The Anoch Eagach solo. The wrong way.

This is where Keith walked. The usual route is from East to West. This lovely photo was taken by Dougie. His photos of Scotland can be seen at http://www.flickr.com/photos/oldnotbold/478270195/

Hi John,
We arrived back late on Saturday and I spent Sunday generally sorting out. School started on Monday, so I now feel as if I have been back ages!


The information, guidance and friendly help you gave prior to our visit and in the cottage was the very best we have ever experienced. No other host in any holiday cottage we have rented has been so keen to help and ensure we have a good time, know where to go, how to find the cottage etc etc. Your book in the house was read by us all; you really did work very hard on behalf of your guests and should be proud of yourself!!
We had an active holiday and the boys always had things to do. The weather was OK, not sunny, but also not pouring with rain.


What did we do? Firstly, we read all your information so we are grateful to you for your insight. We walked to the Hidden Valley, climbed Ben Nevis, walked to the waterfalls in Glen Nevis, the boys climbed at Kinlochleven Ice Factor (what a brilliant place!) they also ice climbed on our last day which was the first time for them. Kind instructors and very welcoming.


Keith walked a ridge which ended near the Clachaig which he just loved, but it sounded quite scary to me and I am glad the boys did not go too. It was foggy on top, so we had decided that Keith should trial it alone. He met people walking it with helmets and ropes, but he managed it and will talk about it for ages.



We ate at the Seafood Cafe whch was different and fun, but I think it fair to say we liked eating at the Clahaig most. It was lovely and informal, good food and not too expensive. (Haggis, tatties and neaps!) We enjoyed seeing deer outside the pub, just stood looking at us as we got into the car...beautiful. I very much wanted to go on the "whalewatching" trip from Arisaig to one of the islands, but was outvoted and due to lack of time (and will) we did not go. I regret that. Keith and my boys love to be active, to hike etc and did not want to spend a whole day on such a trip. We also kayaked (it was great to have the garage to lock the boats away) in the bay, to the bridge and to the Island of the Dead, off Glencoe.


So, the location/ area is stunning. Keith wanted to do far more hikes than we had time to do. The deer, the heather, the mountains were beautiful to say the least. I was fascinated by the history and read most of your history books! I had to stop by about Thursday as it seemed too gloomy, too unfair. I needed to read about something nice happening to someone. James of the Glen is rather stuck in my head at the moment! Where is the actual plaque on the site of the massacre? Is it just the cross in the village? I looked in "a field just beyond the Clahaig" as one guide book said, but "just beyond" gave me no direction or scale! Still I made myself not be too morbid about it all ...........


The cottage was lovely and clean. Bath is interesting, especially for Jim who is 6ft 5ins. He is of the generation who have never really done anything but shower, so I think he probably came home a bit dirty!!! (No harm in that)


Sally
Sally also had some very sharp things to say about the people who run the roads up here. She wants speed restrictions and better driving. She thinks the roads are dangerous, and we totally agree with her. The absolute worst bit of road is 10 miles south of the cottage on a sharp left bend. The signage and lack of speed restriction are a disgrace. Her remarks are going to the Village Council who also share her views, and now I'm going to do a separate blog and try and whip up a campaign about with. Good on you Sally. Thanks. Oban Times letters page, here we come, that will do for a start.

The pic is of the boys, Jim and Charlie, in the Hidden Valley. One of the reasons why the Glencoe MacDonalds were so hated by the other clans was because they carried out continual raids on other clans' cattle - an act punishable by death if caught at it - cattle thieving was the bank raid of the day. The other clans came in strength to the Glen to find the cattle and they never could. That's because the beasts were shoved up the steep track to the Hidden Valley, a feat which no one thought possible. Like most Scottish tales it is happy and sad at the same time. Sad if you are a Cameron or McLean or Campbell, but happy if you were a Glencoe MacDonald with food for the winter.

(Would the MacDonalds of Skye ever do such a thing? No, of course not. They'd nick the cattle out of the Dunvegan estate and ambush any McLeods who tried to get them back. Happy days.)

John

Lochside cottage near Glencoe in the Highlands of Scotland

Short Breaks Glencoe

Winter breaks hill walking in Glencoe

Travellers Tales from the Highlands of Scotland

how to find your ideal holiday home in scotland, advice for visitors

visitors information about Glencoe in Scotland

Some wonderful walks

Picture taken from the top of the Pap of Glencoe by our friend David "Cubby" Cuthbertson, the Glencoe mountaineer. He was the body double for the climber in the film Touching The Void.

A couple of weeks ago, our guests staying at the cottage did a huge amount of walking. Look at this programme:

They started out with the big half circle mountain trip around the back of us on day one, the Ballachulish horseshoe. This circles around 3,000 feet, and the mountain grows out of our back garden.

Next day, not having had enough of mountains, they went part way up Ben Nevis in the evening.

Then they walked part of the West Highland Way from Tyndrum to Crianlarich and back. That is a low glen walk, total 13 miles, with a little up and down. They would have passed the remains of a 14th century chapel, St Fillans, granted rights by Robt Bruce four years after his famous victory over the English at Bannockburn near Stirling. Ten years earlier Bruce had won his famous Highland battle near this spot at the Pass of Brander near Cruachan. His opponents were the McDougalls, supporters of Bruces’ rivals for the Crown.

Here is what Wikipedia says about the battle
“A party of loyal Highlanders, commanded by Sir James Douglas, climbed high up the mountain and, completely unobserved, positioned themselves in the enemy's rear. As the Macdougalls attacked they were caught in a vice, with King Robert coming from below and the Black Douglas from above. The men of Argyll wavered and then broke. They were chased westwards across the River Awe all the way back to Dunstaffnage, while John their chief escaped down the Loch in his galley, eventually taking refuge in England.

Later in the week our intrepid guests did the Hidden Valley.......... and loved it. Then, following day, they did the Pap of Glencoe. Whew! that's a lot of walking.

They said “Everywhere.....such wonderful walks and beautiful scenery......spoilt for choice !!”

take a break in the Autumn

We have weeks available in October and in November in the cottage

The wrong man was hanged here in 1752

This is the site of the killing of the Red Fox. It is about 200 feet above the curve in the road between Ballachulish Pier and Kentallen. It is actually the ancient road to the South which used to pass in front of our cottage. The victim was carried from here to Ballachulish House where he died from his gunshot wounds.

Robert Louis Stevenson wrote "Kidnapped" based upon a true tale of the Highlands. His uncle built the Corran Ferry so he knew our area well. In the story, a lad was accused of killing a local "factor" - the man who collects the rents in the Highlands. He was chased and harried all over the country to Edinburgh, but they hanged the wrong man, his 52 year old cousin, for the murder.

The victim was a Campbell - always they seem to feature in these atrocities, the Campbells. This one was very unpopular with the Stewarts of Appin because he was a bit tough on them. He had plans to clear out a lot of the Stewart families from their lands. These are the lands around our cottage, including Ardsheal across the water from our lounge. 1752 was the year exactly 70 years after the Massacre of Glencoe.

This chap Colin Campbell, The “Red Fox” was having a drink in Inshaig the old pub in Duror with James Stewart, known as James of the Glens. James was arrested, and taken to Inverary for trial. It was rigged, James was hanged on a rock above to-days Ballachulish Hotel and beside the bridge. You can see the rock there if you look. His bones were tied together and left there as a warning to others.

Friends later cut them down and buried them at Keill Graveyard near Duror just off the road to Oban two miles to the South of us.

Gillian and I made a serious effort a few years ago to find the graveyard. It was ruined, very overgrown and based in the middle of farmyard buildings. We found it but it took a bit of doing.

There is a big row going on in the local papers now about how it has become even more difficult to find because the farmer has locked gates and hampered access. We hope it gets opened up properly, it is a national treasure this site.

John

ps The weather has been unbelieveable up here. Who says it rains in Scotland?

www.bayviewkentallen.co.uk/glencoenews1.html

www.holidayhomewebsupport.blogspot.com

www.bayviewkentallen.co.uk/glencoespringtime.html