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Please select any
picture for a larger view
 Glen
Shiel has some of the most rugged mountain scenery in the Highlands
and there are over 20 munros within easy distance of Westwood Cottage.
The Saddle is one of the finest mountains in the area and
its long ridge, known as the Forcan ridge, must be the most
exhilarating in the country. The North & the South Glen Shiel
ridges offer excellent challenging days out for the experienced
walker but the most famous of them is the Five Sisters of Kintail
a truly classic walk with picture post card views and their western
flanks that rise for over 1000 metres in one fell swoop. For the
less serious walker, the Falls of Glomach, one of the highest
waterfalls in Britain (310ft), offers a nice day out with a good
chance of seeing golden eagles and deer. These are just a few of
the many high- & low-level walks in the area.
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Pictured here are some of Colin Campbell's
Highland Ponies. They are a very hardy breed, used for
the Stalking. Go down to Shiel Bridge for a look and feed
them an apple. |
 Over
Mam Ratagan to Glenelg (10 miles) following part of
General Wades military road you will find ruined Barracks used by
up to 300 of Wade's soldiers. In 1724 General Wade reported to King
George I that certain Highland Clans were against him and advised
the King on how to bring them into line. This resulted in "the
clearance".
 Glenelg
also has two fine examples of Iron Age Brochs (roughly 700BC–AD43)
built by the picts. They were built throughout Scotland generally
near the coast and acted as refuges during attack.
Author Gavin Maxwell had strong connections with Sandaig
(by Glenelg). He wrote Ring of Bright Water, a story
of an Otter he called Mijbil. Towards the end of his life he lived
on a small island – Eilean Ban – just off Kyleakin.
This now has a visitors centre and offers boat trips to see otters,
seals and other wildlife in the area.
 From
Kintail travel 6 miles up the A87 to Dornie and visit Eilean Donan Castle
– one of the most photogenic castles in Scotland. Built in
the thirteenth century as a principal seat of the MacKenzies of
Kintail, during the 1719 Jacobite rising the Castle was battered
to a ruin and remained so for 300 years until Colonel MacRae-Gilstap
restored it around 100 years ago.
40 miles east of Kintail is Loch Ness with its world famous
monster. The exhibition centre offers eyewitness accounts and photographs
of the monster. Boat trips "monster spotting" on the loch
are available during the summer. Visit Urquhart Castle en-route
- makes for a good day out.
Directions to Glenshiel/Map
Glasgow/Edinburgh 200 miles
Inverness 65 miles
Fort William 60 miles
Ullapool 60 miles
By road from Fort William: take the A82 to Invergarry, then
the A87 Kyle road to Shiel Bridge.
By road from Inverness: take the A82 to Invermoriston, then
the A887/A87 Kyle road to Shiel Bridge.
By air: the nearest airport is Inverness (65 miles), and
you can travel on to the hotel by hired car. Inverness airport is
serviced by many daily flights (BA and EasyJet) from several destinations
in the UK.
See
a UK Street Map centred on our post code
Useful Scottish Links
Sports and Munros in Scotland
We include here some links to web sites about sports in Scotland
in general and Munros in particular. Please note that these
links are included for the convenience of visitors to this web site
and we accept no responsibility for the content of any third-party
web sites.
The
Munros and Tops Index
Munro
Bagging on the Web by Adrian Tupper
Paul
Kennedy's Munros site
The
Munros of Scotland by Ian Fisk of New Zealand
 This
web site has a substantial walking section, concentrating on the
munros with routes, maps etc., and lots of useful information about
other sporting opportunities in Scotland!
The Association
of Scotland's Self-Caterers
Other links
Lake District
Hotel, Keswick
If you are planning a holiday in the Lake District, Crow Park Hotel
in Keswick offers comfortable accommodation and good food in a peaceful
setting, yet within a few minutes' walk of the town centre. The
hotel is owned by the proprietors of Westwood Cottage, Ian Finn
and Karen Harris, and you will be assured of a warm welcome!
Outdoor
Clothing & Equipment Suppliers
George Fisher (based in Keswick, Lake District, UK) is one of the
UK's leading retailers of outdoor equipment and clothing and a regular
winner of the OIA 'Outdoor Retailer of the Year' award. They have
huge stocks of waterproof jackets and pants, boots, ice axes, all
kinds of travel accessories, maps, books, rucsacs, backpacking,
trekking and mountaineering gear, at great prices. Everything you
need for a holiday in Scotland! You can order online from their
website.
Photos of Scotland
The Five Sisters of Kintail |
The Black Cuillins across Loch
Scavaig
from Elgol, Skye |
Loch Alsh at twilight
from above Eilean Donan Castle |
Kintail Lodge Hotel,
on the shores of Loch Duich |
| The 4 pictures above
copyright © R J Cole 2002 |
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| The 4 pictures above
are looking across Loch Duich to the Five Sisters of Kintail,
March 2003. |
With thanks to R J Cole for some of the photographs
on this page
Photographs © R
J Cole, 2002.
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