Description: Glen Coe (Gleann Comhan in Gaelic) is a glen (valley) located in the Lochaber area of the Scottish Highlands, part of the National Scenic Area of Ben Nevis and Glen Coe. It is owned and administered by The National Trust for Scotland who run a visitor centre with an exhibition presenting natural and social history of the area (charge applies, 6 GBP at 2012 prices).
The glen is 16km long and it's entered from the west from Rannoch Moor, heralded from afar by the characteristic shape of Buachaille Etive Mor, marking the beginning of both Glen Coe and the neighbouring Glen Etive. On the southern side of the glen there are also Buachaille Etive Beag, Three Sisters, and Bidean nam Bian. On the north side of the glen is the Aonach Eagach ridge, a solid wall of a mountain and one of the most famous and very demanding ridge walks in Scotland. Glen Coe offers a variety of walks as well as serious climbing to hikers of all abilities. There is also a ski centre nearby (not in the glen as such).
Glen Coe has been voted one of the seven wonders of Scotland by the readers of the Scotsman newspaper and it combines the natural and historical attraction. The latter is associated with the Massacre of Glencoe of 1692, when the Jacobite Clan MacDonald of Glencoe was decimated by the forces loyal to William & Mary under Robert Campbell.
My travels in the Highlands proper have been fairly limited, and there are plenty of famous sights and views I am yet to see (either because I didn't make it there or – quite a few times – because the view in question was swathed in mist or clouds). But in my limited experience, Glen Coe is all that it's made out to be, and more: among the most dramatic, moody, atmospheric locations in the country, with the unique combination of the mountains, weather and the tangible feel of historical drama. The glen is quite narrow, and the mountains close on it, especially in the central part. I saw it first time in the late 1990s, during my first-ever trip to Scotland. It was grey and forbidding then, the mountain tops disappearing in the whiteout of the mist. I remembered it all this time and during the more recent visit it lived up to all the expectations: this time green and golden in the sunshine, the mountain sides in clear relief enhanced by the snow, the peaks craggy against blue sky on which white, curly clouds are running.
It's good to get out and walk, even if you are not into serious (or even moderate) hillwalking, you can amble along the road or walk to the bottom of the glen for a stroll. The vistors' centre is kind of good (the building is eco-designed in the style of a Highland village), but often busy and quite expensive for what it is.
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