Vanlife Road Trip - Part 8: Strone Hill and Glen Orchy
20 – 22 August 2021
Scotland is blooming ugly... OK, I lied; it's too stunning for words. As we left Loch Lomond and the Falls of Falloch we didn't really know what to expect. I had a route to Fort William in mind, but we were free and easy and keen to just keep on chasing waterfalls as we headed north.
It was early evening as we weaved along the narrow lanes, past fast flowing rivers and dark forests stretching out in the distance. We pulled in to Strone Hill, a Forestry and Land Scotland authorised 'Stay the Night' spots, said hello to the other campers as we nipped the dogs out and then settled in for an early night. The next morning we could see that we were right in the heart of the woods and coincidentally (OK, I planned it!), there was a large waterfall just a short stroll away. The weather was pretty pants; the mist hung low and the air was hot and damp, but we grabbed our swim kit and set off on a mission to swim in yet another waterfall. We rounded a bend in the woods and caught sight of the impressive River Lochy falls. A stunning waterfall, with plenty of potential swimming pools scattered at the top and bottom of the fall, however, totally not accessible... We even clambered down to the river further down stream and attempted to walk back up the river to get to the waterfall, but it was too deep and slippery in places for the dogs. We aborted the mission and decided we would just have to search out another fall for a swim. By now we were so wet, it actually felt like we'd been swimming anyway!
We climbed back in to the vans, just as the sun came out, and after the normal kit faff, we set off to our next spot... Glen Orchy.
From studying the map, I knew that the drive was along a single track road that followed the River Orchy up to the main road that heads towards Glencoe and Fort William. What I didn't know was just how epic the drive and sights would be... We've renamed this stretch of road 'Waterfall Avenue'; as there are three huge cascades as well as smaller falls and gorges. Driving along I just didn't know where to look; the river was clear blue, bordered by rock faces and woodlands. It weaved down from the Glens towards Loch Awe, it's powerful current carving caverns and perfectly round holes in to the rocks. The rocks were smooth to touch in places and curved to such a degree you'd think it had been created by man.
The river crashes down over the rocks at Eas Urchaidh, the first waterfall on this road, where it whips in to the caverns it has carved out over the centuries and circles in its own mini whirlpool. The pools are deep and tempt you to jump in from the platforms above, but to jump in would be dangerous and possibly deadly. Signs warn of the dangers and a plaque pays respect to a boy who drowned in the river. You can't help but be stunned in to silence at the sight, and we just stopped, watched the water and appreciated the sheer power and majesty of this river.
We parked up for the night in the carpark opposite the fall, alongside another couple of vans and a man in his caravan, who had clearly moved in for the summer! The great thing about Scottish carparks is that there are always bins and porta loos; meaning the area is always lovely and clean and free of waste. This is such a great idea and something more places should do...
The next morning we decided we'd go for a little stroll and check out another of the three main waterfalls. Now, OS maps are amazing, but not in Scottish Forestry land! The tracks that should be there weren't and new ones had appeared; baring in mind I was using the online OS map it couldn't have been more up to date! Anyway, we plodded on through the forest, keeping the river to our right and hoped we would stumble across a path that should have been there to take us down to the river to cross it and walk back on the road to the van. After a rather long walk, we were all getting tired, so we went off-piste! There was a small stream running off the hills towards the main river, so we followed it through the woods, weaving through the trees, the lush plump moss carpet underfoot, whilst admiring the array of fungi and other flora scattered around this little slice of faerie landscape (there were definitely faeries in these woods), with the stream bubbling over rocks on its journey to the River Orchy beyond. We could see the river ahead but a large forest of ferns blocked the way; tick season was in full force, so we decided to climb in to the stream and walk down it the last 100 yards to the river, all the time praying there would be some way to cross to the other side.
We exploded out of the woods, the sun high overhead, causing the river to sparkle like diamonds. It was deep but not flowing too fast; so I decided to just plough my way over fully clothed... Oliver tried to follow but chose the wrong point and started to drift downstream, as George panicked that Ollie would be washed away over the fall below... Nah! He's made of sterner stuff than that; he knows to swim to the eddy! But Spike saw the fiasco and there was NO WAY he was going to swim over the river... So, back I waded, to try and corner (hard in the middle of a river with a wood behind!) him and carry him over the river to the pebbly beach. After a few bribes and tricks I had him, and off I went for my third river crossing. After placing Spike on safe dry ground and getting Ollie back across, I just got back in for a swim. It was hot, I was soaked, there seemed no other option!! The water was heavenly and George stripped off and joined me for a dip.
We squeezed as much water from our clothes and clambered up on to the road to make our way back towards home (after a quick stone skimming competition, which we don't talk about). Walking along the road we were lucky to see a stag grazing in a field and peregrine falcons flying overhead hunting for dinner. After a mile there was a footpath heading back to the river's edge and we headed down to be rewarded by the site of Eas a’ Chathaidh; another of the epic trio of falls along this river. There were no swim spots, but again the sheer majesty of the falls was breath-taking. We followed the path alongside the river, sat and had a biscuit watching some chaps pan for gold, and finally popped out a few hundred meters up from the vans. Feet were sore and still soaked, tummies were grumbling and dogs were ready for their dinner. We threw all the wet kit in to the front of the van, fed the dogs, grabbed our swim stuff and decided it was time for a proper swim before our dinner!
After much debating, we decided to swim at Eas Urchaidh below the falls where the river opened up and it was far safer and easier to access. There were steps down to the water under the bridge, used often by kayakers launching for the next descent of the river. The water was deep and you could feel the current pulling you downstream. I had on my tow float for safety and we carried a phone in case of emergencies; yet George had a freak out moment when she saw a leaf sail past... Yes a leaf dear readers! But on we soldiered and the water was amazing. The rocks towered overhead as we floated downstream and latched on to a low platform to climb up on to dive from. After a short swim and some diving, we swam back against the current to exit by the steps. It would be fantastic to get the wetsuits on, grab a guide and swim/canyon this whole river... maybe next time.
The next morning it was time to continue our drive up 'Waterfall Avenue'. We passed the final falls of Easan Dubha but parking was tricky at this point on the road, so there wasn't the chance to get out and see the falls up close. We looked for another park up but it wasn't to be, and soon we were on the road to the Bridge of Orchy and heading to our next stop off at Loch Tulla.
Join us next time as we have a good wash (because we stank at this point!), check out some more stunning bodies of water, see some wildlife, have a little dance on the bridge, and get visited by a helicopter!
As always, thank you for reading and if you'd like to watch the accompanying videos George made, please visit her YouTube channel:
Strone Hill and arriving in Glen Orchy: DISASTER we ran out of....... - YouTube
Glen Orchy walk and swim: we got LOST IN THE WOODS in SCOTLAND - YouTube
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