Yesterday the weather forecasts predicted one more good day before the clouds and rain returned. Determined not to waste it, we set out towards Glencoe to take in some of the glorious highland views. Neither of us were up for a heavy duty climb but after a  little research Susan found a shorter, lower level walk known as the Devil’s Staircase. When I heard the name, it instantly conjured up memories of treacherous roads and long, punishing walks. I’m from Yorkshire and I’d advise anybody visiting that county to avoid any natural features that have “Devil” in their names! In this case however the demonic title was earned from soldiers losing their lives to exposure. On a bright, sunny day I figured the four of us would OK.

The Devils Staircase very easy to get to – we headed for the Kings House Hotel (PH49 4HY for those with sat nav) then drove on a little further until we reached a layby on the right with a sign indicating the start of the walk. As we got our own little devils out of the car we got talking to a couple who were familar with the area. They told us of a truly magnificent viewing location just off the staircase. Following their directions, we walked up the winding “staircase” until we reached a cairn. Beyond that point, the path descends into Kinlochleven, but if you turn left you can walk to the top of a very minor peak that may or may not be called “Stob Mhic Mhartui”.

A pitstop by the cairn for some treats, just before we went left off the main path

For the most part there is an obvious path to follow and it’s pretty easy going the whole way, so long as you don’t let any excited Beagles take you on a more direct route over marshy, heather covered ground. It may smell great to them, but you will end up with wet feet.

Clouds?

What clouds?

A spot of “leave” training can help to reign in the excitement..

..just so long as the treats are worthwhile!

You don’t have to walk long before you start seeing some really breathtaking views

At the top: the Three Sisters of Glencoe (we think!) in the background

Viewed again, from just beyond the summit

White-topped Ben Nevis in the distance (left hand side)

Hmm.. I think it’s treat-time again!

Now you may recall that on our last mountain walk Biggles was a very noisy boy. Well this time he’d been much calmer and quieter, putting more effort into tying up my legs with his lead in pursuit of the ultimate sniff. I thought we’d made a breakthrough. Until that is we started back down and the wind changed direction. Grunt! Squeal! Aaarf! Arroo! All the way back down!

Nearly back at the car, but there are still raging torrents to cross

The scenery’s nice, but the heather smells fantastic!

By now it was lunchtime. We had a couple of options: drive back to the Kings House Hotel (or further, the Bridge of Orchy Hotel) and hope they’d allow our Beagles inside, or drive forward to the Glencoe Visitor Centre and grab some sandwiches and coffees. We did the latter, and I’m very glad because even if the hotels had let our two doglets in, their behavior would soon have got us barred for life.

Beanie was the worst offender; just as I sat down at our bench outside the cafe to tuck into my nosh, she leapt right up onto the table. Suddenly one end of my tuna mayonnaise baguette was in my mouth, and the other end was in Beanie’s. It was very romantic, a bit like the spaghetti eating scene out of “Lady and The Tramp“, but she can eat a lot faster than me and I was really hungry, so I grabbed her and put her back on the ground. Needless to say I then tore off the rear end of my baguette and shared it between her and Biggles. I love her to bits, but her oral hygene leaves something to be desired and I didn’t want to spend the rest of the day with a sick stomach.

As we were eating I noticed a beautiful little bird land on our table. It was completely fearless – presumably it was used to getting tidbits from visitors. Biggles very nearly had it for lunch. He generally prefers sheep and socks, but there’s always room for a side dish of tweety pie.

Eventually we set off back home, but we stopped the car a couple of times for some more photos. There were lots of beautiful views to be had even from the roadside: