From canal paths to high ridges: Pondering possibilities for Lochaber returns
Published on 21st October 2025 
Estimated Reading Time: 14 minutesThe Lochaber and West Highland Way albums in the online photo gallery recently got updates (an overhaul in the case of the former) from trips to the former during April 2009, July 2013 and June 2024. However, this activity itself spurred some notions of returning to Lochaber because I fancy making digital replacements for what I pruned from the gallery. Naturally, it would have been better to have those newer images in place before culling their predecessors.
It was a previous round of curation that led me to traipse me along sections of the West Highland Way last year, one between Fort William and Kinlochleven followed by another from Glen Coe to Bridge of Orchy. Those journeys replaced images of lesser quality than what I prefer these days, efforts that were rewarded, which is just as well given the wearying heat experienced on the former and the wintry showers encountered on the latter. None of this took from the success of the endeavour, an aspect that dulled any wishes to return to the area for a time afterwards.
Returning to those unused excuses for returning, I am collating a few here for further perusal. These go beyond an ascent of the Pap of Glencoe from the village that gives it part of its name or even any continuation as far as Sgor nan Fiannaidh though that looks like a craggy proposition on OS maps even if Harvey Maps show a path up there. Proceeding any closer to the Aonach Eagach is of no interest to me, given its intensity of exposure and the scrambling involved; this also might be going in the wrong direction too.
Otherwise, Glenfinnan may have its monument commemorating the Jacobite Rising at the head of Loch Shiel as well as its cinematic associations because of a famous viaduct, and short paths that lead to classic viewpoints of both landmarks, while longer circuits climb into the surrounding hills and a track up the glen reaches the Corryhully bothy. Bringing us more on topic, Kinlochleven turns up a lot here because of what lies on its doorstep, which is far more than the well visited Grey Mare's Tail waterfall or even the well trodden West Highland Way, which threads past some of what is described below.
Matters of Unfinished Business
Glen Nevis
An encounter with Glen Nevis was among my earliest incursions into the Scottish Highlands. That was a serendipitous affair that included a trot along a very short section of the mountain track leading to the top of none other than Ben Nevis. It granted me ample views of what lay about me after some forest track trampling in advance of an intrusion that met no reproach from others who were better equipped for their hiking. Apart from the possibility of reaching Scotland's country top, other traipsing through the glen on the West Highland Way has left me sated for now.
However, that still leaves other parts much further into the glen. After all, my second visit took me all the way to the car park at the end of the tarmac road on a stroll with my brother. While a dull day might have limited photography, that was not the point at the time. It was only a few years later that I went past the sign asking about visitor preparedness to reach wilder parts on a day laced with heavy rain. Before that, I had loitered around Achriabhach on a wonderful August evening on a circuit that followed forestry tracks from Fort William before sticking with tarmac for the way back. Then, gaining height on the path shadowing Allt Coire a' Mhusgain granted me a vantage point from which to savour my surroundings at a time when directional sunlight cast many shadows.
Surprisingly, there has been no follow up on those incursions for a good while since they were made. It is not before time that this should be something that is set to rights, though the vicissitudes of Lochaber's weather and the numbers drawn by the delights that await them mean that the errand is challenging. Overcoming those will bring rewards, though.
Great Glen Way
Around midsummer this year, I pottered along the Great Glen Way between Drumnadrochit and Inverness. The start was under cloudy skies without much hope of seeing sunshine, yet there were breaks in the cloud cover later and a fine end to the day. For a long time, my dalliance with the trail was at the other end: between Clunes of the western bank of Loch Lochy, Gairlochy, Banavie and Fort William.
The sprawling rambles started from Spean Bridge and passed the impressively situated Commando Memorial. Their reach included the shores of Loch Arkaig as much as Loch Lochy, with Achnacarry and the Mìle Dorcha as landmarks on my traipsing. Along the way, I surveyed sightings of the Grey Corries as much as the more dramatic side of Ben Nevis and its neighbouring hills. Since all got captured on film, I would fancy returning to make digital images of these alluring panoramas too.
An added sense of adventure could send one's mind to ponder the heights of Meall na Teanga and Sron a' Choire Ghairbh, often suggested as a joint ascent in guidebooks. My first reaction to such an idea was that the realities of carless hiking make this implausible, until I got around to looking at timetables. An early start could make this happen with a spot of care, and Laggan sounds a better starting point than significantly more distant Fort William. However, routing by Mìle Dorcha could increase transport options with a diversion to Spean Bridge.
The stretching of logistical realities sent another flight of fancy into my mind: walking from Laggan to Fort William using the Great Glen Way. This is no quick stroll at 36 kilometres (22.5 miles), though it can be managed in a single day given adequate hours of daylight. The aforementioned section between Drumnadrochit and Inverness was around 32 km (20 miles), after all. If required, a 5 km (3 mile) diversion to Spean Bridge would shorten the distance with access to bus and rail services. However, the section beyond Gairlochy would add digital photos for me when the weather is offering, so the full distance still appeals and seeing those aforementioned hillwalking summits would do no harm either.
Loch Treig, Lairig Leacach & Glen Spean
It was May 2006 when I walked from Corrour station to Spean Bridge after overnight travel got me to Fort William, an escapade that inspired one of the first trip reports on here at a time when brevity was more my style. The sunlit landscapes, still brown after the winter and awaiting greening for the summer, caught my eye as much as Loch Treig itself and any remaining snow on the surrounding hilltops. Though the start may have been later than was ideal, I was still in ample time for a train back to Fort William, and I seem to remember that there were later bus services available in those friendlier times too.
While I might have had a digital camera with me then, film photography was my mainstay at the time and later fumbling meant that I lost the photos anyway. Thus, going that way again is something that appeals to me should such an opportunity arise. Lairig Leacach and the Grey Corries would again have my ephemeral company, though there are other route options in the area that may appeal just as well.
The descent to Spean Bridge had me skirting Leanachan Forest, which offers possibilities such as the 9.8 kilometres Leanachan and River Lundy circular, offering a sheltered outing when weather conditions make higher routes inadvisable. However, the mixture of walkers and mountain bikers does mean that you need to pay more attention at junctions, without being distracted by views of Ben Nevis through the trees.
Adjoining that is Torlundy and the Nevis Range gondola that lifts walkers to opportunities that would otherwise require long approaches. From the Top Station, well-made paths lead to the nearby Sgùrr Finnisg-aig and Meall Beag viewpoints, as well as a more challenging 9.5 kilometre route to Aonach Beag and Aonach Mòr for those possessing the required stamina and navigational skills. In contrast, the Snowgoose Trail turns the approach on its head, climbing for 6 kilometres from the car park to the mid-station restaurant, with the gondola available either up or down to ease the effort.
Staring from Kinlochleven offers another possibilities, with some of these passing Loch Eilde Mor, another location visited a good while ago and with remaining digital photos too, some of which now being in the Lochaber album to which I alluded earlier. One is a circuit that also takes in the 13 kilometres long Blackwater Reservoir and its one kilometre wide dam, an intriguing prospect that frequents quiet countryside with views towards the Pap of Glencoe.
Another trail links with the track between Corrour station and Loch Treig from where there can be a reprise of the hike to Spean Bridge made in 2006, while continuing past Loch Eilde Beag to meet the Abhainn Rath could be another option. Heading north from there towards Lairig Leacach means a potentially tricky river crossing, even if it could make use of the pair of Crocs that I acquired after a similar necessity in Gleann Eanaich during May of last year. While the map may show a ford, the width of the river remains concerning, espcially when weather conditions mean a spate is in full flow.
Otherwise, a more committing possibility might be to continue west to Glen Nevis, an idea with which I have toyed in the past, albeit with a start at Corrour station after arriving there on a northbound Caledonian Sleeper train. The economics of that mode of arrival are not so favourable these days, and securing a booking is challenging enough, possibly because of overtourism. With a sufficiently early start, the Kinlochleven start might be a more feasible option.
A Spectrum of Underused Prospects
Ardgour
It was December 2009 when I made my only crossing of the Corran Narrows to savour what lies on the other side of Loch Linnhe. Leaden clouds packed the sky to ensure a dark and sunless encounter. Nevertheless, seeing these parts on a brighter day remains an unused prospect. Once you get there, the council-commissioned Corran Ferry gets you to the other side in minutes to reach perhaps deserted hills and more remote walking to boot.
The Druim na Sgriodain loop is one of the more convenient possibilities in an area more amenable to backpacking than day hikes, especially given the sparse bus timetable that is prioritised for locals more than visitors. Returning to the route, it is one that includes 12.2 kilometres of walking with 795 metres of ascent, an undertaking that would engage you for much of a day with its challenging terrain. After that, there is Garbh Bheinn, at 885 metres, often compared to a Munro and demanding of the kind of respect, making it one for dry, settled weather when visibility remains good.
This is an area for those seeking solitude and remoteness, especially when you venture into neighbouring Morvern and Sunart. As with much of the Scottish Highlands, it helps to have calm conditions along with a sense of self-sufficiency. While my incursions may be limited, I retain hopes of witnessing panoramas that sprawl over water and hill, gifts of clear sunlit days.
Ben Nevis
For someone with a fascination with a fascination with hill country and a long history of frequenting Fort William, it may come as a surprise to you to hear that I never visited the 1,345-metre high top of Ben Nevis. All that I have is a little taste of the Mountain Track from my first-ever foray into Glen Nevis. Advancing awareness of how ill-equipped I was for the full venture throttled any uprisings of ambition, assuming there ever were any, which exceeds any sense of reality.
My brother was wondering about reaching the summit when we went this way on our round trip of Scotland. The answer that seven or eight hours (allowing oneself nine might be no bad idea) were needed was sufficient for dulling any ambitions. Parking up a car at the youth hostel would have gained us a starting point for a 14.2 kilometre out and back hike if we were so equipped. If we had known, a partial climb might have been in order: after all, following the Mountain Trail to Halfway Lochan offers a 7.7 kilometre return route to a fine viewpoint at around 610 metres, one that offers views over Lochan Meall an t-Suidhe.
While the Mountain track might be my choice if I get to make an ascent, there are other possibilities for more experienced walkers, and the Càrn Mòr Dearg Arête is a celebrated adventurous option. This 17.9 kilometre ridge route from the North Face car park is exposed and steep, involving scrambling and pathless sections that require assured footing and good judgement, particularly if cloud presses low over the massif. Thus, this is no place for novices.
Returning to the subject of partial ascents, the North Face approach to the CIC Hut is another fine outing in its own right. This 11.1 kilometre return route climbs steadily beside the Allt a' Mhuilinn to reach the memorial hut beneath Ben Nevis's towering cliffs. Nevertheless, you can continue to the summit from here, stretching your hiking distance to around 25.6 kilometres on a challenge that can take 11 or 12 hours with some backtracking as you round the mountain to reach the upper section of the Mountain Track.
Continuing the theme of combining the Mountain Track and the North Face Path, I spied another option on the map that gains views along its length, if not the top of Scotland's highest hill. This opens up going from Torlundy to Fort William via the CIC Hut, a 17.5-kilometre route that opens with a sustained climb. As a means of getting to know the terrain, this has its appeal and opens up possibilities for reconnaissance before committing to any sort of summit attempt, as grandiose as that makes things sound.
The Mamores
Continuing on the mountaineering thread brings me to things that are flights of fancy to someone who normally summits on a single hill (maybe two at times) in one day, rather than doing a round of them. There are some of those with renown to be found among the Mamores. This is the kind of hill country where safety needs added care. For example, the north-eastern ridge of Sgùrr a' Mhàim should never be used for descent, as it has been associated with fatalities. After all, you are covering the kind of ground that needs added experience, a head for heights, proper equipment and the ability to navigate in poor visibility.
One is the 15.9 kilometre Ring of Steall, linking four summits in a committing loop, and the 13.4 kilometre Stob Bàn and Mullach nan Coirean round. Both are technical and strenuous with ridge walking, scrambling, traversal of narrow arêtes and steep descents. Both are dwarfed by the 39.8 kilometre Mamores Tour that takes in the summits of Mullach nan Coirean, Sgùrr a' Mhàim, Am Bodach, An Gearanach, Na Gruagaichean, Binnein Mòr and others, and the descent from Binnein Beag that requires great care.
Glen Nevis acts as an access point for much of this, as does Kinlochleven, from which stalker's paths will convey you to the likes of Sgurr Eilde Mor, Binnein Mor, Sgor nam Fiannaidh and Am Bodach. While reaching those heights on more modest incursions appears tempting, the potential of these making for challenging mountain days provides pause for thought.
