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Extreme Hiking / Hiking in Buachaille Etive Beag, Glencoe, Highlands and Islands United Kingdom

Elevation:
958m/3143ft
Prominence:
468m/1535ft
Grade:
Moderate walk
Glencoe is a small village in the Highlands of Scotland. Its surrounding area is familiar to most of us, since the filming of ''Harry Potter and The Prisoner of Askaban'' and ''Skyfall'' has taken place there. Glencoe is situated in the heart of a glen, named Glen Coe too. Locals are able to offer to their visitors a wide range of facilities like hotels, restaurants and cafes. Glencoe is the perfect place for all who love adventure on the mountains.

Buachaille Etive Beag is located in between Glencoe and Glen Etive. It is also known as the ”wee Buachaille”. It hosts two peaks, Stob Dubh and Stob Coire Raineach, that form a ridge of about 3 km/1 mi, running at a southwest-northeast direction.

The most common route that hill-walkers prefer, starts from the A82 carpark at the head of Glencoe. This walk suits more to those practitioners who look for an out of risk way to see the wild, dramatic scenery of Scotland. There is a newly constructed path to the bealach. After reaching the first stream, the walk continues easily up the lairig, which is a pass between mountains. When the descent begins, you should be more careful as the terrain becomes muddy, especially after a heavy rain.

In general, although this route is easy, it has some stream crossings that may be dangerous after heavy rain. The truth is that weather conditions may be really unpredictable in Scotland. The navigation is easy in clear weather but it could be difficult in poor visibility.