The Steall waterfall and beyond

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The Steall waterfall is well-known, as is the wire suspension bridge which crosses the river Nevis close by it. The walk to it from the car park at the end of the Glen Nevis road is a delight, though in places feels exposed and could unsettle someone with a poor head for heights.

In high season this car park is not only very busy, it is sadly a target for car thiefs so avoid temptation and don't leave anything of any value on show. However to balance this there are lots of very bold chaffinches who will beg for bread and any other scraps you care to hand out. I think the walk through the Gorge is best in spring when the trees are just coming into leaf, or when their colour has turned in the autumn.

There is no problem following the path, which is very well used and has been improved in quite a few places. It gradually contours up the side of the gorge with a little up-and-down, and finally involves a simple scramble over some large rocks before suddenly popping out into a large flat meadow. I believe this formed in the same way as the Lost Valley in Glencoe - rock falls blocked the river and it dropped debris and sediment forming the flat area. Paths meander across it, though some parts are usually quite boggy. I like to walk along the river bank, but care should be taken as in places it's quite fragile. One of the joys to be seen here are dippers, and come the autumn there are also a number of different wax-caps to be found.

Time has to be taken to view the wire suspension bridge, and there is usually someone using it. I have crossed it, but would not do so if the river was in spate as anyone falling off in those circumstances is likely to get swept away to an untimely end.

The path continues through the Glen, which is always fairly open now with splendid views of the surrounding hills. If you are in the mood for a long walk it can be followed all the way to the head of Loch Treig and thence to Corrour railway station, though personally I think that would generally be a better walk in reverse - less climbing and no train to have to connect with at the end of the walk! There are also a couple of ruined huts within easy reach, which can be used to make this a bit more of a walk. It's only failing is that it's very much an out-and-back kind of walk rather than being circular. However on a lovely May day the upper reaches of the Glen are a lovely peaceful place where it's a delight to spend some time enjoying the scenery and a picnic.

It is however possible to have some variation by using parts of the paths which ascend the surrounding hills - for example taking the path which climbs up from the first ruin towards Surr a'Mhuic and then contouring into the hanging valley to the east of Meall Cumhann is highly rewarding with excellent views of the Mamores to the south of the Nevis, and into the valley surrounded by the Ring of Steall. If you do this take care to find the proper descend path - I once managed to come down the tongue between two large streams and ended up making an 'interesting' river crossing to avoid having to climb back up too far. On that day there was not too much water in the streams, so had I fallen in I don't think I would have come to any serious harm!