Day 30: Rannoch Moor to Ben Nevis Visitor Centre, Inverness-shire

Virtual Walk: Scotland 2021

3rd February 2021: 91.49km walked today taking the total to 3003.69/8854km. 10% of 138 entries submitting 914.86km

Today we finish the West Highland Way, the first officially designated long distance footpath in Scotland, opened in 1980, before we climb Ben Nevis and then walk to the Steall Waterfall.

Route 8: Milngavie to Fort William

Route 9: Fort William to Mallaig

We continue along the old Parliamentary Road over Rannoch Moor until we reach Kinghouse. Rannoch Moor is 130 square kilometres of peat bogs and lochans and can be treacherous in bad weather as it is very exposed. Halfway across the moor we reach Ba Bridge where the River Ba flows through a rocky ravine. The path climbs from here before descending past the Glencoe ski area and then to the Kingshouse Hotel. On the way down there are superb views of the Munro, Buachaille Etive Mor, which means ‘the Great Herdsman of Etive’, called this because it guards the southern entrance into Glencoe.

The Kingshouse Hotel was originally built in the 18th century at the head of Glencoe at the junction with Glen Etive. It was used by the Duke of Cumberland’s troops as a barracks after the Battle of Culloden in 1746 which is why it became known as the King’s House. When the Old Military Road was built after the Jacobite Rising it crossed the River Etive beside the inn. The inn has recently reopened after being extensively refurbished with only the original 18th century part being retained.

After leaving the hotel we cross the bridge over the River Etive and follow the Old Military Road towards Glencoe with Buachaille Etive Mor still dominating. Soon we start to climb steeply up the Devil’s Staircase to the highest point of the entire West Highland Way. There are two cairns which mark the top of the Devil’s Staircase, at 550 metres, with a climb of just over 300m from Kingshouse.

From the top of the Devil’s Staircase, we continue north descending towards Kinlochleven. From here we can see the Blackwater Reservoir. It has a dam which is about 1 kilometre in length, built almost entirely by hand by 3000 navvies at the beginning of the 20th century. It was built by the British Aluminium Company who wanted to build an aluminium smelting plant at Kinlochleven which would use hydro-electric power. As there was no existing loch to generate the power they needed, they had to create a loch, the Blackwater reservoir. Nearby on a grassy knoll, overlooking the reservoir, is a graveyard for the people who died while building the dam. Some of the 22 gravestones are marked ‘unknown’ which is why locally it is known as the ‘Graveyard of the Unknown’.

The path crosses moorland before reaching the pipes which take the water from the Blackwater Reservoir down into Kinlochleven. The path doesn’t take as direct a route down the hill as the pipes, instead zigzagging down through woodland before rejoining the pipes and descending the last part of the hill alongside them. The aluminium works shut in 2000 and now Kinlochleven has regenerated itself into a tourist hub with 2 of the old factory buildings holding the Ice Factor climbing centre.

From Kinlochleven we can make a short detour to the Grey Mare’s Tail waterfall before rejoining the West Highland Way. This climbs through birch woods before leaving the woodland and rejoining the Old Military Road. Looking back there are good views looking down Loch Leven to the Pap of Glencoe. We walk through the glen of the river Allt Nathrach until we reach the watershed at Tigh-Na-Sleubhaich where there is a ruined cottage. We head downhill before heading north through a forestry plantation before turning to head towards Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in the UK. Soon we reach Dun Deardail, an Iron Age fort which we can climb up for views to Ben Nevis. After leaving Dun Deardail we walk down into Glen Nevis, through forest, before reaching the Glen Nevis road across from the Ben Nevis Visitor Centre. Heading down the road we reach Fort William where the West Highland Way finishes at a sign with a bench and a bronze statue of a tired, but happy, walker.

Fort William lies at the head of Loch Linnhe, a sea loch, and Loch Eil. A wooden fort, called Inverlochy Fort, was built here in 1654 by Cromwell’s Commander in Chief before being replaced by a stone fort in 1690 then fortified by General Wade in 1725. The name of the fort was changed to Fort William, named after William of Orange, with the nearby settlement called Maryburgh, after his wife. The name Maryburgh was later changed to Gordonsburgh, then Duncansburgh, and finally Fort William. The fort doesn’t exist anymore other than the seaward wall and an archway which has been moved to Craig’s Burial Ground which was the Fort’s cemetery. Fort William is renowned for its outdoor activities such as walking, mountaineering, sailing, mountain biking and skiing.

Before leaving Fort William we will visit the West Highland Museum on the High Street. It was founded in 1922 by a group of people from Lochaber who wanted to create a museum about the West Highlands. It tells the story of the region, its history and holds collections relating to Bonnie Prince Charlie and the Jacobite cause, including Bonnie Prince Charlie’s embroidered silk waistcoat. It also includes objects such as Rob Roy’s sporran, treasure from a shipwrecked Spanish Armada ship, bagpipes played at the Battle of Bannockburn and the Highland Dress Regalia which Queen Victoria gave her faithful servant, John Brown.

Leaving the museum, we continue our walk by climbing the highest peak in the UK, Ben Nevis which reaches a height of 1345 metres (4413 feet). We head out of Fort William along Belford Road before crossing the River Nevis onto Claggan Road. We then take the path which runs up the east side of the river before turning left up the Ben Nevis path which we reach after passing Achintree Farm and the Ben Nevis Inn. Although the path we are taking is sometimes known as the tourist route, this is a bit of a misnomer as it is a tough and strenuous walk of over 17 kilometres (up and down) with over 1300 metres of climb.

The path climbs steadily until we reach the valley of the Red Burn which we follow before reaching the plateau which holds Loch Meall an t-Suidhe, known as the halfway lochan. From here the path keeps climbing before we cross the upper Red Burn and it becomes much rougher, winding through boulders and scree. We pass the head of Five Finger Gully with fantastic views of Glen Nevis far below. From here the path is not quite so steep as we reach the summit plateau but as the path passes close to the top of Tower gully and then Gardyloo gully we must be careful. At the summit there is a trig point, a war memorial, many cairns, and the remains of the meteorological observatory which operated from 1883 until 1904. Scientists worked and lived on the summit recording weather conditions every hour, day, and night, sometimes in extremely challenging conditions. There was also a hotel which opened on 7th July 1885, called the Observatory Hotel, a single storey wooden hut attached to the Observatory. It operated between June and September each year and provided refreshments and overnight accommodation. It closed in 1916 due to World War 1 and never reopened. Once we’ve taken in the extensive views from the summit, we must retrace our steps back to Glen Nevis.

Once we reach the River Nevis we turn left and head up the river, passing an old walled burial ground at Ach nan Con (Field of Dogs) which was the original graveyard of the Camerons of Glen Nevis, before we reach the Glen Nevis road. The road crosses the river at this point at the Polldubh falls and this is where the river changes its name from being the Water of Nevis to the River Nevis.

We now continue east up the single-track road, passing Paddy’s footbridge, before we reach a car park where we join the Steall Falls path. The now rocky path heads through deciduous woodland through the glen with the Water of Nevis tumbling over rocks below. As we leave the trees the path opens out into a broad grassy meadow surrounded by mountains with the Steall waterfall directly ahead. This is the second highest waterfall in Scotland with the falls cascading in a single drop of 120 metres. Near the foot of the falls is a bridge to cross the river which consists of 3 wires. If crossing it you have to hold onto the 2 top wires whilst balancing your feet on the lower one. It’s also best to keep looking forward, rather than down at your feet, as seeing the water moving below can make you feel like you are tipping over.

We then retrace our steps down Glen Nevis, past the car park and then cross Paddy’s footbridge which takes us to a path on the other side of the river rather than just walking down the road again. At the lower falls at Polldubh we don’t cross the bridge but instead follow a track into the forest and walk through the Nevis forest towards the Ben Nevis Visitor Centre.