Glen Nevis: Under Ben Nevis — the Gorge, Steall Falls & Britain’s Highest Mountain

Glen Nevis with the river and mountains below Ben Nevis. — Glen Nevis — the beautiful glen that runs up beneath Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in Britain.

Overview — the honest take

Glen Nevis is one of the loveliest glens in the Highlands, and it has a giant at its head: Ben Nevis, at 1,345 metres the highest mountain in Britain. You don’t have to climb the Ben to enjoy it, though — the glen itself is a glorious place to walk, with a rushing river, waterfalls, a dramatic gorge and, at the far end, one of Scotland’s great cascades. It’s all just minutes from Fort William, and a wonderful spot to base up in the van.

Where it is

Glen Nevis runs south-east from Fort William, in Lochaber — the self-styled “Outdoor Capital of the UK.” A single road threads up the glen from the town to a car park at the road-end, with the visitor centre, campsite and the mountain paths along the way. It’s an easy hop from Glenfinnan and the Road to the Isles.

Ben Nevis

The mountains at the head of Glen Nevis. — The high tops crowding the head of the glen.

Ben Nevis — “the Ben” — draws walkers from all over the world. The main Mountain Track (the old Pony Track) starts from Glen Nevis, and on a clear summer day a steady stream of people make the long, hard slog to the summit. It is a serious mountain, though: the top is a boulder plateau ringed by cliffs, often in cloud, and the weather can turn savage in minutes. Only attempt it properly equipped, with map, compass and a good forecast — and there’s absolutely no shame in enjoying the Ben from the glen below instead, as plenty do.

The Nevis Gorge & Steall Falls walk

The River Nevis running through Glen Nevis. — The River Nevis tumbling down the glen.

The finest walk here needs no mountaineering. From the road-end car park, a path leads into the Nevis Gorge — a wild, Himalayan-feeling ravine where the river crashes through boulders below you — and then suddenly opens into a hidden meadow with the spectacular Steall Falls (An Steall Bàn) pouring 120 metres down the far wall. It’s about 2½ miles there and back, rough and rocky but not a climb; the adventurous can cross the river to the foot of the falls on a hair-raising three-wire rope bridge (very much optional!). It’s one of the best short walks in the Highlands.

The green floor of Glen Nevis. — The green, wooded floor of the glen.

Staying in the glen

A motorhome parked up in Glen Nevis. — Home for the night, under the biggest hill in the land.

The glen is a superb base. There’s a big campsite and, for film buffs, plenty of familiar scenery — Glen Nevis has stood in for everywhere from Braveheart to Harry Potter. Fort William itself, with its shops and the start of the West Highland Way, is minutes away, and the Nevis Range gondola up Aonach Mòr gives a high mountain view without the climb.

Nearby

Glenfinnan — the viaduct and Jacobite monument, west on the Road to the Isles.
Fort Augustus — the Caledonian Canal locks and Loch Ness, up the Great Glen.
Over Rannoch Moor to Glen Coe — the spectacular road south.

Sources

Walkhighlands — Nevis Gorge & Steall Falls (route, terrain, the wire bridge).
Wikishire on Ben Nevis and the glen.
Everything first-hand is from our own time in Glen Nevis.