other places of interest

Rannoch Moor

The nearby Moor of Rannoch is as wild and sombre a stretch of country as any in Scotland, especially when shrouded in mist or lashed by driving rain or snow, a terrifying wilderness for the lonely walker. In good weather, however, the Moor is a world of shining lochs with treeclad islets and sandy bays, the way clothed with waving grass and purple heather, with unique views to delight the adventurous walker.

It covers some 20 square miles at a height of over a 1000 feet of peat and bog for the most part, laid on granite. It is the Watershed of Central Scotland where rivers start their journeys towards the Atlantic in the west and to the North Sea in the east.

Over this area are scattered thousands or enormous rocks which have been torn from the sides of the hills and corries by a giant glacier moving eastwards 20,000 years ago.

No road connects the west and east side of the moor. Walkers should make their way from Kinghouse Hotel on the Glencoe Road (A82) by Landrover track to Black Corries Shooting Lodge, from where there is a path that takes to the higher ground near the pylons above Loch Laidon and leads to a forest three miles long, descending to the small, silent station of Rannoch on the West Highland Railway, a distance of 11 miles.

Kilchurn Castle – 14 miles - a square tower built by Colin Campbell of Glenorchy c1550, enlarged in 1693, incorporating the first purpose-built barracks in Scotland.

Moirlanich Longhouse (16miles): an outstanding example of a traditional cruck-frame cottage and byre, dating back to the mid 19th century.

Ben Lawers National Nature Reserve (17miles): Perthshire's highest mountain (3,984') with views from the Atlantic to the North.