The road north from Loch Lomond crosses the empty expanse of Rannoch Moor and then drops, between the pyramid of Buachaille Etive Mòr and the buttresses of the Three Sisters, into Glencoe. It is the most celebrated mountain scenery in Scotland, carved by glaciers out of the remains of an ancient volcano, and it carries the memory of the Massacre of Glencoe of 1692, when government soldiers turned on the MacDonald families who had been sheltering them.
Sixteen miles further, on the shore of Loch Linnhe, Fort William is the largest town in the western Highlands and the base for Ben Nevis (1,345 m), the highest mountain in the British Isles. It is a practical rather than a pretty place, but it is ringed by superb country: Glen Nevis and its waterfalls, the Caledonian Canal, and the “Road to the Isles” west to Glenfinnan, where the railway viaduct made famous by the Harry Potter films curves across the head of a loch.
Highlights
- Driving or walking through Glencoe beneath the Three Sisters
- Buachaille Etive Mòr and the side road down Glen Etive
- Climbing — or simply admiring — Ben Nevis
- The gorge walk to Steall Falls in Glen Nevis
- The Glenfinnan Viaduct and the Jacobite steam train
- Neptune’s Staircase on the Caledonian Canal and the Nevis Range gondola
How long to stay
Two nights is the sensible minimum: one day for Glencoe, one for Glen Nevis or Glenfinnan. Add a third for Ben Nevis, which takes a full day and needs a weather window. Day tours from Edinburgh and Glasgow show you the glen in an hour or two — better than nothing, but only a glimpse.
Best base
Stay in or near Glencoe village or Ballachulish for scenery and walks from the door, or in Fort William for the station, shops, restaurants and Ben Nevis. Glenfinnan has a few characterful places for a quieter night.
