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Glencoe is located on the rugged west coast of Scotland and takes up the southern area of the Scottish Highlands. It is one of my favourite places in the world because of the hauntingly beautiful mountains, streaming waterfalls, glassy lochs and winding roads and rivers.
The drive to Glencoe is breath taking! Every time I go there I’m amazed at how beautiful it looks. There are so many different shades of green in the fields and the trees. The mountains, rivers, forests and valleys are just stunning and it can change so dramatically depending on the time of year, the weather and the light.
3 Hikes in Glencoe
I met up with a friend in Glencoe for a weekend of hiking. I hadn’t had a lot of hillwalking experience prior to this, so these hikes are suitable for beginners. The weather in Scotland can be VERY unpredictable so you need to be prepared for anything and make sure you have gear for all conditions. We were able to manage Steall Falls and Lost Valley walks on the first day and then Pap of Glencoe on the second day.
Steall Waterfall
The walk to Steall Falls begins at the carpark at the very end of the road up Glen Nevis. This can be a busy location as it is also the starting location for a few Munros. The walk to Steall Falls is fairly easy, it took us about an hour and a half there and back. The path leads you through the Nevis Gorge, where you walk alongside the river and eventually the glen opens up to a meadow where you can see the waterfall ahead.
Steall Falls is the second-highest waterfall in Scotland with a single drop of 120metres. As you get closer to the falls the glen turns to the left and you get a spectacular view of the towering surrounding mountains.
Lost Valley (Coire Gabhail)
Start at the Lost Valley Parking Lot, just over 5 miles out of Glencoe village. The walk takes you between two of the Three Sisters, Beinn Fhada and Gearr Aonach.
We got to about 20 minutes from the end, where we had to cross a stream and go up some scrambling. After standing and observing for a short while deciding whether we should keep going, we saw a lady coming down on her bum. She suggested it’s best to go up on all fours. My friend is a more confident hill walker than I and she wasn’t confident at the scrambling, so I thought there’s no way I’m going to try if she’s not feeling it!
The terrain was quite difficult in places, and there are some steep drops but it’s a beautiful walk, even if you can’t do it all.
This is where the MacDonald clan hid their rustled cattle and where they fled to after the Massacre of Glencoe in 1692, although it was hard to imagine how they got the cattle there when we struggled to walk it!
Pap of Glencoe
The route starts from a minor road about 1km northwest of the Glencoe Youth Hostel. Once you pass through a gate, the path leads you through another gate, head uphill on the track. You can already see the fantastic view up Glencoe. The track splits off before reaching the waterworks and you take the right turn over the footbridge and through the field of cows.
The terrain changes and it gets very steep, boggy and rocky, when eventually you see the stoney dome ahead. At this point I was literally about to give up, when an older couple on their descent stopped and gave us a good pep talk. They said it wasn’t any harder than what we’d already done – so on we went. I’m not so sure about that though…you know those mountain goats that stand on cliff faces in nature documentaries and you think how on earth did they get there? I felt like that at some points!
But the view from the top makes it all worth it – it usually does right?! You can see down to Glencoe village; across to Ben Nevis; and Loch Leven looked so cool from above. The moving sun and cloud completely changes the mood.
We sat at the top for a while to take in the views and have a bite to eat when we saw rain across the loch so decided it was time to make a move.
The descent was must faster and easier than the journey up and it took us about 4 hours in total. I did find it quite tough, but it also made me realise I easily could have gone all the way in the Lost Valley!
How to get to Glencoe
Glencoe is about 2hours from Glasgow and 2hours 45mins from Edinburgh by car. The roads on the west coast of Scotland, when you’re away from the major towns and cities, are mostly narrow and windy. Great care and patience is needed, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing as you can take in the views as you drive.
By bus – CityLink buses run to the area from Glasgow. Any public transport route from Edinburgh, will take you via Glasgow. If you’re coming from the north, you can catch the CityLink running from Uig in Skye to Glasgow. Or check out local bus routes from Fort William to Glencoe.
Via train – There are train services to Fort William from Glasgow, where you will need to change to the local bus service.
Either way, if you are travelling during daylight you’ll be able to take in the magical views.
Where to stay for the weekend
I was in Glencoe for two nights on this particular trip and stayed at the Glencoe Youth Hostel. The staff were really helpful in giving us information about the hikes we were doing. I enjoy staying in hostels because you meet all sorts of amazing people from all over the world. In fact, the friend I did these hikes with I actually met at a hostel in Cinque Terre when we were both travelling in Italy!
If hostels aren’t your thing, there are loads of beautiful hotels to stay in around Glencoe.
Glencoe is hiking heaven
Glencoe valley has an enormous choice of walks, but for a beginner I’d say these three are a good place to start, and they have such magnificent views. If you’ve done any of these hikes or any others around Glencoe, let me know in the comments how you got on.