Wigtwizzle - Norman Smith's Travel Blog.: rannoch moor

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Homeward Bound

Time to head back down again. As usual I first went down Glen Nevis and for my endeavour, got a very nice cloud clearance,especially at the head of the glen.

I also stopped on the edge of Rannoch Moor and took a couple of photos looking back towards The Three Sisters of Glencoe. Unfortunately I had to make do with roadside compositions as the ground was very wet and I only had trainers on.

This was my last visit until I go up to Gairloch with Sal in September. I would have liked it to have been a bit longer and maybe include a visit to The Isle Of Skye but the following week I was due to start my course of radiotherapy. Hopefully the after effects of my treatment won't affect that trip.

The highlight of my break was, without doubt my first introduction to Glen Orchy and I can't wait to go back there.

Low cloud, Glen Nevis

River Nevis

Lagangarbh, Glen Nevis

Alltnafeadh, Glen Nevis

River Nevis

Woodland Path

Glen Coe

Glen Etive

I had a free window before the start of my radiotherapy so headed off to the Highlands for a few days. I managed to get a room at The Moorings Hotel at Banavie which is situated right next to Neptune's Staircase on The Caledonian Canal. It's not cheap but I can afford it so why not?

The Staircase raises the canal by 19m (62ft) over a quarter of a mile of continuous masonry and takes around 90 minutes for a boat to travel up or down the locks. It was built by Thomas Telford between 1803 and 1822 and is the longest staircase lock in Scotland. It is a great location to enjoy ‘gongoozling’ the boats as they travel up and down the lock flight! Fortunately my room overlooked the locks so I got a grandstand seat.

I made good progress travelling up so I decided to have a drive down Glen Etive as I hadn't been down there for years. It is a long road, which goes on for some 14 miles, so I limited myself to going just as far as the first, unsightly hydro-electric works. They are under construction at the moment and planning permission has been given for seven in total. I stopped at the first one which was being built across the Allt a Chaorainn and the land surrounding it has been totally decimated. The constructors had made an utter mess of this once beautiful glen.

I took quite a lot of photos of the many cascades and waterfalls in the glen and also of the surrounding hills and woodlands. Due to recent dry weather, I even managed to get to the falls on the River Coupall and take a shot of the classic, much photographer Buachaille Etive Mor which normally would have been a mud bath. The usually glutinous peat was pretty dry albeit a bit spongy.

My drive through Glen Coe was very busy so I didn't stop. The sunny weather had brought all the visitors out and all the car parks looked to be full. I arrived at the hotel about four o'clock unpacked and had a nice cool lager sat outside, just watching the world go by.

River Coupall

Buachaille Etive Mor

River Coupall

River Coupall Falls

River Etive

Glen Etive

River Etive

Glen Etive

River Etive

Glen Etive

River Etive

Glen Etive

River Etive

Glen Etive

Back to The Highlands

It had been a long time, much too long a time since I was last in The Highlands, and it certainly felt great to be back. I was only up there for three nights but managed to do what I had planned to do, plus the weather was very kind to me. The only time it let me down was on my day out to Sanna Bay on the Ardnamurchan Peninsula where there was a sea haar which was OK for photography but a bit grim for coastal exploration.

On my drive up, I made a detour into The Trossachs National Park, visiting Loch Ard and Loch Chon before going over The Duke's Pass to Callander. The pass was originally built by the Duke of Montrose in the 19th century to improve access to his estate, and was later upgraded to accommodate the Victorian tourists drawn to the area after the publication of Sir Walter Scott's epic poem 'The Lady of the Lake' which celebrates the beauty of Loch Katrine. It may not have been as impressive as some of the higher passes, but what it lacked in that, it made up for in sheer beauty.

I also made a detour along the far side of Loch Tulla, and it was there where I got my first cleg attack, no midges but loads of clegs. Fortunately, I had given myself a good spraying of Smidge, so the little blighters were just bouncing off me.

I arrived at The Moorlands Hotel at Banavie early evening, settled in to my room and then had a short stroll along the Caledonian Canal's towpath. After driving for so long, it took my legs a short while to get going, but I still thoroughly enjoyed my walk in the late evening sun.

Had a couple of beers sat outside on the hotel's patio which overlooked the canal and just watched the world go by. I can't see me staying in Fort William again, this place was perfect for my needs.

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