Day 6: Glencoe
On our sixth day in Scotland, one of the things we wanted to see was the Glencoe Visitor Centre. The Visitor Centre is located about 1.5 kilometres south of Glencoe Village and about 20 km from Fort William. We have already driven past the turn-off several times, as it is located along the route of the A82 to the Three Sisters. The day before, roadworks had been carried out there. Today, the roadworks had already been removed and the entrance and exit to the visitor centre were accessible again without roadworks.
But first we drove to the Three Sisters again, as the weather was more changeable that day. Impressive cloud constellations appeared in connection with the mountain peaks of the Three Sisters. As it became increasingly grey and rainy, we made our way back to the Glencoe Visitor Centre to stay warm and dry. In the entrance area to the exhibition there is an information hub where you can find out about the various activities in the Glencoe Valley and plan your hiking routes, for example. There is also a large 3D map that literally shows the entire Glencoe Valley. In the small cinema room, we went on a journey through millions of years in the short film ‘The Glen Revealed’, which tells the story of the Glencoe Valley. In another short film, we were able to witness the reconstruction of an old 17th century peat and creel house, as the MacDonalds might have lived in one. The ‘Pioneers of the Peaks’ exhibition puts the spotlight on those who have climbed the mountains of Glencoe and pushed the boundaries of climbing for over a century. It also highlights the many volunteers who come to the aid of climbers in an emergency and avalanche experts who survey the snow conditions each winter. The individual buildings of the Visitor Centre are connected by footbridges and are virtually embedded in nature. There is also the Highland Coo Cafe where you can get a snack if you need one. And of course there is also a souvenir shop.
The small village of Glencoe Village nearby is the starting point for many hikes and other activities. It’s definitely worth paying a visit to Glencoe Village if you’re ever in the area. We took the opportunity to start our circular route to the Glencoe Lochan Trail from the Glencoe panoramic view car park. We passed the Glencoe War Memorial, a memorial commemorating the fallen and missing villagers of the First and Second World Wars. Not far away is a humpbacked stone bridge over the River Glencoe. We saw several deer grazing on the riverbank. They stood with their hooves in the water and stretched their heads towards the young branches of the trees growing on the bank. We were very excited by the scenery, as we rarely get this close to deer and watching them eat so frugally was all the more amazing. The two deer trotted further up the river. We followed them along the path above the river for a while until they ran out of our field of vision on the other side of the river.
We turned back to our actual destination, the Loch Lochan Trail. We followed the road to a forest car park, from where there were several circular paths around Loch Lochan. As we hiked around Loch Lochan, there were repeated short showers. Unfortunately, I had to interrupt the long exposures regularly. At Glen Lochan View Point you have a wonderful panoramic view over the loch, but you are also unprotected in the rain, which is why we kept standing under the leafy trees and pausing to take photos.
We were prepared for rain and had a rain jacket and rain cover for our rucksacks. Nevertheless, we made sure that our photographic equipment, which is not particularly waterproof, remained reasonably dry. We were able to observe little grebes and dippers on the lake. I have rarely or never seen either of these species on my tours in north-east Germany.
We also observed a bird species that was unknown to us. Unfortunately, our research on the internet that evening came to nothing. And we actually know quite a few bird species or at least have a rough idea of which group of birds they are and where to look efficiently. For the time being, we were in the dark ornithologically. The mystery would only be solved later with a curious explanation.
