Walking by Glen & Loch

 6 ½ – 9 miles and up to 700ft of ascent in a day

Loch Linnhe and the Kentallen Peninsula

From Duror we follow a quiet road to peaceful Cuil Bay, before turning north to walk along the shoreline of Loch Linnhe. The views across the Loch to Ardgour, northwards to Fort William and southwards to Lismore are among the finest in the area. As we complete our round of the peninsula, we turn away from the coast to ascend some easy low hills above the hamlet of Kentallen, before drifting down to the coast again to finish the walk at the Holly Tree Hotel.

Distance: 8 miles with 700 feet of ascent

Through the Achnacarry Estate and alongside Loch Lochy

We enter the estate on an old carriageway running alongside the River Arkaig and make our way via the Castle (family seat of the Cameron clan and used as a commando centre in the 1940s) to the estate village and the Cameron museum. We visit Loch Arkaig and the ever-popular Eas Chia-aig waterfalls, then ascend to a forestry viewpoint. Returning down the glen, we visit the estate church, and take the Great Glen Way alongside Loch Lochy down to Gairlochy and the Caledonian Canal.

Distance: 8 miles with 560 feet of ascent

Ardgour, Strontian and the Nature Reserve

Today we cross over Loch Linnhe on the Corran ferry to the tranquil and most lovely area of Ardgour. The views, as we drive along the western shore of Loch Linnhe, up Glen Tarbert and down to Loch Sunnart, are splendid. At Strontian village, an easy path soon takes us above the village, affording fine prospects of Loch Sunnart and Glen Strontian. Our way joins the delightful bank of the Strontian River, before crossing the river into the ancient forest and the heart of the Ariundle Nature Reserve.

Distance: 8 miles with 700 feet of ascent

Lismore − The Garden Island

From Port Appin we take a short ferry crossing over to the island. We ascend to ‘The Point’, a fine viewpoint with a 360º panorama, then cross the northern end of the island through the quaint hamlet of Port Ramsay to the Pictish broche at Tirfuir. We follow the high ground alongside Loch Baile a’Ghobhain, then cross the island, passing a restored croft (open in summer), to the ruins of the Viking castle Coeffin. Following the coast, we return to Port Ramsay for the ferry back to Port Appin.

Distance: 9 miles with 600 feet of ascent

Loch Eilde Mor and the Blackwater Pipeline

From the Mamore Lodge high above Kinlochleven, we follow the Old Military Road which slowly ascends across the flank of the Mamores, with superb views out over Loch Leven, to the shores of Loch Eilde Mor. After lunch, we follow the pipeline which carries water from the Loch to the Blackwater reservoir, eventually descending on a stalkers track down to the River Leven which we follow back to Kinlochleven. Distance: 6 miles with 500 feet of ascent