23 Aug Glencoe Scotland – Walking the Highlands

As we made our first windy journey through the Scottish Highlands I peered out the window, taking in the acres of sparsely populated, ancient countryside. For most of the drive we saw little sign of human life save for the odd white house stranded in the middle of vast valleys of green scrub and purple-pink thistles; huge domed or knobbly mountains capped with low-lying cloud loomed from every angle, snaking white lines of icy waterfalls drawn down their sides.

Arriving in the Highlands of Scotland

The two-and-a-half-hour car ride from Edinburgh to our cottage in the Scottish Highlands turned into five when we had to change course due to a road accident. We didn’t complain about the delay too much though, given that we were being treated to those first spectacular views in the last of the summer sunshine we’d experience for the next week.

Eventually it appeared beneath us, nestled at the bottom of a cluster of purple-green mountains next to the wide loch it’s named after: the tiny village of Kinlochleven where our cottage awaited. We spiralled down the road past pubs and short rows of terraced houses to our home for the next week, a yellow-doored cottage named The Nook, the base from which we’d explore the Scottish Highlands.

Walking in Glencoe Scotland

Most things to do in the Scottish Highlands involve walking, eating and plenty of rain. After enjoying the most glorious British summer I can remember since arriving back in the UK, we got a true taste of winter thanks to the notorious Scottish Highlands weather. Despite the fact that it rained and stormed for most of our trip, we were determined to get out on some walks around Glencoe. We zipped up our coats, put on our boots and braced ourselves against the wind – here are some of the views we were rewarded with.

After all that walking it was only fair that we stopped to refuel at the welcoming and tasty Glencoe Café where we enjoyed soup, scones, cheese platters, sandwiches and cakes – yum!  During the evening we took shelter from the rain in the equally great McDonald Hotel where my parents tried haggis and we indulged in shots of whisky.

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