Scotland · The West Highlands
Glencoe is, for many, the most stirring landscape in Britain: a deep, brooding valley in the West Highlands where great ridges plunge straight into the glen and waterfalls thread down the dark rock. It is beautiful and a little haunting, the more so once you know the history of the 1692 massacre that gives the place its weight.
The Three Sisters, the trio of soaring spurs that guard the glen, are the signature view, and the road through is one of the great drives in the country whatever the weather. Just to the north, the curving Glenfinnan Viaduct carries the Jacobite steam train of film fame across the hills on its way to the isles.
Wildlife and wildness are part of the appeal here. Red deer move across the slopes, sea lochs reach inland, and on a clear night the dark skies fill with stars. Whether you walk a gentle glen path or climb a Munro, Glencoe rewards the time you give it.
