Glen Coe
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Breathtakingly beautiful Glen Coe (literally "Valley of Weeping"), sixteen miles south of Fort William on the A82, is one of the best-known Highland glens: a spectacular mountain valley between velvety-green conical peaks, their tops often wreathed in cloud, and cascades of rock and scree. In 1692 it was the site of a notorious massacre, in which the MacDonalds were victims of a long-standing government desire to suppress the clans. Fed up with what they regarded as unacceptable lawlessness, and a groundswell of Jacobitism and Catholicism, the government offered a general pardon to all those who signed an oath of allegiance to William III by January 1, 1692. When clan chief Alastair MacDonald missed the deadline, a plot was hatched to make an example of "that damnable sept", and Campbell of Glenlyon was ordered to billet his soldiers in the homes of the MacDonalds, who for ten days entertained them with traditional Highland hospitality. In the early morning of February 13, the soldiers turned on their hosts, slaying between 38 and 45 and causing more than 300 to flee in a blizzard, some to die of exposure.
Beyond the small village of GLENCOE at the western end of the glen on the shore of Loch Leven, an inlet of Loch Linnhe, the glen itself, a property of the National Trust for Scotland since the 1930s, is virtually uninhabited, and provides outstanding climbing and walking. The emptiness of the glen, and the poignancy that reflects, has been at the heart of a furious local row in recent years as the NTS struggle to reconcile local opinion with their plans to build a new visitor centre, dubbed by some "as similar to building a supermarket in the middle of the glen". The rather dated present construction (April-Oct 9.30am-5.30pm; 50p), near Clachaig, shows a short video about the massacre, and has a gift shop selling the usual books, postcards and Highland kitsch. There is a shortish walk from the centre through the forest to Signal Rock, which offers good views up and down the glen. More substantial are the informative ranger-led guided walks (June-Aug): on different days of the week a high-level hike and a low-level walk set off from the visitor centre.
At the eastern end of Glen Coe beyond the demanding Buachaille Etive Mhor, the landscape opens out onto the vast Rannoch Moor, dotted with small lochs and crossed by the West Highland Way, the A82 and, farther east, the West Highland Railway. From the Glen Coe Ski Centre (tel 01855/851226), a chairlift climbs 2400ft to Meall a Bhuiridh, giving spectacular views over Rannoch Moor and to Ben Nevis (lift open in ski season and July & Aug; 15min; £4 return). At the base station, there's a simple but pleasant café.
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