Rannoch Moor
A82Kings House, Glen Coe to Bridge of Orchy · Highland
The A82's wild traverse of Rannoch Moor, a treeless expanse of bog, lochans and distant peaks before the road plunges into the jaws of Glen Coe.
From the Kings House at the head of Glen Etive the A82 strikes south across one of Britain's last great wildernesses, Rannoch Moor, a vast roof of peat hags, glittering lochans and granite knolls ringed by the Black Mount and the Blackwater hills. The road runs largely arrow-straight on long causeways, lifting to around 1,140ft as it threads between Lochan na h-Achlaise and Loch Ba before a sweeping descent past the Bridge of Orchy. There are few corners but the openness is the point: the scale is colossal and the weather theatre relentless. This is a fast, exposed two-lane trunk road rather than a technical pass, and it carries heavy tourist and HGV traffic in season. Mind sudden whiteouts and ice in winter, deer and stray sheep on unfenced sections, and fast-moving lorries on the long straights.
Where it runs
Character
Elevation
195 m rangeKnow before you go
- Sudden whiteouts and black ice in winter
- Deer and sheep on unfenced moor
- Fast HGVs and tourist coaches on long straights
Sources
In these collections
Nearby roads
The closest great drives to Rannoch Moor.
