Wigtwizzle - Norman Smith's Travel Blog.: November 2019

Glen Nevis and Rannoch Moor

My last day and I woke up to a very cold and frosty morning so, rather than just setting off back home, I decided to make the most of the conditions by paying Glen Nevis a visit. I drove along the glen as far as the lower falls, taking photos of anything which took my fancy until the sun rose above the hillside and began to thaw out the valley.

I was as pleased as Punch with the weather conditions as they just got better and better the farther south I travelled. I first stopped off at Glen Etive to get a shot of the River Coupall waterfall with The Buachaille Etive Mor behind. It was a good job that the weather was so cold and the ground frozen because the place would have been a quagmire if not and all caused by people like me. That will be the last time I stop off there. It's a pity they can't block the area off so that the ground can recover.

Rannoch Moor really was a winter wonderland. Parts of the moor were still frosted over and the clouds were just starting to beak to reveal the snow capped hills of The Black Mount. Moments like that are very few and far between and I just didn't want to leave but leave I must as time was getting on.

Looking back over my three day break, the weather was mainly very kind to me. I did have a wet drive back from Mallaig on my first day but it didn't really spoil my day overall. Ardnamurchan had been a great day but my journey back home had been the icing on the cake.

Glen Nevis

River Nevis

Lower Falls

River Nevis

Buachaille Etive Mor

River Coupall waterfalls

Black Rock Cottage

Rannoch Moor

Cloud Clearing The Black Mount

Lone Tree, Rannoch Moor

Rannoch Moor

Lochan na Strainge

Loch Bà

Ardgour and Ardnamurchan

The only feasible way to get over to Ardnamurchan is via the Corran Ferry (about ten miles down the road from Fort William). Once across Loch Linnhe, I still had a forty five mile drive; a thirty four mile section of which was on single track roads with passing places. The coffee I had in the local cafe at Strontion was well received and set me up nicely for the horrors ahead as Strontian marks the end of normal roads and the start of the single track roads.

The worst part was from a village called Salen on Loch Sunart to The Natural History Centre at Glenmore which I should imagine was about ten miles in length and pure driving hell with one blind bend after another. To make things worse, the Natural History Centre Cafe, which I usually call in to break up the drive, was closed for the season so there was no coffee for me for the rest of the day. Fortunately for me I'd had that morning caffeine fix at the cafe in Strontian. The going from Glenmore onward was a lot easier; the road was still single track but at least I could see a fair way ahead of me plus I knew that I wasn't too far from the turn off for Sanna Bay.

Sanna Bay, as usual, didn't let me down in any way shape or form, you only have to look at the photos to see how beautiful it was. I may not have had the weather that I had last year but the stormier conditions brought a lot more drama to the scene. Unfortunately the rougher seas kept the dolphins at bay which was a disappointment and the time I spent hanging around waiting for them to appear, made it too late for me to go to the Lighthouse at Ardnamurchan Point.

I'd still had a belting day and, as I had visited the lighthouse a couple of times in recent years, I wasn't all that upset. If I had been prepared to drive all the way back to Fort William in darkness then I suppose I could have paid a quick visit there but the roads are bad enough in daylight hours.

I got back to the village of Glenuig just as the last of the sun was lighting up the hills across the bay and the sunset I got at Glenfinnan really was the icing on the cake. It had been a fairly long day but worth it and I was glad to get back into Fort William for a couple of beers and a bite to eat.

Ardgour Hills

De-forestation, Ardgour

Glen Tarbet

Strontian Stables

Loch Sunart

Ardnamurchan Peninsula

Ben Haint, Ardnamurchan

Heelan Coos

Sanna Bay

Loch Mudle, Ardnamurchan

Loch Sunart

Glenuig

The Sound of Arisaig from Glenuig

Glenfinnan Sunset

The Road To The Isles

The Road to the Isles runs Fort William to Mallaig and, even though only about 45 miles in length, usually takes me a whole day to complete both ways. The first section to Corpach is quite industrial and the views don't really start until you near Glenfinnan with its Jacobite Monument. Glenfinnan is the place where Bonnie Prince Charlie raise the Scottish Standard in 1745 and called all the clans to arms to regain the throne from his father James Stewart.

Its other claim to fame is the Glenfinnan Viaduct which has 21 semicircular spans of 50 feet^. It is the longest concrete railway bridge in Scotland at 416 yards, and crosses the River Finnan at a height of 100 feet. The West Highland Line it carries is single track and the viaduct is 18 feet wide between the parapets and built on a curve of 792 feet.

After leaving Glenfinnan, the road passing through a series of narrow gorges until it reaches Loch Eilt. It then follows the River Ailort through another gorge which is towered over by Rois-bheinn and An Stac , two hills which are not far off being Munros. The shore of Loch Ailort is then skirted before the road rises past Our Lady of the Braes Roman Catholic Church at Polnish; this was made famous by the film Local Hero starring Burt Lancaster which is about an American oil company who sends a man to Scotland to buy up an entire village where they want to build a refinery.

The road then drops down to a sea loch called Loch nan Uamh which is where Prince Charles Edward Stuart (Bonnie Prince Charlie) landed on 5th August 1745. In 1746, after the battle of Culloden, he returned there as a fugitive with a price of £30,000 on his head and set sail to France. Loch nan Uamh means "The Loch of the Cave".

It is then a short drive along the newly upgraded A830T to Arisaig which is set in it's own little amphitheatre and has stunning views across to Rhum, Eigg and Muck. It's beautiful sands and coves have such romantic place names as Keppoch, Portnaluchaig, Camas an Daraich (known as Camusdarach) and Morar and are a photographer and walkers paradise. I can spend all day exploring these few miles of coastline and, if you go at the right time of year, you won't see another person.

The weather was never really good but deteriorated rapidly when I reached Mallaig. I had wanted to spend some time there but only managed a quick walk round the town before the rain arrived. It threw it down all the way back to Fort William so no further stops were made.

Enjoyed my few beers in town that night. A new pub has opened which is owned by The Orkney Brewery, the beer is good, the food is good and the atmosphere is good. It could become a regular haunt on future visits.