With the adventure that was crossing Rannoch Moor behind us, our penultimate day hiking the West Highland Way was to take us from Glencoe to Kinlochleven. We were looking at mere 10 and a half miles or just under 17 kilometres.
Sure, we have hiked further than that in a day. But we did not want to leave today to chance as we had something known as ‘ The Devil’s Staircase’ to conquer. Also, if bad weather had delayed us on the Moor, and we needed to walk further today, we could do that. After all, we had our flights back to Ireland booked for our hike day nine. We really didn’t want to miss them.
From Glencoe to Kingshouse Hotel
As I had mentioned before, I was really grateful for my foresight to have booked the microlodge, or hobbit house (as Jane and I called it), at the Glencoe Mountain Resort. It had been raining steadily throughout the night and the rain was still falling in the morning. We were really happy to have stayed in a dry and warm log cabin. We made use of all the luxuries the Glencoe Mountain Resort offered and had a warm breakfast in the café, followed by a hot shower. As the rain eased up, we set off from Glencoe to Kingshouse just before 11am.
It was a relatively short and easy walk from Glencoe to Kingshouse Hotel. The sun came out and we were happily walking and talking about the beauty of yesterday’s crossing of the Rannoch Moor. When we stopped at Kingshouse Hotel, I realised that my windbreaker became untied and fell off my waist somewhere along the way. I was so worried about losing my phone that was in the pocket!
I ran back the same way we came and thankfully found the jacket relatively soon with the phone and all. Such a relief. I realised I really enjoyed the run. Should I get back into it when I got home? I happily jogged back to the Kingshouse Hotel where Jane was patiently waiting for me.
A Little History of Kingshouse Hotel at the Edge of Glencoe Valley
Here is what we found out about the Kingshouse Hotel. Originally called the King’s House, it was constructed in the 1750s at the eastern end of the remote Glencoe Valley. Duke of Cumberland’s troops used the inn as a barracks during the subjugation of the Scottish Highlands by the British. The original owner was Lord Breadalbane of Clan Campbell.
An info sign told us that in the early 1770’s, a certain Donald McInnes, was urged to take over the establishment. After a lengthy service in King George’s army, he struggled to sustain a viable business at the inn. McInnes received very little assistance from his landlord Breadalbane for improvements to the property. He lamented that while the Drovers tolerated the conditions, the traveling gentry would not. He felt that in order to make ends meet, he had no choice but to turn to illegal salt and whisky trade.
Indeed, Dorothy Wordsworth, the sister of the poet William Wordsworth, was not impressed when she visited the King’s House in 1803:
Never did I see such a miserable, such wretched place, – long rooms with ranges of beds, no other furniture except benches, or perhaps one or two crazy chairs, the floors far dirtier than an ordinary house could be if it were never washed. With length of time the fire was kindled and after another hour of waiting, supper came, a shoulder of mutton so hard that it was impossible to chew the little flesh that might have been scraped off the bones.
However, when we visited, the conditions have improved greatly and we were very happy to stop off for some tea before heading off for The Devil’s Staircase.
From Kingshouse Hotel to The Devil’s Staircase
When we left the hotel, crossing the stream, a French fellow walker pointed to some deer lying in the grass by the stream. I had not noticed them at all but they were so close! These were the first wild deer we saw. Opposite the pair, on the other side of the stream were four more. So perfectly beautiful.
After that sighting we walked to the Devil’s Staircase, which is the highest point of the West Highland Way. It’s a serpentine ascend, steady and quite steep. But not as bad as the name suggests. It was raining on and off all day, so the climb was muggy but ultimately glorious. I imagined stairs carved into the rock, but it was not like that at all. The occasional stair or two over the path. I went ahead while Jane took her time walking at a slower pace. I waited for her on the top. An amazing rainbow spread right across the valley as soon as we started the descent on the other side of the mountain. It was magnificent.
From Devil’s Staircase to Kinlochleven
Descending Devil’s Staircase on the other side, we were on our own for long stretches of the path. It felt like we were the only people in the mountains. Wonderful. Quick showers on and off continued throughout the descent into Kinlochleven. And it poured down when we finally came to the village.
We had dinner in the Inn. The service was Scottishly sullen and not very pleasant, made me think of the lamenting Donald McInnes from King’s House. Here we ran into Dan again. We chatted with him for a while over the mediocre dinner. As we hadn’t pre-booked any accommodation and there was none available in Kinlochleven, we decided to walk until 8pm and then find a camping spot for the night.
Wildcamping in Kinlochleven
Since tomorrow’s, our final day, hike would be 24 kms, a distance we had not covered previously, camping after Kinlochleven helped us gain some of that distance. And I’m glad we did. The hill going up after Kinlochleven was massive! Oh my goodness. I would not want to have started the final hike day with it. We came almost to the hilltop before we found a spot under the trees just off the path, but hidden. It seemed like a good place as the dark was just about to fall. We set up camp and went to bed immediately, tired from our relatively short but adventurous hike from Glencoe to here. It had been quite a day.