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Around Coire Ardair

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Our view

"Regenerating woodlands lead to a high pass where Bonnie Prince Charlie escaped through the window."

Walk directions

A new path runs alongside the grey gravel track, leading to Aberarder farm. Here there's an information area and a bench under a roof. Pass to the right of the buildings on to a rebuilt path.

The well-built path rises through bracken, then crosses a boggy area to reach a junction with an interpretation board. The path to the right heads up the valley of Allt Coire Ardair, keeping a little way up the right-hand side, becoming steeper as it ascends through an area of regenerating birch trees. Now the crags of Coire Ardair come into sight ahead. The path crosses many small streams – here it is still being reconstructed.

As the valley bends towards the cragged corrie, the path bends left, slightly downhill, to join the main river. Tiny rowan trees can be seen attempting to regenerate among the heather. Wild flowers in the boggy ground include the pink or white pyramids of the heath spotted orchid (the leaves have the spots). The path winds gently near the stream, then suddenly to the outflow of Lochan a'Choire.

The outflow is a fine viewpoint for the crag walls of Coire Ardair. These walls are too loose and overgrown for rock climbing, but when covered in snow and hoarfrost give excellent sport for winter mountaineers. The circuit of the lochan is considerably more rugged than the path up the glen, and could be omitted if the outflow stream is too full, or if a picnic is preferred. Cross the stream near where it emerges from the lochan and follow a trace of path round the shore to a notable clump of boulders. One of them forms a small cave, with a spring running through it. A vigorous rowan tree, seeded where deer can't get at it, shows that without grazing pressure this glen would be wooded even at this altitude of 2,000ft (610m).

After the boulder cave you must cross rocks and scree. This short section is awkward. Once past the head of the lochan, slant up away from the shore. A path descends from high on the left, coming out of the notch called the Window. Join this and turn down to the loch's outflow (Point 4 again). Return down the valley by the outward path to the junction 0.5 miles (800m) above Aberarder House.

This time turn right, on a wide gravel path that runs close to the Allt Coire Ardair stream. A footbridge on the right lets you admire the small waterfall underneath, but don't cross it. Continue on the main path until it veers left through a gate; here fork right on a smaller path. This runs on duckboards through a swampy wood to a junction. The left fork is the shorter way back to the path near the walk start, with the car park nearby on the right.

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Location

Nearest postcode:

Additional information

Terrain - Very good, rough around the loch

Landscape - One-ended valley leading to lochan under crags

Dog friendliness - On short lead or under close control as they disturb wildlife

Parking - Nature reserve car park at Aberarder track end beside Loch Laggan

Toilets en route - At Aberarder, just past the start

Walks in Highland Dog-friendly walks in Highland

About the walk

As the path curves westward after Point 3, you'll see the crags of Creag Meagaidh ahead of you. When well iced up, these create many famous winter climbs. On the right, they're bounded by a narrow pass high on the skyline. Bonnie Prince Charlie After the defeat of the Jacobite cause at Culloden... Moor on 16 April, 1746, Prince Charles Edward Stuart went on the run in the Scottish Highlands. From then until 18 September he sheltered in caves and bothies (shepherds' huts) and in the open heather. He was often hungry, usually wet, hunted by redcoat soldiers and plagued by midges. His flight took him across the country to Mallaig, for an 80-mile (129km) journey by open boat in a storm to the Outer Hebrides. He came back to Skye disguised as the maidservant of Miss Flora MacDonald. The prince adapted well to the life of a long-distance backpacker, living for weeks in the same dirty shirt and greasy black kilt, growing a long red beard and learning to enjoy the oat bread and whisky of the country. In a bothy on South Uist, he out-drank all of his companions and then proceeded to intone a penitential psalm over their unconscious bodies. In the face of the weather and a barbarous and implacable enemy, he showed not just strength and courage, but good humour as well. He made jokes with Flora MacDonald – 'they'll never guess what I've got hidden up my skirts' (it was a pistol). The prince came to know Scotland like no monarch before or since, and at the same time, Scotland's people – from clan chieftains to crofters and fishermen, and even outlaws like the Seven Men of Glenmoriston. Despite a price on his head of £30,000, equivalent to more than a lottery jackpot of today, not one of them betrayed him. Back on the mainland, in July he was encircled by Hanoverian soldiers, but slipped between two sentries in the dark. By mid-August the manhunt had been abandoned. Soon afterwards he heard of a French boat waiting near Mallaig. Travelling away from the main roads, on 18 September he passed along the route of the walk, up to Coire Ardair and then through the high pass alongside Creag Meagaidh into the empty country around Glen Roy. That pass is called Uinneag Coire Ardair. Translating it into English we can say that Prince Charlie left Scotland through the Window.

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About the area

Apart from the Orkneys and the Shetlands, Highland is Scotland’s northernmost county. Probably its most famous feature is the mysterious and evocative Loch Ness, allegedly home to an ancient monster that has embedded itself in the world’s modern mythology, and the region’s tourist industry.

Route details

Difficulty:

Hard

Gradient:

Moderate

Distance:

8 miles (12.9kms)

Ascent:

1400ft (427m)

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Around Coire Ardair

Recommended by

Our view

"Regenerating woodlands lead to a high pass where Bonnie Prince Charlie escaped through the window."

Walk details

Difficulty:

Hard

Gradient:

Moderate

Distance:

8 miles (12.9kms)

Ascent:

1400ft (427m)

Walk directions

A new path runs alongside the grey gravel track, leading to Aberarder farm. Here there's an information area and a bench under a roof. Pass to the right of the buildings on to a rebuilt path.

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Location

Starting point

Nearest postcode:

Additional information

Terrain - Very good, rough around the loch

Landscape - One-ended valley leading to lochan under crags

Dog friendliness - On short lead or under close control as they disturb wildlife

Parking - Nature reserve car park at Aberarder track end beside Loch Laggan

Toilets en route - At Aberarder, just past the start

Walks in Highland Dog-friendly walks in Highland

About the walk

Been on this walk?

Send us photos or a comment about this route. Or recommend a route of your own.

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Walking in Safety

Read our tips to look after yourself and the environment when following this walk.

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Get an AA guide

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Been on this walk?

Send us photos or a comment about this route. Or recommend a route of your own.

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Walking in Safety

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About the area

Highland

Around Coire Ardair

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Around Coire Ardair

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