Day 5: Three Sisters
On our journey from Edinburgh to Fort William at the beginning of our holiday, we passed several viewpoints. The Three Sisters Viewpoint is one of the points along this route. It takes about three quarters of an hour to drive from Fort William to the Three Sisters Viewpoint along the A82. The Three Sisters of Glen Coe are a mountain formation of the Bidean nam Bian massif. From the viewpoint you have a breathtaking view of the geological formation. There is a path down in the valley, which unfortunately is not a circular walk. Nevertheless, it is enough for a short hike from the car park down along the path and back.
The viewpoint is very busy at certain times, so the parking spaces are quickly taken and sometimes people park in the second or third row or across the road. Whole coaches stop for a short break and let the tourists out for a short time. Most people usually just take a few snapshots from the car park and then drive on again. Unfortunately, the open space for taking photos is limited and is located right next to the busy A82 motorway. People drive at high speed here, so it can take a while before you can leave the car park again.
Nearby, barely a quarter of an hour away, a junction from the A82 leads to the Old Glencoe Road. There are several film locations along this road that have provided the perfect backdrop for films. From the car park of the Clachaig Inn, a hotel and pub, we started our walk along the Glencoe Orbital Recreational Track to the location of Hagrid’s hut from the Harry Potter film. You can clearly recognise the scenery when you stand on the hill and get an idea of where the hut was built in reality for the film. The surrounding small forest is also immediately reminiscent of the images of Ron, Hermione and Harry hiding in the thicket of the Forbidden Forest in Part 3.
The Clachaig Inn is situated on the edge of a small woodland area, An Torr, which has been managed by the National Trust for Scotland since 1993. The aim of replanting in this woodland is to replace non-native tree species with native species. The aim is to promote biodiversity and restore the woodland to its original natural state. One of the circular walks leads to Signal Rock, the site where it is said that a fire was lit by members of Clan Campbell to signal the massacre of Glencoe in 1692.
We left An Torr via the circular route that led to the bridge over the River Coe. From there, the path runs in one direction to the car park next to the A82 and in the other direction back to the Claichag Inn.
We had typical British sandwiches and chips with chicken nuggets and baked beans for lunch at Clachaig. After our culinary refreshment, we went back to the bridge to take photos of the surrounding stream (Clachaig Burn) with its rapids.
The concentration while driving, the many impressions and, above all, the almost 15 kg rucksack with the photo equipment take their toll in the long run. Sufficient food, sleep and rest are absolutely essential, as otherwise exhaustion or back pain are imminent. The Scottish weather is favourable, forcing us to take longer breaks. Areas of rain keep moving from the west towards Fort William and Glencoe. Especially in the mornings there are heavy and frequent showers. So there’s no need to set off early in the morning for fear of missing spectacular sunrises. Unobstructed views and clear skies are a rarity and, depending on the orientation, many landscape backdrops cannot be photographed in the early morning light. Many mountains are simply too high and shade each other.
