Glen
Glen Etive
Nineteen miles of single-track dead end — river pools, Skyfall scenery, and midges that will eat you alive if you stop moving.
- Length
- 19km
- Munros
- 13
- Corbetts
- 4
- Grahams
- 1
- Bothies
- 1
- Wild swimming
- 1
- Highest peak
- Bidean nam Bian (1149m)
Glen Etive turns south off the A82 at Kings House and runs for nineteen miles to Loch Etive with no turning point at the end. There is almost no habitation, almost no signal, and in high summer, a steady procession of cars whose drivers have seen the James Bond film. The glen was filmed for Skyfall because it looks completely untouched — and it more or less is. The River Etive cuts through a series of pools and small gorges along the lower glen floor; these are among the finest wild swimming spots in the southern Highlands.
The Munros surrounding the glen are among the least-visited in this part of Scotland. Buachaille Etive Mor dominates the north end — iconic from the A82 — but Buachaille Etive Beag and the remote Ben Starav group at the foot of Loch Etive see a fraction of the traffic that Glencoe receives. The glen rewards those prepared to go further in, either on foot or slowly by car, stopping at the informal laybys and walking five minutes to get away from the road entirely.
The road in
Single-track road etiquette
Pull into passing places to let oncoming vehicles pass. Don't park in passing places. If a faster vehicle is behind you, pull over and let them past. Do not reverse at speed — wait in a passing place.
Parking2 spots
Invercharnan layby
15 cars
Free
Start of Buachaille Etive Beag routes.
Dalness
10 cars
Free
Mid-glen access point.
Hills from Glen Etive13 Munros · 4 Corbetts · 1 Grahams
Beinn Mhic Chasgaig
864m · 2.2km away
Stob Ghabhar
1089m · 2.7km away
Creise
1099m · 3.2km away
Meall a' Bhuiridh
1107m · 3.8km away
Meall nan Eun
928m · 4.2km away
Stob a' Choire Odhair
945m · 4.2km away
Stob na Doire
1010.5m · 5.4km away
Stob Dubh
883m · 5.4km away
Buachaille Etive Mor - Stob na Broige
953m · 5.4km away
Buachaille Etive Mor - Stob Dearg
1021m · 6.2km away
Stob Coir' an Albannaich
1044m · 6.3km away
Buachaille Etive Beag - Stob Dubh
956m · 6.9km away
Bothies1 in range
Wild swimming1 spot nearby
What's in the glen
Buachaille Etive Mor
The Great Herdsman of Etive — the iconic pyramid seen from the A82. Stob Dearg (1022m) is the classic summit. Approached from Altnafeadh (Glen Coe) or the start of Glen Etive. One of the most photographed mountains in Scotland.
River Etive pools
The River Etive runs the full length of the glen to Loch Etive. The pools along the lower glen were made famous by the James Bond film Skyfall and now attract significant summer crowds. Wild camping along the river is subject to ongoing byelaw consultation.
River Etive
Our take
Glen Etive is a victim of Skyfall. Wild camping along the river is restricted in summer; byelaws are coming in. Go in May or September. Park at a designated spot, walk fifteen minutes up Glen Ceitlein or any side burn and the crowds vanish. Don't drive a motorhome — the road is nineteen miles of single-track with nowhere to turn at the end.
History
Glen Etive spent decades in productive obscurity — a long drive for walkers who wanted the Buachaille without the Glencoe crowds. Then Skyfall happened. The 2012 James Bond film used the glen extensively for the sequence in which Bond drives north in the Aston Martin DB5 toward the fictional Skyfall Lodge on Rannoch Moor — the Buachaille Etive Mor is clearly visible, the river pools are in the background, and a generation of visitors made the connection between that landscape and a place they could actually visit. Visitor numbers to the glen roughly tripled in the years following the film's release.
The consequences are ongoing. The informal laybys have been overwhelmed, the riverbanks have been damaged by fire rings and erosion from overcamping, and Highland Council and NatureScot have been working toward byelaws restricting camping in the most affected areas. The irony is that the glen was used as a filming location precisely because it looked untouched. The challenge now is keeping some part of that quality alive under the pressure of its own fame.
Practical
- Mobile signal
- Very limited. Patchy near the top of the glen. Assume no signal for most of the glen's length.
- Midges
- Very high(5/5)
- Stalking estate
- Dalness EstateRed deer stalking: 1 Jul – 20 Oct
- Public transport
- None. Private transport essential.
Map
Hills (green), bothies (brown), parking (blue), wild swimming (light blue).
Nearby glens
Scotland outdoor updates
Route guides, condition reports and seasonal picks — once a month, no noise.