The Devil in the Glen

After a days rest in the Kingshouse Hotel it was time to get back on the trail again.

This was the day of all days that filled me with some trepidation. The climb up the Aonach Eagach ridge between Glencoe and Loch Leven was renowned.

We set off on the Way following the main road through Glencoe. It initially climbed up and down gently along the hillside to one side of the road. The massive peaks of the Glen seemed to look at you as we passed by.

We arrived at the bottom of the climb to the Devils Staircase and looked up. There was no going back. One foot in front of the other. The initial kilometre or so was not so bad. The path was rough loose stone which was wet and at times slippery. The heather was blooming around us and now and then a skylark would take to the sky disturbed by our passage.

An excellent piece on the climb can be found here.

But then the real climb started and progress slowed right down. The path took a series of switchbacks up the hill side. Each was around 50 metres long before turning back and climbing. This was a hard slog. It was just a case of keep moving. One foot in front of the other. Every 50 metres I had to stop for a small rest. Then do the next 50 metres. And so on. The stops gave me the chance to look back at how far we had come. The sun peeped between the clouds. The view back down the valley was staggeringly beautiful in the early morning sun.

Slow progress. We made it to the top 550 metres up and sat down by the two cairns of stone that mark the highest point of the entire way between Glasgow and Fort William. My Scottish mother would often tell me the story of the massacre of Glencoe and how the McDonalds of Glencoe were betrayed. “Never trust a Campbell” she would often say. Here we were sat at the top of the ridge on the very path over which the English soldiers marched down into Glencoe to carry out the bloodshed. For this was another of the old military paths constructed to move the army around quickly to control the Clans.

It was cold so I put my wind cheater shell coat on. The wind was chilly and blowing over the peaks. A snack bar and some water provided the fuel. The views across the mountain tops were breathtaking. What lay ahead was now a long descent. All the way down to Kinlochleven. I just knew my knees were not going to like this one bit.

The rough stone path meandered down the ridge. Sometimes climbing, sometimes dropping down.

We crossed numerous streams draining the upper slopes of rainwater down into the River Leven far below.

The rough stone track then became a stone and gravel service track for the hydro system for the old aluminium smelter far below. The gradient increased dramatically on this track and my knees really started complaining. I was reduced to small baby steps to maintain safe progress and keep the discomfort to a reasonable level. This went on for around 2 ½ hours until we finally reached the little town of Kinlochleven where we will stay for the night.