|
Welcome to www.glenspean.com. We hope our site
will give you a taste for this beautiful part of the Scottish Highlands.
You'll find details of accommodation and tourist services available in the Glen Spean area,
as well as a touring guide, travel information and links
to other relevant sites. You will also find Highland
Scenes (a free Electronic Postcard Service), and an Online
Book & CD store. Our Message
Board service is now back online after an upgrade to prevent spamming. |
 The Commando Memorial, Spean Bridge |
The Highland village of Spean Bridge is actually named, not after the bridge built there by Thomas Telford, but after the earlier - now collapsed - structure at Highbridge some distance to the west. The village is be found where the Great Glen meets Glen Spean, about 12 miles to the NE of Fort William. It nestles amongst the foothills of Britain's highest mountains, and some of the best views of Ben Nevis and its substantial neighbours can be seen in the area. Glen Spean stretches eastwards from Spean Bridge, towards Roy Bridge and Glen Roy Nature Reserve. The Great Glen, or "Glen Mor", opens up to the NE and SW of the village. The area makes an ideal holiday destination, whether you come for the walking, climbing, fishing, white water canoeing, riding, skiing, any of the other numerous activities available locally, or simply to relax and soak up the beautiful Highland scenery and warm local hospitality.
Aonach Mor: 8 miles to the SW of Spean Bridge, just off the A82, is the Aonach Mor Gondola Station. From here you can travel effortlessly up the slopes of Aonach Mor to enjoy some of Scotland's best skiing in the winter, or the walking and spectacular scenery in the summer. Recently the gondolas have been modified to allow mountain bikers to take their bikes up on the cable car and experience the thrill of the new downhill mountain bike track.
Caledonian Canal: Completed in 1822 by Thomas Telford, this canal system links the various lochs of Glen Mor (the Great Glen) to form a route (which is still navigable today) from West Coast to East Coast, starting in Fort William and ending in Inverness. Watch the boats navigate the Locks at Gairlochy and Neptune's Staircase, or enjoy a leisurely walk along a section of the tow path.
 |
 |
|
Morning mist, Glenspean
|
Sunset over Aonach
Mor
|
Cille Choirille: Some miles after Roy Bridge on the A86 there is a turning to the left which proceeds up a steep, narrow road. Here you will find the recently renovated picturesque14th century church and graveyard of Cille Choirille, with its dramatic views of Glen Spean. In this graveyard many of the leaders of the last Highland Uprising of 1745 are buried. There are many pilgrims from around the world who come back to the church year after year, and believe that it posesses special healing powers. If you come back down the hill and cross the main road, the track will lead you to the impressive Monessie Gorge, with a section of the West Highland Railway Line clinging defiantly to its side.
Commando Memorial: A short distance to the NE of Spean Bridge, travelling on the A82, you will find the Commando Memorial. Sculpted in bronze, the three Second World War soldiers, whose story is told in the nearby museum, survey their training area to the West. The views from the memorial are breathtaking.
Highbridge: Leave Spean Bridge on the A82, heading for Fort William, and you will reach a crossroads after about two miles. Turn right here and after a mile or so you come to a small memorial cairn on the right of the road. From here you can walk down to the river to see the remains, which are impressive even as a ruin, of the High Bridge. Once the main crossing point before Telford built Spean Bridge, it dates from 1736. It was here that an important skirmish of the 1745 Highland Uprising took place when a small but fierce band of Highlanders ambushed two companies of Redcoats and sent them fleeing in terror.
Lairig Leachach: If you turn off the A82 by the Spean Bridge Hotel, you will reach a single track road that runs along the south side of the River Spean. After 2 ¼ miles you reach the end of the tarred public road (please do not park anywhere beyond this point). From here you can walk up the track, past the buildings of Corriechoille, to the beginning of the Lairig Leachach (slab pass). Once a busy drovers route for livestock dealers moving their animals to and from the market towns many miles further south, this track is now popular with walkers seeking the spectacular Highland scenery. From the end of the tarred road there are also walks along the River Spean, where the scenery is just as beautiful, but the walking slightly less strenuous!
Loch Arkaig: Turn off the A82 at the Commando Memorial and head towards Gairlochy. Turn left here for a scenic back-road to Fort William, or right to Loch Arkaig where you will find the Cia-aig Waterfall. There are also several well-marked forest walks from here. Close by is the Clan Cameron Museum in the grounds of Achnacarry Castle, home of the Clan Chief.
Parallel Roads: Leaving the village to the East on the A86, you travel up Glen Spean towards Roy Bridge. From here you can follow the narrow road to the Glen Roy Nature Reserve which reaches a spectacular viewpoint from where the "Parallel Roads" of the Glen can be seen. These roads run in perfectly parallel lines along opposing sides of the glen. Legend has it that they were built by the mythical giant Fingal, the truth is that they represent the changing levels of the glacier that filled the Great Glen during the last Ice Age.
West Highland Railway: The West Highland Line is a single track railway that runs from Glasgow to Fort William and then on up to Mallaig. The train journey takes you through some of the most isolated and stunning scenery in the Highlands, and in the summertime there is a steam train running between Fort William and Mallaig. The line is ideal for day trips and hiking, and there is a convenient sleeper service that runs between London Euston and Spean Bridge.
There are many other things to do in the area - far too many to list on one page! Have a look at our Touring Guide
Site design by Realistic Web Designs. Please contact us with any comments or problems