Nordic Walking The West Highland Way: Day Six
Bridge of Orchy to King’s House Hotel
When: Friday 18th September
Miles walked: 12.49
Steps taken: 24,774
Moving time: 4:00:32
Elevation gain: 1374ft
Today we are walking from Bridge of Orchy to King’s House Hotel over Rannoch Moor and passing Glencoe Ski Resort.
When we set off today our plan was to end at the Glencoe Ski Resort, we later changed our minds! So we are back at the Bridge of Orchy station ready to face another day of walking. The village of Bridge of Orchy exists because the government forces in 1751 built a stone bridge here following the Battle of Culloden, as part of the pacification of the Highland Clans. This transformed the area as before the bridge the river Orchy was just too dangerous to cross with cattle and as such Bridge of Orchy became a historic staging point for drovers to rest on their journeys to lowland markets. The weather is damp enough to need raincoats, but not damp enough for waterproof trousers yet!
The route out from Bridge of Orchy station involves crossing the A82 again and passing by the historic Bridge of Orchy Hotel, constructed in the early 19th Century it is now a major stopping point for walkers on the West Highland Way. We pop in to get another stamp for our passport and then wend our way down over the famous bridge and pass some wild campers packing up. Todays walking is described in the guide as easy, but with a warning. It should not be underestimated as Rannoch Moor is about as far away from civilisation as anywhere else on the route and in poor weather can feel very isolated and inhospitable. We will see. Beyond the bridge the path rises through a small woodland and when it breaks free of the trees at the top there are some stunning views even on a cloudy day. We spot a stone cairn at the top of the ridge and climb up to get better views, it’s very windy!
It provides a fantastic viewpoint of loch Tulla, Forest Lodge and the mass of mountains beyond. Can you tell how windy it is from our selfie?
From the top we descend the track as it heads back towards the road passing by quivering clumps of purple heather. We come out onto the road by Inveroran Hotel, a 19th Century Drovers Inn set in 90,000 acres of the Black Mount Estate, it has rooms and camping. It has a great area across the road which has picnic benches and shelters which I presume are for walkers. It also has a shop and little café which we stop at to get another stamp for our passport and a freshly baked chocolaty snack! I’ve remembered I am carrying my little flask of tea! Apparently William and Dorothy Wordsworth stayed there in 1803. We follow the road out across a little bridge over the Allt Tolaghan and along the way consume our baked goods, mine is washed down with a delicious flask of chai tea (it’s the little things) we pass a car park and I notice a familiar campervan parked up! We’ve gone past the entrance and it is now pouring with rain again, so we shout a hello to no avail and carry on across Victoria Bridge over the Abhainn Shira river which is where cars can go no further beyond.
We pass Forest Lodge (a former hunting lodge) and continue on the old Drovers road to Glencoe on wide gravelly and stony tracks passing plantations of fir trees. It is quite busy with walkers and I spend a fair amount of the next hour looking for somewhere to have a comfort break! I imagine in better weather it is stunning, but the wind and the rain are battering us and so we are head down keeping on!
Rannoch Moor is isolated, but beautiful with burns, lochs, mountains, sweeping moorland, but sadly no sun today! We do get the odd break from the incessant rain though.
After a couple of unrelenting uphill stretches we cross Ba Bridge over the river Ba which is apparently THE most remote spot on the entire West Highland Way, it is the most stunning river too. Then we are back in sweeping moorland for a time before the track rises and falls towards Glencoe.
Gorgeous vast, uninterrupted views across the moorland terrain, even when it is murky. If you are reading this on a mobile device you may not spot the outline of the chair lift at Glencoe in the photo below, can you see them on the ridge of the hill? We begin our descent into Glencoe.
It’s at this point that we can see where Steve will pick us up and also in the far gloom the outline of the King’s House Hotel, we had not realised how close Glencoe Ski Resort and Kingshouse were to each other, so we ditch the idea of Steve picking us up from Glencoe and then notice Clara on the A82 to our right! We wave at Steve as he come up towards the Glencoe Ski Resort and tell him of our new pick up plan.
Walking down the access road to Glencoe Ski Resort past Blackrock Cottage, the weathered flags really need replacing at the entrance to Glencoe Ski Resort. Yet again we have to cross the busy A82 (how many times is that now?) and then head slightly downhill towards the King’s House Hotel as it looms out of the gloom. I weirdly get the urge to run, what the heck is wrong with me, must be delirium of finishing another day! We reach King’s House Hotel car park, dump our stuff in Clara and waddle to the public loos by the Bunkhouse. The King’s House Hotel is one of Scotland’s oldest licensed inns, established in the 18th century. The inn served as a strategic stop for travellers, drovers and military personnel. It was not well favoured and Dorothy Wordsworth commented after a visit that it was ‘a wretched place -as dirty as a house after a sale on a rainy day’ other descriptions from visitors were ‘primitive’ and ‘more the appearance of a hog stye’
In 2019 the hotel reopened after a major £12 million restoration project and now has a 57 boutique-style room wing and a purpose built bunkhouse. The original 18th century core, carefully preserved, now houses the rustic Way Inn bar.
After relieving ourselves we join Clara and Steve for the journey back to our campsite.
