West Highlands & Hebrides, Scotland Day 2 - Lost Valley, Glencoe
On Day 2 we left Stirling in the early morning without having breakfast at B&B. Instead we drove about one and a half hour to reach the Bridge of Orchy Hotel for breakfast. The hotel was right on our way to Glencoe, our next destination.
My head was still a bit sleepy. I had a bowl of simple porridge with berry compote and honey along with tea. It was fine. J had Eggs Benedict. I remember he said it was ok although the poached eggs tasted a little too vinegary.
It was a foggy and misty morning. When we were driving along Lochan na h-Achlaise, the loch looked so mysterious. We couldn't help but stop and get out of the car to take photos!
Meanwhile tiny bugs started chasing me and I felt itchy immediately. Later I learned they were the Highland midges. I brought an insect repellent called "Smidge" as well as itchy relief cream with me, but I hadn't known that I would be a heavy user of those items through the rest of the trip...
Anyway, we were officially in Highland! When we arrived Glencoe, we were ready for our first hiking. The trail we chose was going to lead us to a hidden valley, commonly known Lost Valley. When we started walking, the thick clouds covered the top of mountains.
The rocky, climbing trail with some scrambles was more than moderate for beginner hikers like us. However, it provided endless views of impressive scenery, which pushed us up into the clouds. After a couple of hour walk, we got to Lost Valley. The valley was literally lost in clouds.
While we were resting in the valley, the clouds were dramatically moving and the sky was getting bright. We just stayed there and watched the outline of something emerging in the clouds. We were very fortunate witnesses who captured the dramatic moment!
The other side, which we came from, also cleared up. We had no idea what stood behind us while we were climbing up.
It is said that when the last period of glaciation was ending, the huge ice cap flowed down to the sea, and the moraines around Glencoe were deposited from slowly melting ice. In the process the bedrock of the mountains became fragile. Lost Valley was created by the largest single rockfall in the Great Britain that formed a closed valley. The natural dam blocked a stream. The water escaped eventually but sand and pebbles that the stream carried into couldn't. That's how today's flat bottom of the Lost Valley was developed. It's an over 10,000 year ago story. Remarkable!
The sun was dazzling. Our return walk showed us a completely different world!
When we completed the fantastic Lost Valley walk, it was already late afternoon. We drove to a cafe in a village of Glencoe, called Crafts & Things. J had tuna salad sandwiches and I had tomato, mozzarella and pesto sandwiches. Also J kindly ordered apple tart and walnut cake (was it ?) to share. The place was casual and the food was fine.
Surprisingly the village of Glencoe wasn't commercialized at all. A church, a small museum, a very small supermarket on the street. That's all.
We stayed at B&B in Ballachulish, a neighbor village of Glencoe. The village was also small but a little things like some restaurants and a Co-op store. There was also a hotel with a terrace on the shore of Loch Leven. J had a glass of beer and I had a bottle of sparkling water there, enjoying the view and relaxing.
The view from our B&B room was lovely. The afternoon was bright and hot like summer, which I hadn't expected!
To be continued...
