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Glen Coe
Narrow Glen

Glen Coe is an area that is well known for it's spectacular scenery, but is also notorious for the massacre of the MacDonalds in 1692.

After crossing the southwest corner of Rannoch Moor the mass of Buachaille Etive Mor soon appears. Before reaching this the White Corries and the ski-lift on the left hand side of the road with a small road leading to this which continues south to Bridge of Orchy on the old Military Road. On the opposite side of the A82 is the Kingshouse Hotel which was a staging point on this Military Road. Just past this a narrow, single-track road heads south west, following the River Etive through Glen Etive to Loch Etive.

The A82 continues into the glen, past some of the most famous mountains in Scotland, starting with the two Buachailles - Etive Mor and Etive Beag. Opposite these is another part of the old Military Road, built by General Caulfield's men in 1750, known as the Devil's Staircase. This leads to Kinlochleven and is now used as a part of the West Highland Way long distance walk.

The old road through the glen, dating from 1786, runs near to its 1932 replacement. This leads to The Study where Queen Victoria stopped for a picnic in 1873. The name is a corruption of stiddie, meaning anvil - a reference to the rocky knoll Inneoin a'Cheathaich, anvil of the mist, nearby.

Not far from the Study is Glencoe Gorge and the Meeting of the Three Waters - where the River Coe and two streams join. At this point the old road heads north west, past the Clachaig Inn, built in 1839 as a staging point for coaches between Glasgow and Fort William, to Glencoe village. Signal Rock, near the inn, is where it is said the signal for the start of the massacre of the MacDonalds in 1692 was given.

The village of Glencoe, sometimes referred to as Bridge of Coe, lies at the western end of the glen where the River Coe (right) runs into Loch Leven. The village is overlooked by Sgorr na Ciche, the Pap of Glencoe.

Much of the Glen is now owned by the National Trust for Scotland - bought in 1935 following a generous donation to the trust.

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