The magical Glencoe Valley Scotland (Road A82) – Guide + Photos

Let's drive road A82 through the Glencoe Valley Scotland, one of the most scenic road trips in the country! The magical Glen Coe area offers summits, valley, waterfalls and lochs.... Definitively my kind of scenery! Discover the best stops in photos and video as well as advice to complete your drive in Glencoe Scotland.

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Visiting the Glencoe Valley Scotland

Let's start with a short video to give you an idea of what it looks like to drive on A82 through Glen Coe Scotland. 

Do you understand why it made it to my list of top Destinations in Scotland?

About the valley of Glencoe Scotland

Glen Coe is a protected area around the town of Glencoe. The Road A82 enables you to cross it via the Glencoe Valley. The Munros and peaks that surround the road were formed by volcanic activity and shaped by glaciers. 

It is one of those grand landscapes, a must-see when traveling in Scotland.

• The Glencoe Valley is North West of the Trossachs region and of Glasgow
• It is Just south of the Fort William  Town
• The Valley stretches between Bridge of orchy and the Village of Glencoe
• However Road A82 is way longer, coming from Loch Lomond and continuing past Glencoe to Fort William
• From Bridge of Orchy to Glencoe, the road takes 30min if you are not stopping... which won't be the case
• It can be visited on a 1 day Excursion from Edinburgh
• Glasgow to Glencoe Village - 2h15 drive
• Edinburgh to Glencoe Village - 3h drive
• Glencoe Village to Fort William - 30 min drive
• South Loch Lomond to Glencoe village = 1h35 drive

Here is a map to get you oriented:

The complete map with all the places of interest in the Glencoe Valley (with their GPS coordinates and practical info), as well as other maps for all the regions are available in the eBooks:

Visiting Glencoe Scotland

• There are many interesting stops along this road with Loch Tulla, Loch Ba, the peaks of Buachaille Etive Mor, Buachaille Etive Beag, the Three Sisters, the Meeting of the 3 waters waterfall and Loch Achtrichtan. Below in this article I detail each of these stops.
• Toilets available at the Glencoe Ski center and at the Glencoe visitor center.
• If you can choose your direction, I strongly recommend driving from Glasgow to Fort William rather than in the other direction.
• Wandering where to stay in Glencoe? See my Scotland Accommodations Page for information about my Glencoe accommodation

A82 is a fast road as it joins major cities in Scotland. Part of it drive through glencoe, so it is sometimes referred to as the Glencoe Road or the Glencoe Drive. But it is much longer.
BE CAREFUL as your eyes are attracted by the scenery 

So if you want to stop be careful and do not brake at the last minute!!!
And please do not turn around on this road  - yes, I have seen it and the car got stuck in the middle of the road where you can drive at 110km/h !!!!!!

Below are a few pictures taken from the road - don't forget we drive on the left there! (you can check out my guide to driving in Scotland)

Glencoe route - 1st stop - Loch Tulla Viewpoint

Right after entering the Glen Coe Scotland area, you drive near Loch Tulla.  

Next on Glencoe road - Lochan na h-Achlaise and Loch Ba

Not long after, you will see a very small loch: Lochan na h-Achlaise. The small hill behind was very photographic I think. It is easy to park.

Form there I recommend going for a walk to discover the loch which is spread out and  has many small islands. I saw it only from the car and was unable to take any pictures.  There is no place to stop further along the road.

Then you reach Loch Ba. It is made of many small water areas and rivers between them. It stretches on both side of road A82

Etive Mor - Most famous Glencoe photography location

Then you get closer to the high summits of Glen Coe. It gets really exciting as you approach the most photographed mountains in Scotland: Buachaille Etive Mor. 

For some of the best locations to photograph it, check out the dedicated article about Buachaille Etive Mor. This photo below was taken at the beginning of the side road going through Glen Etive.

After driving by Etive Mor you can stop to see it from the other side.

There is a parking where you get amazing 360° views of the valley. 

And another peak appears. This is Buachaille Etive Beag at 958m:

Meeting of the Three Waters Waterfall

In all my research, I had not seen that there was a waterfall on that road through Glen Coe Scotland. So I was pleasantly surprised when I stopped at the bridge and found out this beautiful 3-section fall. Apparently its name is the Meeting of the Three Waters. 

The 3 Sisters in Glen Coe Scotland

The next time we stopped along Road A82, we discovered the scenery of the Three sisters. There is a large parking and an orientation table.

The landscape is a dramatic ridge around the summit of Bidean Nam Bian that culminates at 1148m.

Loch Achtriochtan

​Our next stop was Loch Achtriochtan. Surprisingly there was nobody on the parking when the Three Sisters parking was full. Probably because the loch is not indicated just the guesthouse.

This is a small loch but the Glen is narrower at this point so the place is scenic.

Glencoe Visitor Center & the Glencoe viewpoint

After all those wonderful natural sceneries I was very disappointed by the Glencoe Visitor Center. This is the first time I see an exhibit to explain the region in a visitor center for which you have to pay to enter. 

And the viewpoint on the other side (free access) was really disappointing compared to what we had just seen.​

The view from the Glencoe viewpoint...

Glencoe is a very small town by Loch Leven. It is a great places to stay for the night.
You can find stunning small properties there such as

• the Glencoe House in a historic building - check out pictures and prices
• the Beechwood cottage B&B for a homy feeling - check out pictures and prices
• the Boathouse, right by the lake - check out pictures and prices
• Or You can check the best customer-rated Glencoe accommodations

Bridge on Loch Leven - past Glencoe to Fort Williams

The last portion of A82 that is in the Glen Coe area is the bridge over Loch Leven. It gives you a glimpse of one of the most scenic lochs in Scotland. If you have time, I strongly recommend driving around it. See my dedicated post about Loch Leven for photos and more info.

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Incredible landscape, don't you think?