Welcome to HOLIDAY West Highland - Discover the West Highlands

Lochaber and Glencoe

Author Holiday West Highland

BEYOND Appin lies the district of Lochaber which is now widely regarded as the outdoor capital of the UK. Indeed, the facilities it offers the outdoor person really cannot be bettered in this country. With Fort William at the heart of this huge area, which takes in Glencoe, Kinlochleven, the Ardnamurchan peninsula, Britian’s highest mountain and all the glory of stunningly beautiful lochs and glens, Lochaber will stay in your heart for ever.

Streams tumble down its mountainsides, waterfalls crash down from great heights. The 92-mile West Highland Way ends at Fort William and the 73-mile Great Glen Way to Inverness starts at the town. From the central belt Rannoch Moor is the entrance to Lochaber through Glen Coe, one of the top ten sights in the world.

Driving down the A82 along this looming, glooming glen, you gain a sense of its sad history with the infamous 1692 massacre. Home of the MacDonalds, descendants of the survivors of the massacre still live in Glencoe village which has a small but entrancing museum, a shop, post office and community hall. From Glen Coe you can follow picturesque Loch Leven to its head at Kinlochleven.

Once an important aluminium smelting village it is now a quiet community but busy with tourists in the summer as the West Highland Way passes through it and its amenities include pubs, shops and accommodation. Here, too, an old aluminium smelter houses world-famous indoor rock and ice climbing walls, a real tourist attraction.

The journey round the loch to Kinlochleven and round the other side is well worthwhile as it offers lovely views and places to stop and stare. The village of Ballachulish, near Glen Coe, was once important for its slate quarrying. Now, like Kinlochleven, its industry is gone, but it is still an interesting place and you can walk round one of the quarries which villagers look after. There is plenty of wildlife there, particularly bird life and way markers tell you the slate story as you walk round.

Ballachulish slate was used all over the world to roof buildings and it has an important place in Scotland’s history. All along the A82 from Glen Coe you will find accommodation for all pockets. Near Inchree is Corran Ferry where you can take a short ferry trip across to Ardgour on the Ardnamurchan peninsula – a hidden gem of the West Highlands. But follow the A82 and you find yourself in Fort William which lies at the foot of Ben Nevis and on the shores of Loch Linnhe.

Fort William has everything to show LOCHABER & GLENCOE it is the outdoor capital of the UK. It has many outdoor clothing shops, pubs, bars and hotels, guesthouses and restaurants and places where you can hire outdoor equipment such as canoes and mountain bikes and skiing equipment.

A highlight is to take a gondola at Nevis Range and ascend hundreds of feet to Aonach Mor adjacent to Ben Nevis. This is a skiing area and also the home of mountain-biking championships, with superb runs where you can have a go. Mountain-bike trails also run through the local forestry and make for a wonderful excursion if you fancy maintaining your fitness. Other sports facilities in the town include a swimming pool and gymnasium but more sedentary visitors can take a loch cruise. A walk up Glen Nevis, staggeringly beautiful, with a stunning waterfall called Steall, is a must. Don’’t forget that Lochaber is also Harry Potter country. Many scenes were filmed here and sights include the famous Glenfinnan viaduct on the Road to the Isles, Glen Coe where Hagrid’s Hut was to be found and the Hogwarts Express.

At the fishing port of Mallaig where the Road to the Isles ends you can take a ferry to one of the Small Isles of Rum, Eigg, Canna and Muck, or to Skye. Magical and romantic with their strong associations with the Prince, a trip to the Small Isles is to go back in time. Eigg is now owned by the islanders themselves and they off er a warm welcome and several events are planned throughout the year.

Kinloch Castle on Rum, an island owned by Scottish Natural Heritage, is an anachronism, a massive baronial mansion literally stuffed with fine furniture and paintings and all the trappings of a rich Victorian industrial family. Open to the public it is a fantastic opportunity to glimpse a past way of life. You can even get married there if you’’re looking for a romantic location! The pretty village of Arisaig, near Mallaig, has associations with the Prince and you can also take a trip from here on the Shearwater during the summer to the Small Isles. It doesn’’t take long and it’’ll be a voyage to remember as you most likely will see whales, seals and dolphins. Mallaig itself is also worth a walk-round with its pier and shops and you can visit by train, bus or by car. Watch as fishing boats unload their catches or just stand and gaze over to Skye and the Small Isles. The Ardnamurchan peninsula is widely regarded as one of the last wildernesses of Europe.

Here you can go eagle-spotting and see other rare birds. There are also some famous oak woods, rare flowers and gorgeous villages including the main one, Strontian. The folk of Ardnamurchan are keen to keep the area safe as a wilderness and fight hard to ensure visitors can see it in all its wild glory. Ardnamurchan is both pretty and rugged, though parts of it are very fertile, and driving along its single track roads gives you superlatively beautiful loch and mountain views at every turn. The villages of Ardnamurchan have annual agricultural shows or Highland Games and are highly popular, although the Lochaber Gathering at Fort William is the biggest and best attended. There are ancient castles, hidden coves and at the far end at Sanna Bay fine views of the Small Isles. There is plenty of accommodation including camp sites and caravan parks as well as hotel and bed and breakfast establishments.