The Ballad of Glencoe

The 27^th December 2022 saw us rise before 5am to ensure we left by the hour of six. We had at least a seven hour journey ahead of us from Warwick to Glencoe and JD wanted to be sure we made it in good time. I had not felt great since the week before Christmas and couldn’t really work out if I was feeling better or worse; but now was not the time to question. The car was packed the night before with just the cool bag and us to jam in before we set off.

A couple of stops along the way, including at our favourite Green Welly Stop in Tyndrum, and snowy conditions through Glencoe saw us arrive at Craig Moray Cottage just before 4pm. Our hosts were kindly getting us some milk from the local Co-Op when we called and they were soon there to let us in.

The cottage was lovely and cosy compared with the cold and the dark outside so we soon unpacked and settled. Board games, films, books, Christmas cold cuts, and port kept us company until it was time to turn in.

The next day dawned cold and wet as we headed out to Fort William. JD wanted to get a picture of the shipwreck of Corpach on Caol Beach because you can photograph it with Ben Nevis in the background from the right angle. The wreck itself has gained traction as a tourist location, partly I suspect from the picture-perfect position it has, but some of those living locally see it as an eye-sore. The wreck started life as a brand new mackerel and herring fishing boat in 1975 and retired to Loch Linnhe in 2009. Here the ship, now named Golden Harvest, weathered a terrible storm in 2011 which pulled it from its moorings and the coastguard saw it navigated to land safely in its current spot where it has been ever since. Unfortunately for us, we had a great view of Nevis as we were driving in; but by the time we got to the wreck, the mountain was completely enveloped in cloud. Annoyed we didn’t snap it when we had the chance, we took the photos we could and played a little on the beach before heading into Fort William. A wander through the town, a late lunch, a visit to the Nevis Bakery, and then to Morrisons saw us heading home for another night of games and leftovers!

Corpach on a sunny August day with a good view of Nevis!

Still wet on the 29^th, we took a wander towards Glencoe from Craig Moray and enjoyed a bit of history on the Ballachulish peninsula seeing the slate-roofed boathouses known to date from the 1860s and Loch Leven’s burial island of Eilean Munde the final resting place of over three hundred members of the Macdonald, Cameron, and Stewart clans. Even when they were at conflict with each other in life, the island remained a place of peace they all maintained. The adjacent island – Eilean na Comhairle – is known as the ‘Isle of Discussion’ where the clans brought their neighbourhood disputes to resolve. Steeped in history, Eilean Munde holds many legendary figures including the Macdonalds who died in the infamous Glencoe Massacre. In early February 1692, nearly 40 men, women, and children were killed by Scottish Government soldiers due to the clan’s former allegiance to the deposed Stuart King James VII. The story goes that Maclain, the Glencoe clan chief, set out to swear allegiance to the new King William III (William of Orange) but arrived past the deadline. Despite receiving assurances that his oath had been accepted and his clan was safe, the decision had already been made to make an example of the Glencoe Macdonalds. Many of those who escaped the attack itself, died later of exposure due to the harsh winter conditions. The Hidden Valley, which we explored previously and again later in this visit, was one of the places people found a temporary haven.

You can continue to explore the area’s history at the Glencoe Visitor Centre, Glencoe Village, and Glencoe Folk Museum – although their opening times will be seasonal. You can also learn more about slate in Ballachulish exploring one of the main quarries first operational in 1693 which we have done on a subsequent sunnier visit! However, our priority was escaping the heaviest of the rain and we ducked into the Isles of Glencoe Hotel to enjoy a coffee, a beer, and a fizzy pop. In the hotel’s dining room, I read the stories of those who came to ‘take the waters’ and discovered the gin they now make to capture the essence of the spa. From there we ventured into the centre of Ballachulish and the Laroch Inn for an early dinner. A beautiful three course meal that left us completely full and we wandered home in the winter darkness to cuddle up in front of the fire before bed.

Despite the threat of heavy rain, we ventured further afield to the Glenfinnan Viaduct the following morning and spent some wonderful hours exploring the walk to the Viaduct’s best viewpoint. You could do the walk in less than an hour but there was so much observing and documenting to be done that we took much longer! The Viaduct has been made famous most recently thanks to the Harry Potter film franchise as the Hogwarts Express travels across it – which you can see as the Jacobite steam train in the summer months. However, it has been operational on the West Highland Railway since 1901 built by Robert McAlpine and his two sons. We took a wander through the visitor centre to learn about Bonnie Prince Charlie and why the lone Highlander sits on top of the Glenfinnan Monument at the shores of Loch Shiel to mark the 1745 Jacobite Rising. You can climb to the top of the monument which I have not yet done despite visiting twice! This time when we came out the rain had increased in intensity and was threatening further heaviness so we didn’t even walk down to the monument and merely observed it from afar. The story of 1745 and the 1,200 Highlanders who gathered to fight for the Stuart king is a story that fascinates me in part because Scottish history is so integral to English history and yet isn’t taught in schools, or certainly wasn’t when I was young. As an English Literature graduate, I know a lot of English history in context to the writing of the time from Beowulf to James Joyce; but I know very little Scottish history and very little literature. I think the only Scottish writer I thought I had read was the author of Greyfriars Bobby, Eleanor Atkinson, who turns out to be an American! I side-lined Henryson and Dunbar for Chaucer as a student; have only read a handful of poems from Robbie Burns as an excuse to celebrate something in January; and not tackled any Walter Scott despite owning both Rob Roy and Ivanhoe as Penguin Classics. I do like Carol Ann Duffy though!

On our previous Glenfinnan visit, we also visited the beautiful Church of St Mary and St Finnan just down the road when the weather had been much kinder. This time, we didn’t escape the hail that launched itself from the skies as we ran to the car and it hit my arm with a force that hurt! That put an end to any further exploration and it was back to cosy Craig Moray and our backgammon championship.

New Year’s Eve dawned cold but dry so we layered up and headed for the Hidden Valley, or Coire Gabhail (also known as the Lost Valley). As well as a safe haven for the Macdonald clan at the time of the Massacre, it was also rumoured to be a valley they used to hide stolen cows. It’s a walk JD and I had done before, but not with K, and it’s challenging enough for all our legs so I am not sure how the cows managed it! I was struggling still with my sinuses and had been medicating myself with paracetamol and ibuprofen but the walk proved to be a ‘kill or cure’ as I sweated out a fever I didn’t realise I had on our hike through the mountains. If you’ve not done it before the route is not the easiest even in the best of weathers and we still had the threat of ice and snow underfoot. As you leave the initial valley, you take a metal grid steep set of steps down to the river which the rain and cold had made treacherously slippery requiring a very careful step and both hands holding onto the railing for safety. Once across the river using the rope bridge, the climb up the rocks was immediately a scramble requiring hands and feet to ensure stability. The continued ascent became easier but the threat of ice underfoot made for careful and well considered step choices – even more so than normal!

The Hidden Valley (on a day we did get across the burn!)

Unfortunately, whilst I had expected it to be slippery underfoot, I had not thought about the burn we needed to cross to make our final stage of ascent before the Hidden Valley would come into view. The melting snow and rain had made it too deep for us to cross in K’s hiking trainers and even in my boots. We watched a couple wearing wellies cross relatively easily with their dogs in a deeper section near the top of the stream whilst another couple with hiking poles and boots struggled not to slip using the semi-covered crossing stones which was definitely the shallowest point but where the water moved fastest! We would have to use the stones but I felt sure I would slip and K would have to take her shoes and socks off and dry her feet on the other side. JD tried to find an alternative way but we couldn’t see where the climb allowed us to re-join the path we wanted. We waited for our luck to change whilst knowing it wouldn’t. It was gutting to have come so far and worked so hard and not reap the reward; but, as JD told K after we were sat safely back in the car, Scotland is not Alton Towers and we have to protect ourselves. No one is there to stop the ride if it’s not safe. As if to prove the point, I managed to slip coming back down and JD moved fast to protect my head from hitting the rocks. More tragically, the very next day, the news reported the death of a climber on Nevis just a stone’s throw away. Nature, whilst wonderful to enjoy, is not to be trifled with.

Disappointed, we took in some sustenance at the Clachaig Inn and enquired about New Year’s Eve. It was a good 20 minute drive there though and too far to walk so we opted for the close-by Laroch Inn to ring out the old and in the new. We arrived just after 8pm and it was already bustling with no tables to be had. We set up camp at the bar peeling off the layers in the warmth of the room just as we spied a table with only one chair tucked away in a corner. I led the way carrying a pile of coats, hats, and outer layers thinking we could use the chair to pile them on; but no sooner had we arrived then the rest of the pub seemed to take it upon themselves to find chairs for us all! A stool arrived ‘for the little one’ and a chair ‘for the big man’ and we all had somewhere to sit and rest weary legs. The games came out and we enjoyed backgammon, draughts, and some 60 Second Scribbles before the band arrived and Hogmanay was in full swing! Soon we were counting down to midnight and the bells of the New Year brought with it a queue of locals waiting to wish us the best for 2023. The funniest moment was when a middle-aged woman went to greet JD with a kiss on the cheek before he awkwardly moved in her embrace and it ended up as smacker on the lips!! Her friend promptly arrived for her turn! Having kissed lips and shaken hands with the pub, we headed outside with the piper and watched the village take part in their own impromptu ceilidh whilst the snow started to fall. Whilst JD could have partied all night, K and I were ready for our bed and we wandered the short, dark walk home.

Nothing much moved the next day as we spent the first day of 2023 in a state of hibernation. The cottage too cosy and the outside too cold, we all benefitted from a day of quiet. We did manage to get some star photos which JD was most happy with as he’d cursed the cloud all week preventing him from getting the dark sky views he wanted. And that was it, our last day in Glencoe came to an end as we packed and got ready for our long drive the following day. And it was long! Unfortunately our journey home saw us caught in several long traffic queues on the M6; but before we left the splendour of Glencoe we managed to capture the Skyfall scenery at Glen Etive. A less hectic, less adventurous, and more restful trip than our usual Scotland travels; but I left feeling no less full of joy in spite of the sinus infection I was now sure I was contending with.