Trip to Britain Part 3 Glen Nevis

From Kinlochleven, the village on Loch Leven, it was a short drive to Glen Nevis. Glen Nevis is about a dozen  miles long and bordered on one side by Ben Nevis, the tallest mountain in Britain. While it is "only" 4300 feet high it starts at near sea level so it is about as prominent as Mount Elbert, the highest point in Colorado.  We only got to spend two nights here, at a charming place known as Achintee farm.

The Ben Nevis trail can attract hundreds of hikers per day on a weekend in the spring and summer, but many of the other mountains have just a few hikers on them. I climbed Sgur Na Mhaim [the name means beautifully rounded peak or something more directly connected with Mamores, the name of the range, depending on which guide book you use], a 3600 footer on the other side of the glen from Ben Nevis and met one other hiker at the top. It was a tough slog, gaining over 3000' in about 3 miles, but the path had few boggy spots and was generally in good shape. It was a little daunting to get to what one could expect to be the final stretch and see another 600 ' of scree (loose stone) above you, but the views were more than reward enough. From any of these peaks it easy to count a hundred and more peaks in view, even when visibility is merely okay. This trip to the Highlands was especially rewarding because so many of the peaks still had extensive snow fields adding to their beauty. From there I walked over the Devil's Ridge to Sgur nan Lubhar. The Devil's Ridge is  really narrow, sometimes less than a yard wide, with very steep slopes on either side.  While the path itself is not difficult , it's location makes it exciting. A step a bit off the trail will be your last step.

We had good dinners both nights at the nearby Nevis Inn, a place that caters to hikers and climbers.

Here are some pictures taken from Achintee in Glen Nevis.

This view shows the more austere character of the mountains. The peak on the left is Sgur Na Mhaim

Here they are in a less sober mood.

 The flowers in the gardens make a refreshing contrast to the great stone walls of the mountainsides.

Highland cattle are very picturesque, it's hard to believe that something so big, with such long and sharp horns, can be so cute.


Here is one of the waterfalls on the Water of Ness, the stream that flows through the glen.