Glencoe – Bidean nam Bian

[Warning: this walk was a big favourite – so this post will descend into picture after picture of views in Glencoe]

Glencoe is an amazing place. It’s one of Scotland’s most dramatic glens, both visually and in terms of its history. It was carved by glaciers which chiselled the ground and left behind these monstrous rocky behemoths of mountains. The way the sharp black rock juts out of the lush green topping feels to me like the bones sticking out of the earth, showing you what the mountains are made of. The local climate is typically misty and rainy so the drama is added to by waterfalls and deep corries that scar the landscape.

Glencoe’s history is equally dramatic and bloody. Whether or not you’ve heard of the Massacre of Glencoe, you’re probably aware of the Red Wedding in Game of Thrones which it inspired. For those that don’t know this chapter of Scottish history; in a nutshell…. In 1691, clans were ordered to pledge allegience to King William the Third by 1 January 1692. Maclain of the MacDonald clan in Glencoe had left it late, but travelled to Fort William to sign. Except, when he got there, there was no magistrate to receive his oath and he was told he needed to travel to Inveraray to sign the oath – a further 40 or so miles as the crow flies. He signed the oath 6 days late and thought that was that. Butttt… the powers decided to punish Maclain and make an example of the MacDonalds. The injustice!!!

The scandal is more to do with how the massacre was carried out. Campbell of Glenlyon took over 120 soldiers to visit the MacDonalds in Glencoe. The troops accepted the hospitality of the MacDonalds for almost two weeks – eating their food and drinking their wine. In the early morning of 13 February, the soldiers led by Campbell rose from their beds and slaughtered their hosts in the night. They brutally killed an estimated 38 including a few women and children, while the fate of others fled into the snowy hills is unknown.

The reason for the history lesson is I think places often wear their history. I’ve always felt Glencoe is an eerie place, with the history of the massacre hanging over the Glen with a heavy atmosphere. The dramatic hills are like a giant haunted house, and the low hanging mist patrolling through the valleys and corries like the ghosts of the massacred.

These mountains left me awestruck when I visited here as a child. So the munros here are high up my list of hills I’m excited to climb and explore. Bidean nam Bian is the highest peak in Argyll, but the peak is hidden from sight from the road, obscured by the three sisters of Glencoe – three peaks on the shoulders of Bidean nam Bian.

My route up was between two of the sisters – up the corrie in the left of the photo above. A steep path taking me up up alongside the noisy water on its way down. At the top of the corrie I headed left to pick up the ridge of Stob Coire nan Lochan – which is high enough to be a munro, but not distinct enough from Bidean nam Bian to be classed as a munro in its own right. There were some lovely lochans at the top of the corrie – which is called Coire nan Lochan after all – which the light was catching beautifully.

A cairn marked the start of the ridge up to Stob Coire nan Lochan. I will say, when you have climbed up above 900metres already – pretty much at the height of the smaller munros – and you reach the cairn marking the start of the path…it can be a little dispiriting!! But Stob Coire nan Lochan is fantastically rocky and spiky, and the route up is over an interesting boulderfield so I wasn’t complaining. Also the sun came out.

Standby for many pictures:

The mist was still stalking around between the peaks:

From here you head down to the bealach and then up to Bidean’s peak. I took the scrambley path, and found myself climbing pretty vertically up the rock and grass. At one point someone appeared on the left and I said “where did you come from?” – he asked me the same thing!! Turns out there was a path on the other side which I had missed, as had the couple in front of me and the 5 guys behind me. Still, it was a fun wee scramble. I switched over to the path for the last stretch up to the summit – which was a calf-bustingly steep hike up scree, then over the boulders. The views from the top were enormous. Food for the eyes in all directions.

After lingering on Bidean’s peak as long as my cold ears would allow, I headed on to walk the ridge over to my second munro of the day – Stob Coire Screamhach. The view from here was equally wowing.

The route back down is through the lost valley, where the MacDonalds used to hide cattle they had rustled from nearby clans! The route down into the lost valley was down a steep and badly eroded scree chute, which was an interesting ride. The walk down from the lost valley back to the start point is through a beautiful gorge full of little waterfalls and clear rushing water.

I was knackered after this walk – probably not just from the walking (it was only about 10 miles) but also from all the excitement and not drinking enough water. I was well in need of a chill out the next day, so imagine my disappointment when the weather the following day brought this for me to look up at enviably from ground level: