Day 8- Glen Coe

We woke up on Day 8 delighted to look out the window of our lovely hotel room and see spectacular views of Loch Linnhe surrounded by dramatic highlands.  The water gently lapped on the shoreline beneath our window and alternately light, shadow and clouds played on the water and steeply diving hills beyond. Waterfalls streaked down the faces of many hills. We felt the peace of nature and the grandness of the outdoor world around us.  We couldn't wait to explore.

We have yet to purchase a guide book, so to plan our day, we read tourist brochures and talked with hotel staff.  Options included wildlife tours on the water, hiking, canoeing, ice climbing, swimming in the hotel pool with views of the loch, exploring castles, churches and hamlets, or a ride on the historic steam train used to film Harry Potter.  The dramatic landscape called us and we decided to find a hilly hike.

  After a 10 minute drive north, we left Loch Linnhe behind, rounded a hill and drove into a valley surrounded by massive, steep, rugged grass and bracken covered hills climbing up on either side of the road.  We had to tilt our heads and look up through the window of the car to try to see the tops.  Unbridled nature!!!  This was the good stuff we were hoping to find! We felt giddy and pulled the car over and got out to touch the massive landscape,  Green mountains, waterfalls, sheep, rain, moss- oh my!  

The mountains and valley are part of Glen Coe, a national park in the Highlands that rivals any grand nature landscapes we've seen.  The volcanic mountains rip up out of the landscape then abruptly transition to graceful glens and peaceful, moody lochs. In Scotland, Glen Coe is known for its beauty and the massacre of the MacDonald clan in 1692 by English soldiers.  We felt a strong energy suffused the valley.  

We parked our car at the foot of the Three Sister's Trail. The Three Sisters are iconic peaks that rise up out of the valley and surely provide a perfect home for dragons. We imagined that the craggy peaks make ideal dragon nesting places and the mountain slopes and glens below would be excellent for hunting as they are barren of trees and cover of any sort. The tops of the Three Sister's was covered in clouds and we couldn't see our destination, the Hidden Valley that was nestled between two of the great peaks and which was used by the McDonald clan to hide cattle.

Our hike began with a walk down to the clear, rushing river that cuts through the heather and bracken strewn glen, across a narrow bridge, than up, up, up the mountain.  In the fog and rain, we somehow missed the path to the Hidden Valley, and instead climbed up the gap between the other two sisters, which is far steeper and climbs to a small alpine valley above the river and glen below. The path was well maintained by carefully placed stone and our way climbed relentlessly with spectacular views of falling water, moss, bracken and volcanic rock at every step. We reached the small valley dotted with ponds and surrounded by more rugged peaks about 4:30 PM,  then turned around and hurried back down to reach the car before dark. We were wet, windblown and truly satisfied. What a hike! We are in love with Glen Coe.

Back at the hotel, we hit the sauna, indoor pool and bar before a dinner of local oysters, sea bass and steak followed by cake with caramel sauce and whisky tasting. We fell asleep to the sounds of wind, rain, and the lapping of Loch Linnhe. Lovely day 8.