Discovering the Lost Valley
Trip Start
Sep 12, 2006
1
48
100
Trip End
Sep 08, 2008
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Glen Coe, United Kingdom
Sunday, August 19, 2007
I took the earliest possible bus to Glasgow, which gave me a fifteen minute window at the Glasgow bus station to meet Steve and find our Fort William Bus. Unfortunately my first bus was running late, but the driver put his foot to the floor and I made it Glasgow just three minutes before the next bus. The sun was shining as we worked our way out of the city, and up past Loch Lomond, the largest freshwater lake in Great Britain. 24 miles long, 5 miles wide and 600 feet deep, with 38 islands, I knew all the numbers because of a lesson I'd given at my school about four times!
Our bus driver was kind enough to drop us off at a carpark in Glen Coe, about 5 miles before our scheduled stop, which gave us an extra hours worth of hiking in the region. We began by working our way through some boggy ground before crossing a wooden bridge over the River Coe and climbing up a rocky gorge that cut between the crags of 'Beinn Fhada' and 'Gearr Aonach'. We followed a stream for a while, and soon came across a waterfall that was dumping hundreds of litres per second over the rockface. We'd timed our trip well, as it had rained constantly the previous day, whilst it had so far stayed away for us. We got a little lost trying to find a place to cross the stream known as 'Allt Coire Gabhail' but eventually found a place where we could jump over using some rocks. From here it was a short climb over a rise to the magnificent Lost Valley.
The scenery here was spectacular. Words and photos just can't do it any justice. Hidden away from the main valley of Glen Coe, carved by a huge glacier during the last ice age, was this vast expanse between the two ranges. We had a bite for lunch on the valley floor before continuing on, up towards the towering peak of 'Bidean Nam Bian.' We walked up alongside a gorge for the most part, toward a large waterfall, and as we turned around the vastness of the area amazed even more. It was with some regret that we turned around shortly before 2pm, knowing that we had a bus to catch. Not only did we have to make our way back to the carpark, but we had to hike a further 5 miles or so along the valley floor to the Glen Coe visitor centre to meet our bus.
We retraced our steps through the valley and back towards the carpark before turning west. It was great to take our time and appreciate the grandeur of the towering peaks, have a close look at some highland cattle and take some more photos. We didn't have the time to do any of this on our day tour. Once we reached the stunning 'Loch Achtriochtan' we had to follow the road, which disturbed the serenity somewhat, but not the views. We started to feel a little concerned when we couldn't find the visitor centre, as time was ticking on, but we soldiered on, and eventually came across some signs telling us that it was just a mile further on. We flagged down our bus with no problems, and enjoyed the drive back to Glasgow through the incredible countryside. It was a terrific day, and a great way to see off Scotland with Steve. As I had only 9 days before heading back to Poland, I wasn't sure when I'd see him again.
Comments
Have really enjoyed your blog!
Hi Will, I have now read every entry of your travels and can say I have enjoyed every bit of it. I hope you have a safe trip back to Opole and wish you the very best for your future.
Regards
Graham
Christians Dad.