This is an ancient Highland landscape formed by a super volcano hundreds of millions of years ago, then sculpted by massive glaciers in the last Ice Age. We care for 5,665 hectares (the size of around 4,000 football pitches!) in Glencoe National Nature Reserve.
The Pass of Glencoe is a deep gorge cut by the River Coe, surrounded by towering mountains. Geology and history combine here in natural landmarks with incredible stories, like the Hidden Valley (Coire Gabhail) where stolen cattle were concealed by the MacDonalds and to where the clan fled during the infamous Massacre of Glencoe. The soaring cliffs of the Three Sisters are home to Ossian’s Cave, the birthplace of an ancient mythical Celtic hero; and from An Torr woods you can walk up to Signal Rock, where legend has it that the signal was given for Redcoat soldiers to turn on their hosts in February 1692.
Uncover the history of the people who once made their home in this awe-inspiring glen, before Jacobite loyalties and the Clearances saw them replaced with sheep and deer.
Just south of Glencoe lies Glen Etive, through which the wild waters of the River Etive flow through pools and fall towards the sea at Loch Etive. We care for the upper reaches of this incredible U-shaped glen, including the slopes descending from the mountains known as the Herdsmen of Etive: Buachaille Etive Mor and Buachaille Etive Beag. The glen is renowned for its curious red deer and some instantly recognisable film scenes, including the location of James Bond’s family home in Skyfall.
