• Trip Around the World 2025
    The views halfway up Ben Nevis weren't half bad!
    The views halfway up Ben Nevis weren't half bad!The start of our hike... heading up!We could see clouds rolling in at the mountain peaks, but hoped it would burn off...Making our way up the mountain towards the blanket of fog aboveThere were countless small waterfalls due to all of the rain this weekAnd a large one that we needed to cross!We made quick work of the waterfallSome great views midway up the mountainYou can see so far into the distance!So green!You can see a massive valley stretching out beneath usUs making our way to the peak, visibility wasn't greatAnd us at the peak! Not much to see here 😂A shot of Chelsea on the descent2Video of the descent once we broke back through the cloudsGlencoe Valley on a MUCH clearer dayThere are some magnificent mountains in the highlandsAnother shot from an angle showing the depth of the highlandsVideo view of the Three Sisters mountains not covered in rain and clouds; so epic!!Us in front of the Three SistersAnother shot of two of the three sistersOur pub dinner

    Ben Nevis and revisiting Glencoe Valley

    July 28, 2025 in Scotland ⋅ ☁️ 55 °F

    Today we hiked the tallest mountain in the UK, Ben Nevis, and drove back through Glencoe Valley so we could see it on a clear day.

    We started our day with a fantastic hotel breakfast(they had a full buffet, and even had two types of haggis!), and then immediately headed to the base of Ben Nevis which was just a short drive from our hotel.

    The hike started steep, and continued to be steep the whole way! We scaled 4,400 feet of elevation to make it to the peak, and the entire hike was over 10 miles. The first half of the hike was beautiful, with views of the surrounding mountains and lakes. As soon as we reached the 50% mark though, we were engulfed in thick cloud cover, and off and on rain. Despite the rain and low visibility, we hiked all the way to the summit hoping it would burn off. Sadly, when we reached the peak we were in the thickest fog yet, and met with freezing wind and much more rain. We snapped a quick pic and hustled back down, where around 50% down the mountain the clouds broke and we had views again. All in all we enjoyed the hike, but we sure were bummed we didn’t get to see the views from the top!

    Because we didn’t get summit views we opted to go back to Glencoe Valley given the weather was clear there and it had been quite stormy yesterday. On driving through this second time we were rewarded with jaw dropping views, and green highlands as far as the eye could see! We actually drove the entire valley again, and it was a significantly improved experience from the day prior. We stopped at all the same photo spots from the day before, and you can see in the pics what a shocking difference the clear weather makes in showing how epic Scotland’s highlands are.

    After finishing our drive through the valley we were famished, so we grabbed food at a local pub and then called it a night.    Read more