The name was given
by the soldiers
who were part of the road building program
of General
Wade.
The carrying of building materials
up this stretch of the road
was not popular!
The name was perpetuated when some of the workers
building the
Blackwater Dam
chose to travel to the nearest pub
at the Kingshouse Inn
after their
wages had been paid
- the journey to the Kingshouse Hotel
proved more difficult than
expected
and the return journey even worse on unsteady legs
- on a cold winter’s night,
the devil often ”claimed his own“.
The
Kingshouse was built in the early 1750’s
as a barracks and safe house
for travellers.
Lord Breadalbane one of the powerful chiefs
of Clan Campbell
owned the inn.
The Kingshouse: ‘Hello’
I am the innkeeper Donald McInnes.
I was encouraged to take on the Kingshouse in the early 1770’s
after a distinguished career in King George’s army.
But making a living here has proved a lot more difficult
than I had
been led to believe! Breadalbane shows little
interest in repairing the roof
or putting glass in the windows.
The furniture I procured at great expense
is already worn out by
the inclement weather. Drovers can put up with these
conditions,
but the growing number of travelling gentry
expect comfortable
accomodation
and the finest of food at their table. I should not be
telling you this,
but recently I have had to resort
to the illegal trade in whisky and salt.
How else can a man make his living
in this God-forsaken place.
(
Note:
Click here
or on above for large format copy )
Location:
Glen Coe
Map: OS Landranger41 ( GR220563 )
Distance: 6 1/2 km ( 4 miles )
Time: 3 hours
Terrain: Hill path Beinn a’ Chrulaiste is the great rounded lump
of a hill which sits across the road from Buachaille
Etive Mor and, while it is not an
eye-catching mountain like its neighbour, it does afford fabulous views
of that
iconic peak and the rest of the Glen Coe massif. Many people opt for
the ascent from the King’s House Hotel but the approach from further
West at Altnafeadh is perhaps the finer.
Start from the large layby on the A82 at Altnafeadh where the West
Highland Way footpath climbs over to Kinlochleven via the Devil’s Staircase.
From the eastern end of the layby a path leads on to the West
Highland Way
which is followed alongside the road over two wooden bridges to the end
of a small forestry plantation. Climb up the side of this plantation to
pass beneath the power lines and head for a gate in the fence which can
be seen up to the right. Go through this gate then immediately step
over the fence beside it and climb the hillside past some wooden posts
to pick up a rough hill path which ascends the edge of the slope
overlooking the road.
Height is gained rapidly and fabulous views begin to open out with Buachaille
Etive Mor on the other side of the
road continually drawing the eye.
The steepness soon eases and the path swings away from the edge to pass
over the minor bump of Stob Beinn a’ Chrulaiste where the view extends
north to the peaks of the Mamores and Ben Nevis.
Continue in the direction of these peaks for a short way to bypass a
boggy area and some peat hags then swing around and follow the rough
path east up grassy slopes to the rocky summit of Beinn a’ Chrulaiste (
857m; 2811ft ).
It is worth walking around the flat summit area to savour the views
before probably settling on a perch looking across to the magnificent Buachaille
Etive Mor. Although the route back
retraces that of the ascent, Glen Coe and its attendant peaks are now
spread at one’s feet, making this perhaps a more fitting way to leave
the mountain.
Location:
Glen Coe
Map: OS Landranger 41 [GR 216 574]
Distance: 5km [3 miles]
Time: 1hr 30 minutes
Terrain: Good paths Sometimes the shortest of walks can reveal
stupendous views and this route to the summit of Stob Mhic Mhartuin on
the north side of GlenCoe is a perfect example. Surrounded by some of the most dramatic
mountains in Scotland, Stub Mhic
Mhartuin is just a bump, but its ascent allows that great Glen Coe
sentinel, Buachaille Etive Mor,
to be viewed from a different perspective than the usual shortbread-tin
vista from the east -with the conical tower of Stob Dearg rising above
the River Coupal.
The route starts from the layby on the north side of the A82 at
Altnafeadh. At weekends this can be particularly busy and there is
overflow parking on the south side of the road. It's in the vicinity of the
track that leads down to the foot-bridge that takes you over the River
Coupal to Laggangarbh cottage. From the east side of the car park, follow the
path signposted West Highland Wayalongside
the burn. It follows the line of the old military road that
was constructed in around 1750, much of it on the route of the old
drove road used to herd cattle from the Highlands to the lowland
markets. This section of the military road was built under the command
of Major Caulfield, successor to General Wade. It ascends to the Devil's
Staircase, the zigzags carrying the road up the steep gradient
below the col between Stob Mhic Mhartuin and Beinn Bheag.
As you ascend. the massive Blackwater Reservoir starts to come into
view to the north-east. Built between 1905 and 1909 with dynamite and
pick axe, and at the cost of many lives, the reservoir served the
now closed aluminium smelter in Kinlochleven.
However, it is the other side of the glen that dominates the view, in
the shape of the vast, dark depths of Buachaille Etive Mor’s
north-facing Coire an Tulaich, with the tiny white cottage of Laggangarbh below. If
this feels a little claustrophobic — and even these eastern and more
open reaches of Glen Coe
have that effect on some people — then arriving at the col below Stob
Mhic Mhartuin is positively agoraphobic.
Suddenly, the landscape opens up with a sweeping view down to the
wooded glen of the River Leven and across to a backdrop of the Mamores and the whaleback plateau of Ben
Nevis beyond. The north side of the Leven, almost directly ahead,
was the site of a prisoner-of-war camp during the First World War. lt must have been a dismal
location in winter.
From the cairn at the col a smaller footpath leads left up the broad
ridge to the top of Stob Mhic Mhartuin and further fine views down the length of Glen Coe, flanked by the
peaks of the Aonach Eagach ridge to the north and the rocky spurs and
summits of the Three Sisters,
Stob Coire nan Lochan and Bidean nam Bian
to the south.
From the summit return to the col and descend the Devil’s Staircase
back to the road.