting, school and community events, live music and ceilidhs. Its setting among open grass, playing fields and wooded slopes gives the village a strong communal centre as well as a practical gateway to the glens.
The village sits where the River Cannich meets the River Affric, the two joining just east to form the River Glass. This is the head of Strathglass and the way into Glen Affric, and Cannich reads as a working forest-and-river gateway rather than a preserved stone showpiece: sandstone-faced housing, playing fields, open grass and wooded slopes, with the glens beginning at the edge of it.
Walking into Glen Affric and getting here
Most people are here to walk. The Dog Falls Trail is a strenuous two miles that follows the glen river to a deep gorge — uneven gravel, steps, a narrow bridge and two road crossings — in about an hour and a quarter, though a falls-only return takes thirty minutes. The water is whisky-coloured as it rushes through the canyon. The longer Coire Loch Trail climbs through ancient pine and birch to a hidden lochan where water lilies sit in summer and dragonflies work the surface. The Affric Kintail Way runs west from the village all the way to Morvich, some forty-four miles; the first stage arrives here from Drumnadrochit over the hills.
You reach Cannich on the A831, about ten miles from Drumnadrochit and the A82, or from Beauly the other way. Beauly has the nearest railway station, unstaffed with a free car park and step-free platforms. Bus service 48 calls at MacColl Road, but only on Fridays.
Hydro, shinty and the Golden Retriever
The village exists in its present form because of the hydro. In the late 1940s the Mullardoch–Fasnakyle–Affric scheme made this its main camp, housing around two thousand workers in Nissen huts with a canteen, sick bay, store and post office. MacColl Road is named for Sir Edward MacColl of the Hydro Board; one Nissen hut still stands. The Strathglass Shinty Club, the "Grand Old Club," has played near here for close to 150 years, through Clearances, forestry and hydro alike.
And a little way toward Tomich, at Guisachan in 1868, Lord Tweedmouth bred a Wavy-coated Retriever named Nous with a Tweed Water Spaniel named Belle. Their three puppies were Primrose, Cowslip and Crocus, founders of the line that became the Golden Retriever.
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A guide with a point of view
Written from research. Edited for real journeys.
Use the Official site links for live practical details, then use this guide for context, ideas and room to explore.
Sources
Every place on this page is checked against a published source. Each entry links the record we used and names who publishes it.
- Affric Bar & Cafe — affricbar.co.uk operator, sector body or destination organisation
- Cannich Stores — cannichstores.co.uk operator, sector body or destination organisation
- Dog Falls Trail — forestryandland.gov.scot statutory register or public authority
- Coire Loch Trail — forestryandland.gov.scot statutory register or public authority
- Corrimony Chambered Cairn — historicenvironment.scot statutory register or public authority record not machine-readable; publisher restricts automated access
- Plodda Falls — forestryandland.gov.scot statutory register or public authority
- River Affric — forestryandland.gov.scot statutory register or public authority