When I told my neighbour that my brother and I were driving to Fort William from Glasgow to climb Ben Nevis, she told me that a spectacular drive laid ahead for us, with Glencoe being the big highlight.
Sure enough, my neighbour wasn’t wrong, the vista opened out to deep valleys, steep peaks and endless lush greenery at every corner and crevice. If paradise were a single place on earth, this was it for me. We wanted nothing more than to pull up the car and go running for the hills, but we couldn’t, we had Ben to climb and we were already running late.
We told ourselves that we’d try and visit afterwards, but this was only to make ourselves feel better. Realistically we knew the chances were slim because we had a pretty tight itinerary, with separate trips on the cards to the Isle of Kerrera and the Isle of Mull. At best, we’d be able to stop to take a few photos.
I’ve always been fond of the proverbial saying ‘every cloud has a sliver lining’, and this proved especially true on the day we were supposed to be catching the ferry to the Isle of Mull so we could enjoy a wildlife boat trip that I had booked with an excursion company a couple of weeks prior.
However, through all the planning, which had gone smoothly so far, we realised we had forgotten to book the ferry to the Isle of Mull with our hire car and when we looked at the ferry departures the night before all the tickets had been sold out. That meant we couldn’t reach the island and the tour we had booked was now a write off.
We were pretty bummed about the situation. The tour was our biggest expenditure of the trip, and the treat we’d given ourselves for climbing Ben Nevis, but not one to wallow on our mistakes for too long we searched for a plan B. What would we do with our spare day? You guessed it. We jumped in the car and headed for Glencoe, the slice of paradise we had only the pleasure of driving through a couple of day earlier and wanted desperately to explore.
Low-down of the walk
Start/Finish: Glencoe Car Park
How to get there: Along the A82 the car park is on the right of the road, when you come in from Glencoe. For such a stunning attraction the car park is rather small and we had to wait around for a few minutes until some left so we could swiftly manoeuvre into the newly available space.
Distance: 3.5 miles (or longer depending how far you head into the lost valley before returning back the way you came)
Time to complete: 2 – 2.5 hrs (though might be longer if you tend to stop a lot for photos)
Terrain: The trail surface on this hike varies quite a bit, but it’s mostly over gravel with rocks sticking out, or over large rocks which have steps cut into them.
Difficulty: Easy to Moderate
The Lost Valley walking route in Glencoe
The Three Sisters are a beautiful set of three side-by-side peaks in the Glencoe Valley. The Lost Valley walk allows you to explore between two of them (Beinn Fhada and Gear Aonachand) to appreciate their magnificence. It’s one of the few moderate walks in Glencoe as most of the others are to the summits of the peaks. If we’d had more time, it would’ve been great to ascend one of summits, but we crammed in a detour to Castle Stalker in the morning, and anyway, my thighs were still fairly beat up after trudging up Scotland’s highest peak.
The walk begins from the parking lot for the viewpoint of the famous Glencoe Three Sisters. The path leads off to the left where you’ll descend down a metal staircase and across a bridge over the river Coe.
The ascent out of the gorge is on a rocky staircase with a rope along the wall to help you on the way up before emerging out through a wooden gate. This is probably the trickiest part of the walk, and although it continues uphill it’s smooth and easy going from here.
The path up to the Lost Valley never fell short of looking like a children’s storybook, so much so that it brought back memories of being a child again to some of the trips we did to places in Yorkshire.
We continued past a few sections of easy scrambling, meandering between boulders and admiring pretty flowers and waterfalls.
We stopped at a scenic spot by a waterfall to relax by dipping our feet in the water and refilling up our water bottles. The weather was hot but the temperature was thankfully offset by the river breeze and shade from the trees.
The most thrilling part came when we had to carefully navigate ourselves across five or six stepping stones to reach the other side of the River Coe.
I tried to jump from stone-to-stone as gently as possible but my feet still got partially wet. The water rose higher than some of the stepping stones. For this reason you might decide it better to just take off your footwear and wade alongside them.
Once you reach the other side, follow the cobbled stairs upwards to reach the valley where you can enjoy the fantastic views of high peaks around you and wander to the end of the valley before returning back the way you came.
Where to stay
Glencoe Village is the heart of the Glencoe area and provides easy access to the region’s hiking trails and stunning landscapes. For a bit of culture step inside Glencoe Folk Museum. For more hikes in the area, I also recommend the Pap of Glencoe!
- If you’re after luxury, look no further than Glencoe House. This luxurious boutique hotel is tucked away in a quiet spot nearby the centre of town. An impressive hotel set in a historic mansion against a back drop of mountains and Loch Leven. The only problem is, you’ll never want to leave.
Would you like to visit Glencoe in Scotland?
If you’re planning a trip to Scotland and want to see beyond the capital city, take a look at these blogs and guides below for inspiration.
One Response
What a cool hike. If you have the chance anytime, there is another great one on the Nortwest, Sandwood Bay. It is amazing to sleep there.
Is in your bucket list?
Regards