Inverlochy Castle hotel located amongst the lochs and mountains of the West Highlands. Right: A red letterbox in the Lake District . Below: Traditional rowing boats available to hire on Loweswater
Gorge, either by the south-east ridge or via the south-west summit of Càrn Dearg. These routes are shorter but steeper, and tend to be used by experienced hill walkers. For serious climbers and mountaineers the main attraction lies in the steep cliffs of the north face, one of the principal locations in the UK for ice climbing. And for those who don’t mind easy scrambling there’s the spectacular Carn Mór Dearg Arête ridge, which sweeps in a perfect arc towards the north face. The summit features the ruins of an observatory that collected important meteorological data between 1883 and 1904. You can descend from here via the main route and reward yourself with a pint of real ale in the Ben Nevis Inn at the foot of the mountain in Glen Nevis, popular with walkers and locals alike. Glen Nevis is bordered to the south by the
Mamore mountain range, and to the north by Ben Nevis as well as three of the other 10 highest mountains, or munros, in Britain: the Tolkienesque-sounding Càrn Mor Dearg, Aonach Mòr, and Aonach Beag. The glen is also home to one of the three highest waterfalls in Scotland, Steall Falls, where the Allt Coire a’Mhail (Steall Waterfall River) crashes down over an extraordinary steeply-
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walled gorge. A beautiful and dramatic setting, it has been used as a location for scenes in Braveheart and the Harry Potter movies. The West Highland Line that connects Fort William at the foot of the glen and Mallaig on the west coast runs over the Glenfinnan Viaduct that was famously crossed by the Hogwarts Express in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. You can follow the route for yourself aboard the heritage Jacobite steam train that operates along the line in the summer.
Glen Nevis and Fort William have an
ancient and turbulent history. Two great battles were fought at the mouth of the glen itself, one in the 15th century and another during the 1745 Jacobite rebellion when government redcoats were besieged at Fort William before raiding the glen. Details of these battles and other romantic tales of the Highland clans can be discovered in the Glen Nevis Visitor Centre. From here you can set off on foot along the forestry paths that offer a choice of wonderful woodland walks. Fort William is also known for its
Mallaig
Loch Ness CAIRNGORMS
Fort William
LOCH LOMOND & THE TROSSACHS NATIONAL PARK
Glasgow Dundee NATIONAL PARK
connection to the West Highland Way, Scotland’s oldest long-distance walking route, that runs from Glasgow. A few miles from the end of the route the Inverlochy Castle Hotel, a 19th-century baronial mansion, sits amidst some of Scotland’s finest scenery and is the perfect base from which to relax, explore or enjoy the local hunting and fishing. Queen Victoria spent a week at Inverlochy in September 1873 where she wrote in her diary: “I never saw a lovelier or more romantic spot”. Heading down from the Highlands to the
north-west of England and the Lake District National Park, and you’ll find very different but equally impressive scenery, scattered with
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PHOTOS: INVERLOCHY CASTLE
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