Travel diary #2. Glencoe and Ballachulish.

Location.

Both villages are located in the Lochaber area of Scottish Highlands. For people who are not entirely familiar with Scottish Highlands geography I would described the location as close to Fort William or Oban. Those villages are very old settlements and both have very rich history, but I am not going to repeat Wikipedia’s articles here. Also, they are both located in one of the most beautiful parts of this Globe. Therefore, this is the location we like to travel repeatedly. With every trip we discover something new about this region. Moreover, both villages offer a wonderful family walk destination. You will be impressed with beautiful views of mountains and Lochs. Here you can find a suggested hiking trail in this location.

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Pap of Glencoe seen from Ballachulish. #ballachulish #lochleven #papofglencoe #scottishlochs #scottishhighlands #hikingscotland #familyhikes #ameteurphotography #naturephotography📷 #mountainphotography #autumnvibes🍁

A post shared by the_stings (@4stings) on Oct 8, 2020 at 11:46pm PDT

Glencoe Orbital Track.

Firstly, we took the Glencoe Orbital Track. We usually spend first day to accommodate to the new place, weather and basically all different conditions. Our base was, as usual, at Glencoe Independent Hostel. We walked from our base in Glencoe to a neighbouring village Ballachulish, which by foot, takes around an hour one way. This could be done faster but we always have to consider two children who want to stop for some blackberries. Yes! Blackberries! They are everywhere, and they are yummy!

The track is easy, not technical at all and takes you to one of the most beautiful scenery in the world! Glencoe itself, as a village, is what Hurricane described as “cute”, and I cannot disagree with her. It is small, quiet and have interesting history which you can discover in Glencoe Folk Museum. Moreover, Glencoe architecture is quite unique. All those small houses with colourful gardens makes me want to move there right now!

For the first time I have recorded our walk on Komoot app, which is essentially easier to show exact route on the map. On the top of that I have to share some great pictures from the walk.

Ballachulish.

The second part of the hike is walk around the village of Ballachulish. We did this course over two different days. This is simply because we were tied to the weather conditions. However, both villages could be explored within one day with plenty of options for a lunch or hot drink at local coffee shops or pubs.

For us the highlight of the day was visiting the old slate quarry and learning the history of this place. This was truly educational! You can still see the remains of the construction parts they have used in the past. Our Froggy was over the moon when he saw old posts and wires. After all, for him it is more interesting that boring grass, water or rock! On the top of everything, I have to mention that this quarry is a very good place for family picnic!

After exploring the quarry area, we have walked around the Loch Leven, where we have simply enjoyed the family time. There is nothing really to add on this subject, the pictures speak for themselves. However, the only thing I would like to mention over here is the Komoot hike record. As you can probably see we have taken our time, often walked away from the track. We have even managed to loose the GPS signal which explains all that mess on the map. Nonetheless, I strongly recommend the walk around these two villages, you wont be disappointed!