Rannoch Moor

Rannoch Moor is a 20 square mile peat bog that sits at approx. 1000ft above sea level. It has been described as one of the remotest places in Britain or, by Robert Louis Stevenson in his book Kidnapped, as a wearier looking desert a man never saw.

The moor is the watershed for central Scotland. Rivers start their journeys here and travel east to the North Sea or west to the Atlantic Ocean.

The A82, from Crianlarich to Fort William, crosses Am Monadh Dubh, the Black Mount, which separates the moor from Glen Etive, and continues across the western side of the moor into Glen Coe. The B846, from Aberfeldy to Rannoch Station, enters the moor from the east.

The only way to cross it from east to west is by foot. Starting from Rannoch Station, a footpath heads southwest and then west along the northern side of Loch Laidon. This then joins the A82 near the Kingshouse. There had been a proposal to continue the road from Rannoch Station across the moor, but fortunately this was not carried through and the area has remained relatively unspoiled.

The moor is covered by a number of lochs and also large boulders that have been there since a large glacier moved east across the area about 20,000 years ago. These rocks were left as the ice retreated, but according to local legend the boulders were thrown there by a pair of giants, known as Fomorians, that terrorised the area.

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