I am planning a trip with my 2 college age daughters in March. We will fly into Edinburgh. I am looking for a town to home base in that has great day hikes (walks). I would like to be within a 2-2 1/2 hour drive from Edinburgh. We would stay 4 nights in said town. We are avid hikers and are looking for a few day hikes (5-6 miles) with gorgeous mountain views. The only town I have looked at so far is Glencoe. Thank you so much for your help!
Posted by
Isle of Skye, Scotland
1591 posts
Hello. Your question is a very broad. Will you have a rental car? Have you considered what type of lodging you need? Do you really mean a town? Glencoe is a tiny village. Distance is one consideration but certainly not the only one in Scotland. What is your tolerance level for boggy terrain? Do you want to be hiking up mountains or prefer flatter terrain? How good are you at map reading and using a compass? Many of our walks require the ability to read a topographical map?
A good resource for you to look at as a starting point is Walk Highlands. You can search hikes all over Scotland and they are ranked by users of the sites. They also indicate the length, difficulty and 'bogginess' (how muddy it is likely to be). Trails tend to be rough underfoot so you are likely to need good hiking boots and might also want hiking poles.
You could consider Glencoe or Fort William for bases in the western highlands, or maybe somewhere like Pitlochry which would open up the Cairngorms and also the beautiful areas around Loch Rannoch.
Posted by
Glasgow
159 posts
It’s difficult to see past Glencoe given your interests.But as Skyegirl says, Glencoe village is tiny plus you really would be best with a car to take you to walk/hike start points and enjoy the area to its fullest..You could use a taxi of course too if booked well ahead.There are also buses which run regularly through Glencoe going to Fort William and Skye so these can also be used though seats should be booked in advance.
See Traveline Scotland for pubic transport planning…
https://www.travelinescotland.com/cms/home
You’ll certainly get a lot of bang for your buck in that area. There are walks from the Visitor Centre as well as in the main glen itself (mostly mountain hikes, not long ones though ) as well as a couple of ‘through Glen’ walks and of course walking across Rannoch Moor using the West Highland Way long distance path which is good.Glorious scenery.
Walkhighlands is an excellent resource.
My own take on the best of Glencoe and walks if of interest:
https://annestravelsandhikes.com/2021/02/13/the-best-of-glencoe/
Posted by
OP
31 posts
Sorry, I failed to mention we would have a car. I am looking at Airbnb's in Glencoe. We love hiking mountains or really would be fine with any beautiful views. We do not mind the mud as we will definitely have our hiking boots. We use Alltrails for hiking. Thank you for all your help!
Posted by
OP
31 posts
scotlandmac, your pictures are stunning on your post. That is exactly the views we are hoping for!
Posted by
Glasgow
159 posts
Great to hear! Glencoe is magnificent as is neighbouring Glen Etive and the drive round to Kinlochleven amidst grand landscapes.
Probably the easiest pathed mountain in the glen is Buachaille Etive Beag - good path up it, the usual slog but it’s relatively short and with Glencoe , you start high.5hr round trip if weather is up to it.Views are magnificent.AllTrails will no doubt cover it though they always seem to over-rate walks a bit in terms of difficulty.There is nothing technical about the mountain at all.
The Pap of Glencoe is a good one too though a more eroded path through heavy footfall.
Meant to add, with your trip being March obviously you’ll need to see what the snow levels are on the mountains - it’s likely at the very least to be potentially quite icy up high.But there’s still plenty to enjoy at lower levels too.
Posted by
OP
31 posts
Hi, thank you scotlandmac for the additional info! With the possibility of snow, how will the roads be to Glencoe? I definitely do not want to drive if the roads are bad condition due to snow or ice.
Posted by
OP
31 posts
Stob Dubh via Buachaille Etive Beag, is this the trail you are referring to? This looks exactly like what we are looking for!
Posted by
Glasgow
159 posts
The A82 through Glencoe is a main road and if there were to be ice or snow, it is kept clear as it’s a major trunk road north.There can be snow or ice in March but less likely than earlier in winter and it also tends not to last.It’s unlikely you will have any problems.
The Glen Etive single track road is no longer gritted so if there was any early morning ice, I’d avoid it.
Yes, that’s the mountain - it’s superb and a great path.
Posted by
Yorkshire
1396 posts
The mountain weather infomation service, MWIS should be checked, the weather can be extreme still in March, snow on the mountains tops is very posssible till mid April.
I will put a plug for Speyside, more forested , kinder weather than the west. It would also be possible to use the scenic Snow Road and A93 to head back to Edinburgh.Glen Feshie and the Linn of Dee up to Derry Lodge keep relatively low but right amongst the mountains.
Loch Morlich up to the Green Lochan and even Ryvoan bothy haa good trails.Loch Insch has various accomodation and a good bar, and isn't to far
Posted by
Lincolnshire, UK
2909 posts
Can I throw another suggestion into the mix - rather than Glencoe, have you thought about Callander? It's an attractive small town in the Trossachs and often described as 'the gateway to the Highlands'. I's not as far to driveas Glencoe and has more choice of accommodation etc e. There's a lot of walking that you can do in the area - from easy strolls to quite serious mountains - Ben Ledi, , Ben Venue, Ben Vorlich, Ben A'an ...
As always Walk Scotland has plenty of ideas for walks in the area.