Meall a' Bhùiridh, Black Mount, Argyll & Bute, Scotland

Once beyond Bridge of Orchy, there are plenty of chances to see the hills of the Black Mount. I will come to these later, but it is worth remarking on the track leading the eye towards that hilly backdrop. When I was walking along this part of the West Highland Way, I was amazed that a roadway of such quality could be built and maintained solely for the use of walkers. In fact, this was the predecessor of the A82 that now carries traffic between Fort William and Glasgow. Obviously, other places are served by this newer road as well. The older road was built by that notable engineer Thomas Telford and remained in use as the main road artery through the area until the 1930's. It replaced earlier military roads and together with one of these it forms the majority of the route of the West Highland Way from Bridge of Orchy to Kingshouse Hotel in Glen Coe.