I remember the first time I saw this spot. It was in the early ‘90s and my friend Kirsty and I had decided to check out the skiing at Glencoe. We came around the corner and I was absolutely amazed that here was this big old expanse of water, sitting up at such an altitude. With the mountains behind and its wiggly shape, dotted with rocks, heather and wee trees, it’s truly a sight that makes your heart sing. And it’s all the more impressive because you’re just not expecting it. (Although I suppose you are now!)
The shot above was taken in March 2016 on a daytrip to Glen Etive and Glencoe with my friend Penny. It’s hard to get a bad photo - it looks beautiful at any time of year. And there are plenty of official lay-bys and not-so-official bits of worn ground where you can pull off the road.
Feb 2016, June 2016, Sept 2015, Dec 2017
The Sausage particularly loves it in the winter, when he can engage it a bit of ice walking. Fortunately, he doesn’t venture far and is a total scaredy-cat, so backs off as soon as there’s a creak or a crack.
Just as you get towards the end of Lochan na h-Achlaise, look right and you have the spectacular Loch Ba. And carry on up the road (the main route to Fort William) for the Glencoe Mountain Resort, Glen Etive and Glen Coe – truly an epic day out, which I'll cover in future posts, one stunning nugget at a time!
LOCATION INFO
Getting there: From Glasgow, take the A82 north and just keep going! From Stirling and The Trossachs, take the A84 to Lochearnhead and then carry on up the A85 to Crianlarich, where it meets the A82, signed Fort William. Just past the Green Welly stop at Tyndrum, bear right to stay on the A82. Rannoch Moor is around 20km and it’s a lovely drive, so keep your eyes peeled!
Sat Nav: PA36 4AG
OS Landranger map: 50 GLEN ORCHY & LOCH ETIVE / 41 BEN NEVIS Fort William & Glen Coe
Terrain: Rocks, heather, bit boggy in places. Good pair of walking boots & possibly gaiters.
Nearest facilities: Glencoe Mountain Resort has facilities, but I’d head through Glen Coe to the Clachaig Inn and go round the back into The Boots Bar, which has an outstanding selection of whiskies and - if you’re lucky and it’s not too busy – you can snaffle a seat for you and your pooch by the log burner. Very friendly staff and some fairly decent food.
All maps in the blog are from Google Maps