Steall Falls, Glen Nevis, Scotland – 6/5/18 - 3 miles
When Jim and I were planning our trip, we envisioned that
this day would see us hiking to the summit of Ben Nevis, the highest point
of Scotland, actually the highest point of the United Kingdom. As the trip got
real close, I began reading detailed descriptions of the endeavor and felt
those trail jitters, waking me at night and filling me with doubt. The main route is long and steep and takes
all day, and even if you begin in clear skies, it’s likely to end in fog and
rain and having to turn around just short of the summit. Hmmm…did I mention that we also planned to
drive to the Isle of Skye after this hike?
So last night at the Fort William hostel we had
conversations with hikers who had climbed Ben Nevis just that day, some of them
less than half our age, and their tales confirmed that I for sure did not want
to attempt the hike. Maybe if we were
staying in town another night…but definitely not with an hours-long drive the
same day. With that settled, I had the best night’s sleep of the entire trip –
in a full eight-person bunkroom!
So we had time to do something else this morning: Steall
Falls. We can do a drive-by of the Big Guy on the way. First we walked a few
streets in search of breakfast [note: next time, allow a day to knock around
Fort William, looks like an interesting place] and headed off to Glen Nevis
(glen is valley and ben is mountain, remember?) Getting out of town was
confusing - one-way streets, is it the second or third roundabout, is that the
train station again, we could never survive living in this country – but we
found our way.
The road through the Glen parallels the River Nevis. On the
left, the green slopes of the base of Ben Nevis are so close that the summit
was hidden – or is that the summit? Instead, those cute Scottish sheep captured
our attention.
The Glen tapers down and the mountains close in, and at road’s
end the parking area was filling up – we were in the right place. Though Steall
Falls is a major attraction, there’s much to explore here. The powerful waters
spilling from the gorge towards the valley have worn away the rough edges of
massive boulders that have tumbled down with time. There are also more trails
and loops for those with more time than we had. [Note: the Ring of Steall, a16km
route that appears to require nerves of steel.]
The cobblestone-type path lured us into Nevis Gorge, quickly
becoming more rugged with steep sides and overhanging boulders. There’s a
pinched-in feeling similar to walking up the washes in Death Valley, only with
trees. In several places we tiptoed over
small streams that flow down to join the River Nevis.
In less than a mile we popped out of the trees where the
unexpectedly grand Steall Meadow spreads out wide. Just around a bend to the
left, we could see across the meadow to Steall Falls (An Steall), flowing like
a loose skein of white yarn down the rock face of An Gearanach.
At 120 meters, Steall Falls is the second highest waterfall
in Scotland, and Harry Potter fans may recognize its appearance in tournament
scenes in “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.” But if you are an HP fan, you
already know all the places in this area that were used in filming.
To the right of the waterfall there’s a sketchy cable wire
crossing over the River Nevis, but Jim and I scouted to the left and found a good
rock hop so that we could investigate more closely.
Which is more dramatic, taking in the
waterfall’s massive scale from across the valley or sitting beside it, hearing
the thunderous pounding and feeling the spray?
I say both!
The trail continued past the waterfall, pulling us further
up the broad valley to the Steall Ruin. I couldn’t find much information about
this other than that it dates from the 1700’s.
Jim conquered the cable crossing – and then had to
come back!
We met a steady flow of peeps on our return hike and were
glad we’d started as early as we did, for now cars lined the roadside
for a half-mile past the parking area. The flower report today:
Cottongrass
Foxglove
Bluebell/wild hyacinth
Our drive to the Isle of Skye was filled with more
adventures (we’ll stop to look at just about anything) and with daylight until
after 11:00 p.m., there was a lot to see.
Our B&B for the next two nights was on a farm outside of
Portree. How about some sheep with your
sunset?
“Be happy while you’re living, for
you’re a long time deid.” ~Old Scots proverb
