West Highland Way Day 5 - Bridge of Orchy to Kinlochleven

Wednesday 18th April 2012

West Highland Way Day 5 - Bridge of Orchy to Kinlochleven

This walk was done well before I ever considered having a walking diary website, so the memories of those six days are limited - as are the photographs available for use. So, I'm recording what I have, but it falls short of the records that I would like to present.

This was the day I'd been most eagerly looking forward to - to walk by Glen Coe and also past my mountain of dreams - 'Buachaille Etive Mor'. We had walked in Glen Coe a couple of times before and this place is just magnificent - possibly the best place I've ever walked. So today was going to be a highlight and it didn't disappoint !

A tougher day from Bridge of Orchy to Kinlochleven as we were presented with considerably more ascent than we had been used to over the last two days. Plus the distance was back up to 20+ miles.

I'd driven over Rannoch Moor in the past, but walking over the vast expanse was enjoyable especially with the surrounding mountain views. The Glen Coe Ski Centre was spotted on the flank of Meall a'Bhuiridh and the Kings Hotel was a great place to stop for a rewarding pint. Although the route avoids the main section of Glen Coe (Three Sisters etc.), it still climbs up via the 'Devils Staircase' on the east side of the area. The start of the climb is at Altnafeadh where years later I would return to climb Buachaille Etive Mor.

The climb up the devils staircase is not as severe as it sounds, but its good to feel the calves again. It was then onto Kinlochleven and our first taste of Scottish rain (I think we had been very lucky - so we can't complain in getting a couple of hours of rain towards the end of the day). Tiredness kicked in for the first time that evening as we had a sedate night in the pub.

The information contained in the material on this Website is for information purposes only and does not constitute advice.
Distance: 21.3 miles
Duration: 9:00 hours
Ascent: 3064 ft
Difficulty: Moderate/Hard
Accompanied By: Paul, John & Les
Weather: Dry & Fine - Rain later

3D outline of route

Parking