We took the Nevis Range Gondola on Aonach Mor to the gondola top station for spectacular views of Ben Nevis, at 4406 ft. the highest mountain in the UK, the Nevis range and Fort William. A downhill mountain-biking track parallels the gondola sky route in this ski resort.

We had lunch at North Ballachulish at the Loch Leven Inn with views of their gardens under the bridge; especially spectacular were blue-purple hydrangeas and orange lilies. We saw Scottish “tablet”, a kind of fudge and chocolate truffles being made at the Great Glen Confectionary Factory; these sweets are sold all over Scotland. We had our first taste of Orkney ice cream which was well worth remembering also.

We spent the afternoon in a circular drive around Loch Leven and a visit to the Glen Coe National Trust visitor center for a slide presentation about the 1692 massacre of the MacDonalds by King William's soldiers, who had been guests of the MacDonalds for the preceeding 12 days. The scenery around Glencoe is spectacular, truly the heart of the Highlands.