Bridge of Orchy to Kingshouse (19.25 km)

Introduction Milngavie Balmaha Rowardennan Ardlui Crianlarich Tyndrum Bridge of Orchy Kingshouse Kinlochleven

Looking up Bà River to Bà Bridge

The West Highland Way skirts the western edge of Rannoch Moor - acknowledged to be the grandest moor in Scotland -a network of shallow lochs separated by green, boggy ground. The Way continues to follow the old military road and then an old road providing good footing and quick walking on this fairly long day. Enough height is gained to give good views across the moors.

This was the wettest day that I had on the West Highland Way with a constant drizzle and heavy showers near lunchtime making it hard to light my stove for a cup of tea. There were few views on this trip but the previous day I had glimpses of the moor through mist from Beinn an Dòthaidh and Beinn Dorain. On a later trip (my Munro Trek), I had great views from the summit of Stob a'Coire Odhair.

Leave north from the Bridge of Orchy Hotel and immediately turn left to cross the 1750's bridge that gives the hamlet its name. Prior to the building of the bridge, Rannoch Moor was crossed by a road that ran around the other side of Loch Tulla (crossing the Water of Tulla near Achallader). Ascend the ridge of Ben Inverveigh along a path straight on from the bridge where the tarmac road swings north to meet the shore of Loch Tulla. The path is an old military road built in 1752 or 1753. There is a cairn at the highest point (Mam Carraigh) with good views of the loch and the hills to the west. The path drops gently down to meet the lochside road at Inveroran Hotel. This lonely inn has stood here for over two centuries and has gathered its share of historical and literary associations. The great Gaelic poet Duncan Ban Macintyre was born in 1724 in a croft called Druimlaighart (2 or 3 kilometres to the west) above the Allt Tolaghan and married Mary, the daughter of the innkeeper. He spent much of his life in and around Glen Orchy which featured strongly in his poems. In later life he moved to Edinburgh and became an officer of the City Guard (effectively a policeman) before dying there in 1824.

Inveroran Hotel also provides the starting point of one of Scotland's classic hill-walking routes from this historic inn, over the Black Mount (with its tally of 4 Munros) and finishing at the even more historic Kingshouse Hotel. If you are fit and have a light pack, the route is worth considering as a more arduous but vastly rewarding alternative. If you choose to stay at Inveroran rather than Bridge of Orchy note that there is an informal campsite next to the bridge over the Allt Tolaghan (ask at the hotel first).

The West Highland Way now takes the lochside road across the river flats at the head of Loch Tulla to Victoria Bridge. In winter and early spring keep an eye on the flats for red deer that frequent the area. Forest Lodge (a typical Victorian 'shooting box') is found on entering a pine plantation after crossing the bridge. The old military road heads north from behind the lodge, but the WHW deserts it here for the old Glen Coe road that departs to the right (east) for a gentler climb to a lower saddle over the Black Mount. Strictly "Black Mount" refers to the western part of Rannoch Moor - 'mount' or 'mounth' usually refers to a high plateau, often with a pass across it. More recently the deer forest to the south and the hills to the west have been included into the Black Mount name.

As the path emerges from the pine plantation take a minute to look back over Loch Tulla to the Achaladair hills presenting their steepest sides and the gap of Glen Orchy to the south. Soon another plantation temporarily hides the views to the south as the track climbs steadily to its first moorland summit at 320 metres. The pass between Beinn Toaig (to the west) and Meall Beag (to the west) is broad and flat and brings the walker back into the Tay drainage system (River Orchy eventually flows out to the Atlantic). Around you is some of the bleakest, wildest countryside on the West Highland Way. To the west the enormous Coire Bà (Valley of the Cattle) begins to make its presence felt against its backdrop of high rugged hills.

Passing the third pine plantation reveals two pretty tarns - the southern one is called Lochan Mhic Pheadair Ruiadhe but the further one is nameless. The track now passes through "the Moss" with a boggy area to the west filled with countless tiny lochans (ponds).

The highlight of the day is the arrival at Bà Bridge over the River Bà (River of the Cattle). Here the river forces its way through a rocky gut with the grey rocks creating interesting rapids and waterfalls. A clump of fir trees supplement the grandeur of the moors around the bridge. Downstream the river wanders into the green Rannoch Moor wilderness. Upstream, it threads its way out of the coire and the untamed hills. In fine weather this is a great place to stop for lunch. Mist and rain merely give the bridge an eerie atmosphere - like stepping 300 years back into the past.

More climbing waits beyond Bà Bridge with a branch to the west going to the ruins of Bà Cottage and then a path to the east leading down to the A82 road. This is about 3.5 kilometres away but only obtrusive if you look for it. The track just touches the 450 metre contour - the highest point so far on the West Highland Way - and then descends. Up above the track at this point is a memorial cairn to Peter Fleming, whose adventures are said to be even more daring than those imposed on James Bond by his novelist brother Ian Fleming.

As the old road descends and skirts the flanks of Meall a'Bhuiridh, the views ahead open up to include the gates of Glen Coe with the green hills to the west starkly contrasting with the dramatic cliffs of Stob Dearg (the southern peak of Buachaille Etive Mor - the 'great shepherd of Etive'). The White Corries ski area is nestled in Coire Pollach under Meall a'Bhuiridh further to the left. This small skifield was Scotland's first commercial field and has an excellent reputation for good and interesting runs. The fringe of hills to the north bordering Rannoch Moor are known as the Black Corries.

The charming hut of Blackrock Cottage (belonging to a ladies' mountaineering club) with its whitewashed walls and dark roof is encountered when the Way joins the tarmac road that heads up to the skifield's carpark. The Way heads downhill for a quick dash across the A82 road and then a stroll along the old Glen Coe road (now tarmaced) across the moors to Kingshouse Hotel (about 1.5 kilometres from the cottage). Along the way, views into the other great gateway - Glen Etive - open up with the rocky turret of Creise forming the southern gatepost. For a good picture of the inn, mountains and Glen Etive, have a look at this photo in my Big Picture Gallery (taken the next day). The other pillar of Glen Etive's doorway is Stob Dearg (Buachaille Etive Mor - the "great shepherd of Etive"), a massive edifice of cliffs rising to a sharp peak. It is regarded as one of Scotland's grandest mountains and there are many climbing routes forced up its rock faces.

Kingshouse Hotel is now thoroughly modern and of good quality but has had a shabby past. It has been in this isolated and uninhabited location for about 200 years, serving travellers between Fort William and Glasgow. For many years the difficulty of running an inn in such inhospitable surroundings was acknowledged by the Government who provided an annual grant and charged no rent. The rundown condition of the inn was more likely the result of a succession of innkeepers whose main business was salt-smuggling. At the end of the 18^th century salt was subject to a heavy duty except when it was used to preserve fish for export and it was this salt which was trafficked.

I had intended to walk on a little bit further and camp a little bit off route in Glen Etive but the depressing weather and temptations of the hotel convinced me to get a room at the inn. Camping is also allowed in a field next to the hotel.