Shh! This may not be true. (But it probably is)

As you stand on the Ballachulish Bridge and look East along Loch Leven towards the Pap of Glencoe, behind you will be the rock on which they hanged James of the Glens for killing Campbell, the local factor - land agent - after the Bonnie Price Charlie uprising.

Almost certainly James did not do it. The Campbells were intent on revenge. Robert Louis Stevenson wrote his famous book Kidnapped, based on the tale. This is true.

But in front of you at low tide you will see another rock, a small one. This is the likely spot of another older historical incident, if the Viking Sagas are to be believed.

Loch Leven would be the deepest point inland point where the Vikings went in their longboats. They were a long way from their supply lines. This small rock beside the shore is covered at mid tide. The Sagas have it that a Viking Price was drowned when his boat struck a rock here and filled with water. No date, no name, no details just a story. True? Well, why not?

The Sagas were stories handed down from generation to generation about the Viking families, their deeds and their rivalries. Look left, to the trees behind the Loch Leven Hotel and there they found the Ballachulish Goddess, dated to 626bc a wooden figure now in the Scottish Museum. Also there are the remnants of a small inland water on which they say they found traces of a Crannog, which was a homestead built on stilts on inland waters used in the Bronze Age. Traces of a Viking battle are round the corner to the South of where you stand.

 Romance? You can't beat Glencoe. A treasure trove of stories. I haven't mentioned the 3,000 year old Standing Stone in Onich, which you can see from the main road, nor the famous Glencoe Massacre, nor Ballachulish house where Queen Victoria stayed.

John
HISTORY PAGES. Scottish castles in the West Highlands The story they don't tell you about the Glencoe Massacre History around the cottage in Appin Did the Vikings stage a battle in Glencoe? The Pictish broch in Lismore West of Scotland millions of years ago Robert the Bruce and the Ardchattan parliament Robert the Bruce and the Knights Templar The story of the MacDonalds of Glencoe Ancient roads of the Highlands Glencoe, the 4th Wonder of Scotland Castles in the Glencoe area

Gillian and I each woke up in the middle of the night with this nightmare

Bill McKenzies lovely pic of the cottage and the Bay. He gave us permission to use it from his Flickr site. He has some brilliant photos of Glencoe here


This is everyone's personal horror story, if they offer accomodation. Double booking.

Saturday evening last. Arrive home to find 2 emails waiting for us through this brilliant co-operative email service which Glencoe owners use between us. When there is no room at the inn - or b&b or cottage then the visitor's need can be circulated to everyone in the Glencoe area so they can find somewhere to stay.
In our absence, the Glencoe people were trying to find somewhere for a French family who had  turned up at our cottage thinking they were booked in only to find that existing people had arrived earlier that day.

Aarrgh! The French family were now at the Pineapple House in Duror. They were out at dinner but at least I had their name. Worryingly they were clutching a piece of paper with our cottage details on it. I searched the computer for them, nothing found. I checked Paypal, nothing. I knew we had had no bookings nor enquiries from France in the past year. But I can be notoriously inattentive sometimes. Can you imagine what feelings the poor family had on the first day of their holiday in Scotland?

Gillian and I each woke up in the middle of the night worrying about it. If it is our fault then we would have to find somewhere good and pay for it. Would the Holly Tree Hotel have vacancies for a week? Unlikely in the middle of the school holiday. Then the Clachaig said they might have a cottage available.......

In the morning, Jan the new owner of Pineapple House rang to say that it was all a false alarm. When they looked for their papers, they found they were booked in a cottage in Strontian, across the water, and were on their way there. Oh, the relief.

How did it come about, how did they come to us, why did they have our cottage details with them?

I'm guessing, but this is what I think may have happened. Three years ago I signed up with a big French Holiday directory to list our cottage. When I raised questions with them about their trading I received no reply. I even tried to reach their Chief Executive in Paris. Nothing happened. We seemed to get a number of unsuitable enquiries from them and more just before our renewal date. We asked to be taken off their site but WE ARE STILL ON IT. They send us enquiries from the clients, but we are not enabled to reply, presumably to encourage us back in to this directory. So their clients are disappointed to receive no reply and book elsewhere. The Directory is on our Spam list.

I think this family tried to book with us, received no reply, but by mistake brought a printed copy of the website listing with them.

Tricky this modern world. Keeps you awake at night sometimes.
John

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Sophy's Tale...

Ok, it was April, so I've taken time to upload it. Which hill is it Mark? 

Hi John
We had a really smashing holiday thanks, and the cottage was excellent and comfortable. Here are some of the pics I took on the holiday and you can use any of them
Marks' lovely pics of Glencoe
As you can see we did some big hill walks with snow above about 2,200ft. There was all sorts in the way of weather but it was kind to us when we were up high. You'll recognise some lowland walks we did too, such as on the evening of arrival we crossed the bay from the cottage and walked along the coast a bit.
Good birdwatching too! Again, the photos give an idea, but the highlight was a pair of ptarmigan. Great Northern Diver came a close second.
As I said, the cottage was great. Having WiFi was a real bonus.
We went twice to the Holly restaurant - excellent and (in a different way) the Onich Hotel was great too (twice there!)
Thanks again, we had the holiday we hoped for.
Mark & Megan Scott

We loved having you both there.
John
LINKS THINGS TO DO

Lochside cottage near Glencoe in the Highlands of Scotland Last minute, late availability Glencoe, self catering cottage 20 brilliant walks around our cottage area Easy hill walks in Glencoe Why not walk up Ben Nevis one day? Easier Munroe walks in Glencoe Skiing Glencoe and Nevis range, cottage is midway between the two Video. Skiing on Glencoe mountain Weather in the West of Scotland Rock and Ice climbing in Glencoe Cycling and fishing Glencoe Spectacular wild life around our cottage Golf in the Highlands, Dragons tooth golf course, Glencoe Cruising the islands, using Glencoe as a base Safe, beautiful beaches and bays in Glencoe area Touring the Highlands by car from Glencoe, Spring breaks, March April May Glencoe Winter breaks, Jan Feb March in the cottage Autumn breaks November December in the cottage Our new Appin blog site

The Aonach Eagach ridge in Glencoe in mid Summer. Sophy's tale

Prologue to Sophy's tale.

February 1955. Imagine a young chap, loves climbing in Scotland. Takes a motor bike to Glencoe from London to celebrate finishing National Service. A valve blows, bike caput. Ring the AA from the repair shop by the Ballyhoo hotel by the ferry for a spare in Birmingham. (Ferry then, no fancy bridge of steel) Nothing to do. Youth hostel in Glencoe, thinks "I'll pop up the Clachaig gully, and along the Ridge". No one to go with, so do it solo. Wet in the gully, thank goodness for clinker nails in the climbing boots - no vibrams in those days. Very very wet. Beautiful day on top, cloudless sky, 360 degrees of snow all around. This vision is seared into my memory until the day I die.

Epilogue to prologue. I came off the ridge as soon as I got frightened. The valve arrived the next day, having been transported from AA man to AA man for 400 miles. Those were the days.

Sophy's tale

Hi John,

Well that’s us back to reality, boo hoo.

What a week we had, it actually feels like we were off for two weeks because we did so much.

That’s the sign of a great holiday!

We had a lovely time so thank you both once again for letting us stay.

We loved the cottage, its very comfy and cosy and just what we needed.

The weather was great as well, we were very lucky.  The only heavy rain we had was when we were on the Aonach Eagach ridge, just when we wanted it to stay dry!

Ah well, we survived!   We also had a lovely walk up Bidean Nam Bian and sunbathed at the top, while watching a thunder storm roll in from the east.  It was spectacular.

I’ve loaded up some of our better photos from our walks – there aren’t many of the Aonach Eagach proper though as there was no way I was stopping to take photos on the really scary bits!

Sophy's album.

ps. I have to confess, I was quite glad of the cloud on top of the ridge a few times, as it meant that I couldn’t see the huge drops below me!

John

Links

Appin is beautiful Bed and breakfast and hotels from Oban to Fort William Walks around our cottage Autumn short breaks in Glencoe Ben Nevis walking is a slog, but worth it Cottage holidays Scotland in the Autumn, Winter, Spring The highlands of Scotland Find holiday cottages anywhere Gorgeous photographs of Glencoe Hill walks in Glencoe Munroes in Glencoe Port Appin Barcaldine Accommodation in Lochaber Kentallen Ballachulish Onich How to find cottage owners self catering websites

A Scottish Earl was the principal Ancestor of William the Conqueror.

The statue of Rollo stands in his adopted City of Rouen

In the 9th century, Vikings ruled the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. The fierce Rollo, born around 846, was expelled from Denmark, and took over the Earldom of Orkney rather brutally by all accounts.

A terrible and powerful ruler he totally dominated his territories. His raiding parties went down the English coast to Brittany. They sailed along the Seine and invaded Paris itself. Not once. Many years in succession.

The French king, Charles, was terrified. He offered the land of Normandy to Rollo in return for not invading Paris.

The story has it that as part of the agreement Rollo had to bend the knee to King Charles. Charles the Simple. He said no Viking could do that and ordered one of his men to do it in his place. The man lifted Charles' foot so high that the King fell over backwards. The King did nothing - not so simple as all that.

That is how Normandy began. Born 200 years later, his great, great, great, grandson was the Duke of Normandy, William, the Conqueror.

Mind you he was born outside the sheets, as it were. But you didn't say this in those days if you wanted to keep your manhood.

John
HISTORY LINKS

Scottish castles in the West Highlands The story they don't tell you about the Glencoe Massacre History around the cottage in Appin Did the Vikings stage a battle in Glencoe? The Pictish broch in Lismore West of Scotland millions of years ago Robert the Bruce and the Ardchattan parliament Robert the Bruce and the Knights Templar The story of the MacDonalds of Glencoe Ancient roads of the Highlands Glencoe, the 4th Wonder of Scotland Castles in the Glencoe area

You can meet Hamish McInnes at Crafts and Things most mornings

To all intents and purposes, Hamish is Glencoe. To climbers and mountaineers around the world he is a legend. In popular imagination the best known climber would be Chris Bonnington, but that is because of the publicity. Chris has done great things, everywhere, but Hamish is the father of mountaineering.

He invented the lightweight stretcher now used by all sorts of rescue services around the world. I helped to carry a bloke with a broken ankle off Sgurr na Banachdich in the Cuillins, when I was 18. Was that hard going! About 25 yards at a time was all that six of us could manage.

He also started the Glencoe Mountain Rescue team exactly fifty years ago this year.

"It was more dangerous in those days," says to-days leader John Grieve. "To-day we can call on 30  volunteers, have fantastic gear, our own vehicle, and even a helicopter." To-day the tram is trained in diving, for river rescues. People drowned in Loch Awe last year but the local services were hampered by Health and Safety. No Health and Safety is involved with the all-amateur Glencoe Rescue team. Just good common sense and good practice and training.

It used to be true that most accidents were caused on the descent, and when the weather turned bad. Most rescues were of walkers, not well equipped climbers. Most rescues involved people not taking maps, compasses, spare food, and good wet weather gear. Basically, most accidents occurred to idiots. I bet it still is true.

I bet that there are fewer people leaving their route with the B & B owner in the morning, in case they are late back. This would be because they now rely on mobile phones. Tried getting a good O2 signal on the magnetic parts of Bidean these days have you?

John
Ps Hamish and his chums are to be found in Crafts and Things in Glencoe most mornings. Quiet unassuming very gentle. Nice man.

Sorry about this I just want to put in this link for Google to find. Apologies. They are not showing the right title which means that the little demon they use for these things has missed it.

Brighton Festival Fringe jazz


Scottish castles in the West Highlands
New page in our site about driving on snow and ice
Masses of information about the area in our Site map
This is about Fort William
Appin is beautiful
Bed and breakfast and hotels from Oban to Fort William
Walks around our cottage
Autumn short breaks in Glencoe
Ben Nevis walking is a slog, but worth it
Cottage holidays Scotland in the Autumn, Winter, Spring
The highlands of Scotland
Find holiday cottages anywhere
Gorgeous photographs of Glencoe
Hill walks in Glencoe
Munroes in Glencoe
Port Appin
Barcaldine
Accommodation in Lochaber
Kentallen
Ballachulish
Onich
How to find cottage owners self catering websites

This place is like a treasure trove. 2,300 year old harp found!

This picture is from the Daily Mail. 

In ancient Scotland, without written records, the history was handed down from father to son by word of mouth. But the essentials were often recorded in song. Important people had praise songs as a public tribute in the ancient Gaelic culture.

Cave drawings show how important was music. Flutes have been identified as the oldest instrument of all. You can find flutes to-day because they are made from bone. But the harp is made from wood, and does not last. The harp is the oldest stringed instrument known to mankind. This fragment has lasted for 2,300 years.

The fragment of this harp was found near Armadale in Skye opposite the Mallaig ferry. It was made only 100 years after the oldest harp ever found, in Persia.

Pictish stones depict harps from the 8th century. This harp dated back no less than 1400 years before that.

This is a treasure land, Scotland, it really is.

John
Links:

The real story of the Glencoe Massacre
History around Appin
The Vikings stage a battle in Glencoe?
The Pictish broch. Lismore West of Scotland
Robert the Bruce and the Ardchattan parliament
Robert the Bruce and the Knights Templar
The MacDonalds of Glencoe
Ancient roads of the Highlands
Glencoe, the 4th Wonder of Scotland
Castles in the Glencoe area

VIKING LONGSHIP MAY BE KEPT ON ARDNAMURCHAN

This lovely shot was taken by our guest David Minshall. Ardnamurchan is lovely, remote and mysterious still.

Remarkable place Ardnamurchan. Long lost volcano, few people, reputed hiding place of Robert the Bruce, at Castle Tioram, very scattered communities. The Vikings loved it. Throughout the ages it has been disconnected from mainstream civilisation, because of the difficulty of travel except by boat.

They have recently found the remains of a 1,000 year old Viking longship used as a burial ground for a high ranking Viking  warrior. They have found his axce, his sword, his spear, his shield boss and his bronze pin ring. There would have been an early Viking settlement here. 

Now they are hoping to stop the artefacts going to one of the major Scottish museums, and keep them on site for all of us to see.

John

The story they don't tell you about the Glencoe Massacre
History around the cottage in Appin
Did the Vikings stage a battle in Glencoe?
The Pictish broch in Lismore
West of Scotland millions of years ago
Robert the Bruce and the Ardchattan parliament
Robert the Bruce and the Knights Templar
The story of the MacDonalds of Glencoe
Ancient roads of the Highlands

They've found your ancestor's house. 240 generations ago

The first farmers and the first villages in Scotland started probably 6,000 yeas ago. They have just found the remains of some of them, in Oban.

This is how Moira Kerr reported it in the Herald.

"Working on a routine survey of a Scottish hillside archaeologists have uncovered a treasure chest of historic artefacts dating back 6000 years. The find was made during preparatory work for a new housing development in Oban and is the biggest of its kind in mainland Argyll in recent years.


It includes a Stone Age or Neolithic axehead, dating back 5000-6000 years, three prehistoric roundhouses which are up to 3000 years old, and the remains of an 18th-century farmstead and metalwork store."

The little stones pictured lie here to-day on the shore of Kentallen Bay. You can see them from our cottage window. If they are the most recent rocks then they are over 50 million yeas old, the product of numerous volcanos. They are probably considerably older.

Almost certainly, a mesolithic hamlet would have existed here in 4,000bc. The conditions for farming, fresh water and sea fishing were ideal. Temperatures were much warmer, treelines were higher, the lions and elephants had been wiped out, the dog domesticated. Britain was already an island, and chambered cairns were being built - one in Ballachulish. It was savage, but liveable - just. The greatest danger came from other human beings.

They suffered from midgies, too.

John

The story they don't tell you about the Glencoe Massacre
History around the cottage in Appin
Did the Vikings stage a battle in Glencoe?
The Pictish broch in Lismore
West of Scotland millions of years ago
Robert the Bruce and the Ardchattan parliament
Robert the Bruce and the Knights Templar
The story of the MacDonalds of Glencoe
Ancient roads of the Highlands
Glencoe, the 4th Wonder of Scotland
Castles in the Glencoe area

Mobile phone finds lost walkers. No map. No compass. How do people do it?

"Phone app helps Oban mountain rescue find lost walkers" was the headline in a recent Oban Times story.
It went on:
Oban Mountain Rescue Team was called out on Saturday at around 7pm to search for two walkers who had got lost in cloud as night fell on the Ben Achallader –Ben a Creachain ridge near Bridge of  Orchy.


The pair were not carrying head torches,a map or compass and lost their bearings in the dark and cloud. Oban Mountain Rescue Team sent several pairs of team members up to search the ridge from either end.


Fortunately for the lost walkers one of them managed to download a smart phone app that allowed him to find their latitude and longtitude co-ordinates via his phone GPS.


Ian Campbell (leader on this rescue) had been in touch with them when the callout first came in, so they had his number. They called this and gave their co-ordinates to Ian’s wife who relayed them to Ian via Oban police. Ian converted them to ordnance survey grid references and pinpointed them on top of Ben a Creachain. He then radioed the teams on the hill to tell them to make for the walkers location.


They were eventually found just before midnight,cold but otherwise well,and escorted off the hill by 2am.


Good story, nice ending. The bit I didn't like was the absence of a map and compass. Ludicrous.
John

The best walks in Glencoe    

Ben Nevis, go climb it

Munros are over 3,000 feet

Some Munros are easy

Glencoe rock climbing

Skiing in Glencoe is excellent again

New cycle tracks around Glencoe

There are lovely beaches and bays around Glencoe

Accommodation Fort William

Golf on the West coast

Tour the Highlands

You can cruise the West coast

Driving around glencoe on snow and ice - Tips