West Highland Way 7: Kings House to Kinlochleven

Dogs Leashed

From King's House (West Highland Way 6: Inveroran to Kings House), the path becomes a more difficult, rocky singletrack roughly paralleling the A82 through beautiful Glen Coe for several miles. When the singletrack finally reaches a car park at the A82, you've reached the beginning of the aptly named Devil's Staircase. This is a steep climb (800 ft in one mile) on loose, babyhead rocks with increasingly tight switchbacks near the top.

This is a popular section of the WHW because of the fantastic view of Glen Coe and the surrounding mountains particularly from the top of the climb. Your reward for reaching the top is a commanding view of Glen Coe and surrounding mountains to the south as well as the Blackwater Reservoir to the north. You'll also enjoy the beautiful descent into Kinlochleven, which lies on Loch Leven at sea level almost 1,750 feet below.

The first half of the descent is singletrack, and it is not as steep as the climb up the Devil's Staircase. Here, the trail can have a bit of water on it, but the rocky surface drains well. The second half of the descent into Kinlochleven finishes on a nice forest road.

The final segment of the WHW, West Highland Way 8: Kinlochleven to Fort William takes you to the northern terminus.